How many cork gaskets are used for one Round Dial sight glass?

rimcanyon · Jul 7, 2015

I need to fix a leaking sight glass on the 1940 10EE. Do I need 2 or 3 cork gaskets? I looked through my parts stash and found conflicting evidence - it looks like some used 2 and others 3. The third gasket is the smaller cork gasket between the plexiglass disc and the round metal cover. All of them used two larger cork gaskets on either side of the painted flat plate with the line. Square dial 10EE's use a different style sight glass, so the question pertains only to round dial machines. Actually I am not sure when the changeover occurred to the later style sight glass. The difference is pretty obvious: the early sight glasses have the words Oil Level stamped on the cover, and the sight glass itself is a flat acrylic or glass disc. The later sight glasses have a stepped design - the center sticks out through the metal cover and the back of the sight glass is indented. I think the later sight glasses are polycarbonate.

-Dave

rimcanyon · Jul 7, 2015

Didn't your sight glasses have the flat metal disks between the sight glass and the cast iron?

Cal Haines · Jul 8, 2015

Dave,

AFIK, the change in the sight glass gaskets came with the square-dial headstock. Some larger lathes continued to use the old style sight glass. The old style used 3 gaskets: one large gasket the diameter of the bezel, with holes for the 3 screws and two smaller gaskets, the diameter of the sight glass. The stack was large gasket, small gasket, glass disk, small gasket and bezel.

This post shows both styles:
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/v...-glass-removal-194750/index2.html#post1260705

Unless you're determined to keep everything stock, replace the inner two gaskets with an O-ring and it will never leak, plus it's easy to pull the sight glass to drain the spindle bearing reservoirs. The attached photo shows both stacks.

Cal

rimcanyon · Jul 9, 2015

Cal, can you clear your PM mailbox, its full.

-Dave

rimcanyon · Jul 9, 2015

Cal, thanks for posting the link to the other thread. I searched and did not find it, and it is a good reference. One thing I was surprised at is the drawing you posted from Monarch. It does not show a sight plate for the round dial, but many of the round dials have them. They are a different style than the square dial plates, since they are held in place by small pointed tabs and fit in the bore. I'll see if I can locate some and take a photo.

-Dave

Cal Haines · Jul 9, 2015

Dave,

I made some room in my inbox. You can also send me an e-mail by clicking on my name. I also sent you and e-mail, using the address that I have tor you.

I was not aware of the level plate for the round-dial sight glasses. Was that just on the Sundstrands?

Cal

Zahnrad Kopf · Dec 31, 2015

Cal Haines said:
AFIK, the change in the sight glass gaskets came with the square-dial headstock. Some larger lathes continued to use the old style sight glass. The old style used 3 gaskets: one large gasket the diameter of the bezel, with holes for the 3 screws and two smaller gaskets, the diameter of the sight glass. The stack was large gasket, small gasket, glass disk, small gasket and bezel.

This post shows both styles:
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/v...-glass-removal-194750/index2.html#post1260705

Unless you're determined to keep everything stock, replace the inner two gaskets with an O-ring and it will never leak, plus it's easy to pull the sight glass to drain the spindle bearing reservoirs. The attached photo shows both stacks.

Cal

Cal ( or anyone ) -

I bought the o-rings ( McMaster ) but the outer corks have gone on mine as well. Are people buying these from Monarch? Or, are they making them from cork sheet? Or....? Other?

Monarchist · Dec 31, 2015

Zahnrad Kopf said:
Or....? Other?

Just let my fingers wander about amongst my several boxes of O-rings, here. Some are HF, some are better-grade HVAC, automotive, hydraulics, etc. from other projects, some are .. bleedin' antiques, I suppose.

Colours aside, there are at least three different elastomers among that lot. AFAICS, any/all of them will live long enough with the lube used.

Even the fit isn't all that critical. A leak will show itself right away, there are but a few ounces of lube at-risk, and the smallest container I've been able to buy it in is a full gallon, so... about as likely to get misplaced or spilled as leaked or changed-out.

IOW - don't over-think it.

Bill

Cal Haines · Jan 1, 2016

Zahnrad Kopf said:
Cal ( or anyone ) -

I bought the o-rings ( McMaster ) but the outer corks have gone on mine as well. Are people buying these from Monarch? Or, are they making them from cork sheet? Or....? Other?

I used AS568-116S BUNA O-rings from McMaster-Carr. They have a square cross-section and are 3/32" thick; 3/4" ID, 15/16" OD. The intention was to use one on either side of the sight glass, but when I got them in hand, they were too thick to use two of them. I had already made a set of cork gaskets, so I had some cork rings, 5/8" ID, 15/16" OD, 1/16" thick, which I used on the outside of the glass. (The cork outer gaskets are easy to make if you have a good gasket punch set.) However, a -019 O-ring (13/16" ID, 15/16" OD, 1/16" thick) would work just fine instead. I used the square cross-section O-rings to better protect the glass by spreading the load, but that may be overkill.

Cal

ME1974 · Nov 2, 2017

I just applied the sight glass fix suggested by Cal Haines and it worked beautifully on my round dial. Got rid of all the cork gaskets and used two 1/16" cross section o-rings, 3/4" ID, 15/16" OD, with the glass sandwiched in-between. All the cork is gone, no leaks. The depth of my sight glass boss was approximately 0.188", the glass was 0.080" thick, so with the two o-rings, the compression was about 0.018". I used some daubs of vaseline on the o-rings so they would not move around in the "sandwich" while I was installing them. I am new to this machine so also found it to be a pain to put oil in the spindle bearing reservoirs, made a little "funnel" out of brass shim stock, see photo. Later realized that the volume is so small I could have used a small oil can, and have since set up one with DTE 24 light for my spindle bearings. Thanks Cal for the very helpful post you made.

Larry Snell

Monarchist · Nov 2, 2017

ME1974 said:
found it to be a pain to put oil in the spindle bearing reservoirs, made a little "funnel" out of brass shim stock, see photo. Later realized that the volume is so small I could have used a small oil can, and have since set up one with DTE 24 light for my spindle bearings.
View attachment 211861

Got meself a common mini-funnel in plastic. Lives in its own zip-lock bag. Ditto the dedicated pump-olier, and plastic bagging of the oil containers to keep THEM clean.

IMNSHO, the "pain" is that the oil filler hole and its plug just HAVE to be the highest-risk source and entrance point for contaminants.

- The plug is light-metal cast, twisted in, held by friction in relatively abrasive CI, hence can "fret" particles of it own-self off into the fill area. A common chem-lab neoprene test-tube "cork" might be better?

- Regardless of the stopper material, really careful cleaning is needed of the area around it BEFORE removal, lest debris tumble-in.

Cal Haines · Nov 3, 2017

I keep my DTE Light in a plastic bottle with a nozzle, no need for a funnel:

8 Oz. Storage Bottles With Twist Caps 3 Pk

Cal

220swift · Nov 3, 2017

Some of the square "O" rings are called Quad Rings.

Hal

rke[pler · Nov 4, 2017

220swift said:
Some of the square "O" rings are called Quad Rings.

I've also seen "X-Ring".

I love quad rings for moving seals, they're much better (i.e. less finicky in tolerance) than traditional o-rings. Most of the glad seals on my 1/8 scale steam loco are quad-ring.

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