Oil cap in spindle Babbitt bearing

Hello all, new to the forum and new to owning a lathe, a leblond super regal 14x60 circa 1917. In the process of cleaning and measuring. At the spindle bearings now and I want to clean the oil gallery behind the Babbitt, any tips on removing the caps that the flip top oil fittings are in? They look like they are pressed in. Also I see at the oil groove there is a twisted pair of fiber in the hole. So is that a wick for oil transfer?

Hi Mike,

On a larger 18 inch Leblond I used to own the outboard bearing had a lid covering the gallery which looked original, the inboard end had been modified and an oiler was threaded in. The larger Git/wick type oilers I've seen were threaded however over 100 years things get changed. If you give the serial number others here will be able to tell you what the original oilers likely were and the year your lathe was made. You may also be able to phone Leblond (used to be able to) for the year and sometimes other information.

You are right, the twisted fibre is to supply clean oil to the bearing. I would make sure it will feed enough oil and as they can gum up probably should be changed. I've used felt strips in the past which worked for my needs but that might not be the best. Make sure it is real felt.

Congratulations, Leblond made pretty good long lasting lathes.

Dave

I am not sure about your lathe, but the oil fittings can be pressed or threaded. Try unscrewing first. The oil wick is usually twisted wool thread or, sometimes, a strip of felt.

I wonder about Regals in 1917?

1930ish (still using telegraphic codes to order machinery) has no regals, but every thing else - including mills and T&C grinders

1937ish has regals - and every thing else, but mostly Heavy Duty

1911 has Heavy Duty and Regular - no regals

Mike goral said:

Hello all, new to the forum and new to owning a lathe, a leblond super regal 14x60 circa 1917. In the process of cleaning and measuring. At the spindle bearings now and I want to clean the oil gallery behind the Babbitt, any tips on removing the caps that the flip top oil fittings are in? They look like they are pressed in. Also I see at the oil groove there is a twisted pair of fiber in the hole. So is that a wick for oil transfer?

Click to expand...

what Mr. Oder said...I don't know how people started calling these early ones Regals, maybe because they just look similar?

Suspect this is what the OP has?
EDIT- I now see this IS the OPs machine...nice.

Photo Index - R. K. LeBlond Machine Tool Co. - Leblond super regal | VintageMachinery.org

Thumbnail is the 1911 factory applied designation - A REGULAR was not a Heavy Duty

Wow, thanks for all the responses. I did contact 2 different guys at Leblond both said similar things about the machine . Serial # C4526. It has a spindle size of 2 1/8 x 5. I thought the smallest was 2 3/8. I’ve been reading a lot on this forum and I’m sure you all heard it before there is so much cumulative knowledge here it a pleasure to read. How do ya post a picture on here, that was good info to my question,it is not a git it. It it about the size of a quarter and steel.

That is my lathe on vintage machinery just thought I’d get it out there

Just wanted to say thanks to Dave D and Wlodek got the plugs out with the slightly dull chisel and hammer with minimal damage they were pressed fit no felt or other type of fiber wicking. There is however a twisted pair of say 24 gauge wire to support the capillary action. Don’t know if this is original to the machine or not but it has seemed to work. I used pipe cleaners ( like in the smoking pipe ) to control the drip rate on the oilers on some of the pumps I’ve worked on .