Spindle Adjustment & Felt

[Mechanixman]

I have a quick question that I haven't seen answered in other forums or HTRAL.
I finally have the time to start messing with my south bend 10l. I dont know much about the machine, other than it was ridden hard and put up wet.

First thing I wanted to address was the .010-.012 play on the spindle when doing the lift test.
Upon teardown, I found whoever installed the zerk fitting in the main bearing cap thought greasing the bearing would be a good idea.
For the record, the grease was not me. As soon as I got the lathe, I filled all the cups and pumped the zerk with velocite I have on hand.
Being that the felts are worn out and chock full of grease, I'd like to kill two birds with one stone, and replace the felt while taking up the slack in the bearing.

My lathe has the cast bearings in it.
It seems like there should be felt rope that helps contain the oil to the bearing.
Should I adjust bearings without that felt in place, then disassemble and install the new felt?
Is there a run in procedure for those felt ropes?

Thanks a bunch

 

[SLK001]

My lathe has the cast bearings in it.
It seems like there should be felt rope that helps contain the oil to the bearing.

There's not. The oil drains back into the reservoir by itself (if it is the correct viscosity). The cast iron models have a clip the fits in the drain holes to help break the surface tension of the oil, leading to better draining.

 

[texasgeartrain]

The only felt for bearings is the spring loaded one, it sits at 6 oclock and points up with spindle removed from headstock.

From your other thread, we see cap off, but spindle was still in place, so we dont see that spring loaded felt.

Found in either the rebuild kit:

South Bend Lathe Model 10L ● Full Rebuild Package ● Manual, Felt, Oil, Grease! | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for South Bend Lathe Model 10L ● Full Rebuild Package ● Manual, Felt, Oil, Grease! at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

or bought by themselves:

Capillary Oilers For South Bend Lathe Model 9 UMD, 10K, 10L, 13", 14-1/2", & 16" | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Capillary Oilers For South Bend Lathe Model 9 UMD, 10K, 10L, 13", 14-1/2", & 16" at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[Mechanixman]

Thanks guys I appreciate it. I didn't mention that I had already bought the kit. It arrived the night I had posted the question. I wanted to ask before the kit showed up so I could hit the ground running that night.
Slk, I'm sure you already know what I meant. But in case anyone reads this in the future: what I thought you were supposed to do, but you should NOT do is displayed in the first attached photo.
Texasgeartrain thanks for the link! When I started to tear into the bearings I found discovered the importance of making sure those are in good shape. Suffice it to say, mine weren't.

Over the weekend I used kerosene to clean the grease out if the bearings and flush the oil wells. I think I had a nifty little way to get the kerosene out when I was done. A q-tip in each drian hole to prevent the gunk flying everywhere (I learned that the hard way the first time.) the oiler flipped upside down and over a cup to catch the gunk as it gets forced out, and metered air through the felt well to drive the kerosene/debris out.
I did that to both bearings till I couldn't pull dirt off with a sponge/rag/q-tip.
I then put all the pieces I could fit into the ultrasonic cleaner. I attached a photo of the thrust bearings to demonstrate how well they cleaned up. Everything got. Wipedown of kerosene and wd40 coming out of the cleaner. So far, its working well!

 

[SLK001]

I see one clip in the first pic. Do you have the other three? Be careful not to lose them.

You say you have jerks on your bearings. Did someone drill and tap the caps for them?

 

[Mechanixman]

I do have all four clips. One thing I forgot to mention was the easiest way I found to remove those clips is to shove a paint gun brush of the appropriate size down the drain hole. The bristles bring the clip out with the brush. Taking them out makes them much easier to clean.

Slk001, There was a zerk with a 1/8 npt in the main bearing. The rear bearing is plane. I don't know when they were installed. While searching the internet, I did find pictures of 2 or 3 other lathes that have a gits oiler sticking straight up out of the main bearing.
I think there was a leblond forum that talked about it too, they had mentioned putting in a piece of felt just to meter the oil that drips down through the cap.

 

[SLK001]

While searching the internet, I did find pictures of 2 or 3 other lathes that have a gits oiler sticking straight up out of the main bearing.

A lot of the pre-war SB lathes had completely flow-thru lube systems that had oilers on top of the bearing caps - but never grease zerks!

 

[Mechanixman]

Yeah, its unfortunate that someone did that. I posted pictures in my other thread about how the bearing surfaces suffered with grease instead of oil.
I found it interesting that the zerk has the same paint on it as the rest of the lathe. It looks like it was "rebuilt" and someone just hosed on the paint without prepping fittings, etc.
I wonder if the "99" on the gear train cover is the year of that "rebuild"
You can see the evidence of grease in the bearing cap in this picture.

 

[animal12]

In the future you should not put ball or roller bearings in a ultrasonic tank .
animal

 

[Mechanixman]

Animal, thanks for the advice,
May I ask why?
I understand if its shielded, but it seemed like there were enough clearances around the cage to allow any particulates out.
I also didn't mention I cleaned them by hand before putting in the tank.

 

[SLK001]

Open bearings like these are not an issue with an ultrasonic cleaner. Sealed can also be cleaned in one, if you first remove the rubber seals. Shielded bearings can NOT be cleaned in one, because the shields cannot be removed without damaging them and with their shields in place, cleaner can get inside the bearing and wreck havoc.

 

[animal12]

It beats then up .
animal

 

[karl]

When I worked for the Navy in Alameda, Ca. we rebuilt gyro bearings, one of the first stages was to run them through several stages of ultrasonic cleaners. It does them no harm.

 

[chipss]

In post 4 you have felt in the groove around the spindle bearing. Felt doesn't go here. The grooves are to collect oil and return it to the oil cups.