On Sat, 21 Jul 2018 14:31:42 -0400, Flasherly
wrote:

Chinese Pulley:

$2/US Stainless steel. Fixed centre shaft. Single pulley wheel rides
directly on shaft, e.g. no intermediary ball bearings. M2 (? Chinese)
rating: Guesstimate a working load around 100lb. max for practical
eyeballing (at the pulley) - probably advertised for twice or more
that, more purely for body construction or what it'll hold. Maybe
300-400lbs. Actually kinda nice for a solid 3"-ish construction.

Made an overhead cable attachment for my iron channel lifting cage.
Some spare, different chain lengths, some threaded through cut rubber
hose. Secured links with nuts and bolts. Main cable is 3/8"
strand-and-twisted nylon rope, clothes-line or near to. Total cost to
me so far: the $2US Chinese pulley.

70, 80lb. abdominal crunches and triceps extensions, forcing much
more, 100lb. is where it begins lifting, tilting the front of the
80lb.-ish power cage towards, over and onto me.

Pulley squeals, up to like a stuck pig, at dry. WD40 lasted once, a
session, as does penetrating spray mechanical oil. Motor oil does
better, 3 or 4 sessions. Which is as far as I've got.

But that's all, besides and mostly, nasty. Sweat and a towel are
enough. Any more, motor oil, is near to totally unacceptable.
Had a hunch solid grease might surface, though, I've a tin of it,
except I remembered a tube of food-grade, presumably lithium high-temp
solid grease I'd use on a roaster for coffee beans.

So I used a small, 3/8" wide utility razor to stuff the grease between
the pulley housing, as much as I could get in there, from little play
at the sides of the pulley, to lubricate the shaft and pulley edges
for contact at opposite housing sides.

Which is where I'm at. Any further, I just don't know. Silicon
grease or dry lubricant graphite powder might be the breaking point,
where I say screw it, go back and buy another pulley with a different
design (non-fixed or nut-&-bolt secured pulley shaft). Provided of
course doesn't raise the price of Chinese pulleys to commiserate
$50B/US, made by the rich for the rich.

Apparently, what I'm thinking after noticing is that centre-bearing
"kits", ball-bearing-load are the regular, inexpensive item also on
the menu for the Chinese pulley crowd. Sold for packs of 10 bearings.
I guess Chinese also have issues with the Squealing Pig.

Garage door openers (Chamberlain, possibly many others) employ a
combination of cable and chain drives, with several cable pulleys.
These seem to work (forever)on garage doors, but spare parts might be
available at the big box stores like Home Depot.