What about a small magnet inside and right at the end of a flexible plastic tube. The tube will help insulate the magnet from the casting and might enable you to push the tube around the oil gallery. The ball bearing will hopefully stick to the magnet at the end of the tube and can be removed. cheers Tony On Sun, Jul 15, 2018 at 8:42 AM, Dr Skip wrote: > Try a piece of stiff (hdpe kind) tubing with 1/8" ID and push over it. Ei= ther friction or slight suction should hold it while you lift. > > Or some variation of that with a rubber vacuum line for better friction. > > Or a long handled teaspoon to coax/scoop it up the side. > > Or one of those pronged extendable grippers on a cable for getting small = parts out. > > Or inverted duct tape on the end of a stick (if no oil in there), or fash= ion a scoop out of tape at the end of the stick to scoop it. > > Or some combination of the above.... ;) > > > > On July 14, 2018 5:31:42 PM EDT, Jason White wrote: >>Hello All, >> >>A 1/8" steel ball bearing has fallen to the bottom of a 2.5" deep 5/64" >>hole in a large iron casting. >> >>It is feasible to use magnetics to remove the bearing? >> >>I suspect not but perhaps it is a failure of my imagination. >> >> >>The hole is the oil passage to the spindle bearing of a small lathe. >>The >>ball is blocking oil from entering the spindle bearing and must be >>removed. >> >>The ball bearing is loose in the passage. If I could flip the lathe >>upside >>down it would probably fall out of the hole. >> >>Currently it seems I will have to tear the lathe apart to get the ball >>out. >> >>Thanks, >>Jason White >>-- >>http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive >>View/change your membership options at >>http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > -- > http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > View/change your membership options at > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist --=20 http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .