Posted by David Sherman on Tuesday, January 08, 2002 at 6:45PM :
In Reply to: Re: wood bearings posted by Keith ( Alberta ) on Tuesday, January 08, 2002 at 3:56PM :
The main reason they used lignum vitae for bearings was that it could be lubricated with water. In addition to ships, it was (is) used for the lower bearings in vertical-shaft hydroelectric turbines where there is no reasonable way to seal or lubricate a normal bearing.