File:1911 Britannica - Bearings - small bearing.png

English: The component parts of a small bearing, pillow block, plummer block or pedestal, as it is variously styled.
The shaft (S) is encircled by the brasses (B₁ and B₂) made of gun metal, phosphor bronze or other suitable material. The lower brass fits into the main casting (A) in the semicircular seat provided for it, and is prevented from moving endways by the flanges (F, F) and from turning with the shaft by the projections (P, P), which fit into corresponding recesses in the casting (A), one of which is shown at p. After the shaft has been placed in position, the upper brass (B₂) and the cap (C) are put on and both are held in place by the bolts (Q₁, Q₂). The brasses are bedded into the main casting (A) and the cap (C) respectively at the surfaces D, D, D, D. The complete bearing is held to the framework of the machine by bolts (R₁, R₂) passing through holes (H, H) which are slotted to allow endwise adjustment of the whole bearing in order to facilitate the alignment of the shaft. Oil or other lubricant is introduced through the hole (G), and it passes through the top brass to grooves or oilways cut into the surface of the brass for the purpose of distributing the oil uniformly to the journal.
Illustration from 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, article Bearings.