Shielded bearing … they pose a problem. As the name gives away, they have protective disc that shield the inner working of the bearing from dust and grime. This is great, but when it comes to building with them, there’s two challenges. One, the shields stop you from seeing inside the bearing and thus knowing how well packed with greased they are. Two, if you do choose to grease them, the shields are a pain to get off – often involving pins, needle nose pliers, lots of sweat and a little cursing. Enter, The Greaser! The ultimate tool for bearing longevitiy.

The components - aluminum grease tub, composite v-shaped bearing holder, o-ring and bearing plunger.

It’s not very often you come across a tool that is so simple but still gives you so much user satisfaction – this one did that for me. This innovative piece of enginuity actually allows you to grease the whole bearing without taking the shields off. How? Well, there’s an aluminum chamber that’s filled with grease. A composite v-shaped bearing holder is then inserted into this tub and forces the grease up through a hole in the middle. Your bearing is then placed just over this hole and the grease is then forced up past the inner part of the shield while you push down with the plunger – packing the bearings with the good gooey stuff.

The truth is, it’s really simple … and it works great! It provides one of those moments where you ask yourself, “Why didn’t I think of that?” It’s a sinch to do, and more often then not, the original grease that’s forced through is minimal – as you can see from the pictures.