Building a DIY potters kickwheel. The vertical shaft will have \~200 lbs of weight on it and needs to spin freely. I considered a flange bearing but I'm trying to overbuild this thing so it'll last and I'd rather not rely on set screws to support the weight.

I think a thrust bearing would be more appropriate but after searching McMaster and all the other websites I could find on google, I can't find a thrust bearing with mounting flanges. It's unclear to me how to install a thrust bearing onto wood without a flange.

Looking for suggestions of off-the-shelf components that might work. I only have woodworking tools, no machining tools to work with metal. Thanks!

You want a Lazy Susan

Have you looked for information and pictures of commercial products to see how they are built? You may be able to use a pair of car rear axle roller bearings because they will handle the load and you can use a hole saw to make a place for them to sit.

https://www.mcmaster.com/products/shaft-end-bearings/mounted-bearing-type~four-bolt-flange-mount/

These have an outer flange that you can mount to whatever. You'll want to get a shaft that is oversized for whatever the inner diameter is and have a step cut into the end to fit into the bearing so the shoulder carries the weight into the bearing.

Don’t reinvent the wheel (pun intended).

There are tons of plans out there for potter’s wheels and a common theme is that they use a pair of flange bearings with a stop collar above the lower bearing.

You have to consider this: A weight of 200 lbs will not just be acting downward - as you turn the wheel, the weight will inevitably be off center, which means your support must withstand not just the downward force, but also the force trying to tip it over. This is called a bending moment.

Assuming you want this potters wheel to be portable, it should probably have a base with legs spaced about 30 - 40 inches apart.

For a vertical 200-lb load, I’d separate the jobs: use a properly rated pillow-block or flange bearing for radial alignment, and a real thrust bearing/washer assembly to carry the axial load. A shaft collar above the thrust bearing can transfer the weight without relying on a set screw in the bearing. Mount the bearing to a thick plywood or hardwood doubler and through-bolt it with large washers (or a backing plate); ordinary wood screws will eventually loosen or crush the grain. Leave room to service the bearing, and add a guard around the wheel/shaft—an off-the-shelf flange thrust bearing may be simpler than trying to adapt a radial bearing.

Look into a lazy susan bearings, this one has a 750lb weight limit for the first sku line.
https://www.mcmaster.com/products/lazy-susan-bearings/round-turntables~~/

Two approaches jump out.

First is a pipe with two 1" id roller bearings pushed in top and bottom and a 1" thrust bearing sitting inside the bottom roller bearing.

That pipe then welded to a base plate or sitting in a flange

Or plan 2, get a trailer stub axle and attach the plate to that instead of the 1" shaft

Yeah, that is a good idea. Looking at how commercial versions are built could save a lot of trial and error. The axle bearing idea sounds interesting too, especially if it can handle the load and fits the design.

I'd use a proper load rated eye bolt or forged D ring, through bolted with big washers or a backing plate on the other side of the wood. I wouldn't trust wood screws for anything supporting a person or a heavy dynamic load. The hardware may be plenty strong, but the wood and mounting method are usually the weak link.

I think you're getting some over-thought answers. I'd just mount the vertical shaft into a flanged sleeve bearing:

https://www.mcmaster.com/products/product-familyflanged-sleeve-bearings2q3SElu6/

Your shaft would need a step cut into the end to sit on the flange, but the bearing could just sit in a round hole in the wood base.

You need a wheel bearing assembly. The one out of my '96 jeep Cherokee would work perfectly, I'm sure lots of others would as well. Go around to mechanics shops, someone will probably give u one for free. I kept a couple for several years in anticipation of making one for my wife. They would also make a geed playground