Thanks, I think I will stone the shafts. Can't really find an effective way to cover the shafts though. Two problems: first the shafts are 20 feet long, second they are attached along the entire upper side so any covers would have to be "C" shaped. I think I'll give the heavier-load bronze a try...
Sorry, been out for couple of days. Thanks very much for the input. I'll try to put up a picture but I can't get a good one. The open side of the bushings is directly on top, where the rails mount on 1" thick bar. So the open top side cuts down a lot of the load bearing capacity of the bushing...
I did find out that the current bushings are C932 bronze, and haven't been greased properly either. Still have no idea what material the original design used.
I am needing to replace bearings on a seamer. The sliding portion hangs on 4 bronze open bushings on two round steel rails, rail diameter 2.5". Speed is 2-3 feet per second, load is over a thousand pounds, linear distance traveled is 1-1.4 million feet a year. The last set of bushings lasted...