What's new
What's new

Weird Grease Zerk on 16" SBL

ajk2004

Aluminum
Joined
Oct 12, 2014
Location
Fort Dodge, IA
Hey guys,
I've got a few other questions on my lathe that I forgot to mention yesterday. On the headstock end of the lathe, There are two grease zerks in the side of the castings in the middle (spindle?) I'm guessing these were at one point the little spring cups that you put oil into. I bought this lathe from a school in Minnesota, so far, this thing runs great, everything seems true. My question, do I replace these zerks and put the little spring cups back in? or if I do use grease, what grease would you use in something like this? Also, the lathe came with a Phase II Toolpost 250-200. I did my first turning the other day with it but when I went to put my toolholder on, I noticed that the compound setup on my lathe looks too short to accommodate the tool holder. I put the tool holder on near the center of the tool post but when I do that, the tool is well below the center of the work. To get the tool to the center of the work, you need to have the holder pretty high in the post, almost to the point where you are losing your rigid setup. Anybody have anything similar to this? It looks as though I may need to make a riser block or something to set my toolpost on. Thanks for the help.
Andy
 
post a pic if you can, if those zerks are in the headstock casting below both ends of the spindle that`s bad news and they gotta go pronto. there are a couple places where you can use grease on a SB but the spindle is for sure not one of them. i have seen this before and the damage that can result is pretty bad, fortunately it sounds like you don`t have any damage yet.
i would say stop running it until we can see what`s really going on.

it sounds like you just need a larger tool post.

edit- Yes, as John Evans said. it takes me a long time to type.
 
Where would you get those little spring cups to replace them? Does anyone know a size of thread that will fit them? Okay, glad I asked. These zerks are on the ends of the spindles, one on the back of the lathe and the other right near the headstock, both are right in the center of the lathe, just below where the spindle would be running. Thanks.
Andy
 
Get a rebuild manual for SB's. This will show you how to take apart the spindle and adjust it for proper clearance. You will want to completely clean all traces of grease. Pull all the plugs and thoroughly wash that puppy down. You can go to McMaster-Carr for Gits oilers, get them from the internet or best of all from one of the members here. I recommend SBLatheman but there are others that can help out. The nice thing about getting the parts from a person is that they know what is needed and how to do it.

McMaster-Carr

Tom
 
Zerk fittings are occasionally used for oil instead of grease. I modified a Harbor Freight oil can by adding a Zerk coupler and it worked well for me. Unfortunately, Harbor Freight doesn't carry that model oil can any more. Having the right oil cups would be nice, but the presence of Zerk fittings doesn't necessarily mean the previous owner used grease on the spindle. Take them out, and see if there is oil or grease behind them.
 
I have a Aloris CXA on mine, and don't have any height issues. I haven't any practical experience with the Phase II posts, but is yours the CXA equivalent or the BXA equivalent? I don't know.
As said above, check behind the Zercs to see what's there. PB.
 
I have a CXA on my 16" SB. I have a .38 thick spacer under it. The spacer makes the top of the tool post to the spindle center line distance the same as on my LeBlond Regal. This makes the tool holders interchangeable without resetting the height when they are moved between the two lathes.
 
Thanks guys. I will take the zerks off and put the oil cups back on them. I'm sure glad I didn't pump some grease into them. I thought they looked funny on there and searching for some photos of my machine online, I see that zerks didn't belong there.

As far as the toolpost, pretty sure mine is a bxa. Could someone send me a picture of the spacer, I only need to raise it up like a half inch, not too much but now it sits too low, you can't adjust it because when you tighten to adjustment screw all the way the tool still isn't high enough, you have to set it in the post by hand.

As always, thanks for the help
 
Hey guys, took the zerks off yesterday and much to my dismay, it looks as though the po may have used grease in the spindle where the oil cups were supposed to be. I dial indicated the headstock and was only getting .002 out of round. Not sure if that is good or bad but to me it seems fine. My question is, do I need to take the spindle caps off the spindle and clean any remaining traces of grease out or can I put oil cups on it and just add oil as needed? I don't want to go tearing this thing down for fear that it won't get put back together right and it will be worse when I put it back together. If it is recommended that I clean the grease out of the bearings, is there a thread where this is talked about? Thanks.
Andy
 
Yes tear it down...

Order the rebuild manual as it is not that hard to do.

You could flush it out but the felt wicks are likely toast.

There is a kit that contains new felts gaskets and manual that will be good investment.
 








 
Back
Top