Chicago Rawhide & SKF Seals, sold & sourced by Dalton Bearing Service
Dalton Bearing supplies SKF seals and Chicago Rawhide seals. They are the same line: most boxes now read SKF rather than Chicago Rawhide, and the seals are sold as CR Seals by SKF. If you need a CR seal replacement, send us the number stamped on the old seal or the shaft, bore and width, and we will match it. CR numbers are among the most widely crossed seal numbers in industry, and we see them on gearboxes, pumps, motors, mixers, conveyors and the textile and carpet equipment around Dalton.
The line covers radial oil seals and grease seals in inch and metric sizes, in nitrile, fluoroelastomer and other compounds, with single-lip and double-lip designs. It also includes large-diameter seals for heavy equipment and steel mills. For a scored shaft, the CR Speedi-Sleeve is the usual fix. It is a thin wear sleeve pressed over the worn area so a standard-size seal can run again without regrinding or replacing the shaft. We also quote V-rings, axial seals and SKF mechanical seals.
Chicago Rawhide seals are used across agriculture, paper, food processing, textiles, mining and steel. In the plant they usually come up in two cases: a leaking gearbox or pump that needs the exact seal today, or a rebuild that needs a full set of seals and sleeves. We handle both, and we can pair the seals with SKF bearings so a rebuild ships as one order.
If the original number is obsolete or on backorder, we will tell you up front and offer the current SKF equivalent or a cross from another seal maker.
Chicago Rawhide (CR Seals) ownership & history
Chicago Rawhide was founded in Chicago in 1878 and first made leather belting, lacing and other rawhide goods. It moved into shaft seals in the 1920s with a leather oil seal patented in 1928, and later patented the Wave seal lip in 1971. Its North American seal operations became based in Elgin, Illinois.
SKF acquired Chicago Rawhide in 1990, and it became the core of SKF's sealing business. SKF phased out the Chicago Rawhide name around 2007. In 2018, the brand's 140th anniversary, SKF relaunched CR Seals as a product brand within the SKF portfolio. Many maintenance buyers and distributors never stopped calling them CR seals.
SKF is spinning its automotive business off as SKF Vertevo, with listing expected 1 December 2026. Industrial CR seals stay with SKF. Seals sold through the vehicle aftermarket may move under SKF Vertevo, so check the box label on truck and car parts.
- 1878 Chicago Rawhide founded in Chicago, making leather belting and rawhide goods
- 1928 Patented a leather oil seal
- 1971 Patented the first Wave seal
- 1990 Acquired by SKF
- 2007 Chicago Rawhide name phased out in favor of SKF branding
- 2018 SKF relaunched CR Seals as a product brand
Related brands
SKFParent company since 1990
MRC BearingsSister SKF brand (bearings)- PEER BearingSister SKF brand (bearings)
- General Bearing CorporationSister SKF brand (bearings)
GarlockRelated brand
Why buy Chicago Rawhide & SKF Seals from Dalton Bearing
Dalton Bearing Service has kept plants running from Dalton, Georgia since 1946. We are an independent industrial distributor, not the manufacturer — which means we can quote Chicago Rawhide & SKF Seals straight from stock or our supplier network and, when a number is backordered or discontinued, offer a checked cross-reference — often from MRC Bearings, PEER Bearing or General Bearing Corporation. Send a part number, a photo of the nameplate, or just the dimensions, and a real person gets back to you with price and availability, usually the same day.
Need something besides Chicago Rawhide? We source ball bearings, roller bearings, mounted bearings, plain bearings, speed reducers, couplings and more across 160 manufacturer lines — browse every brand or send us your whole list and we will quote it in one go.