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14 1/2" Spindle Bearings

Rogue Willie

Aluminum
Joined
Nov 1, 2013
Location
Idaho
Ever since I got my lathe about 2 years ago, I have known that the bearing adjustment was questionable. I pulled the caps off a couple days ago and found out that a previous owner had apparently pulled the caps without releasing the expanders. Both bearings no longer have material for the expanders to grab on to.
Anyone know where I can find a set of small journal bearings? I checked with [email protected] and he doesn't have any.
Thanks.
 
Ever since I got my lathe about 2 years ago, I have known that the bearing adjustment was questionable. I pulled the caps off a couple days ago and found out that a previous owner had apparently pulled the caps without releasing the expanders. Both bearings no longer have material for the expanders to grab on to.
Anyone know where I can find a set of small journal bearings? I checked with [email protected] and he doesn't have any.
Thanks.

Well you have a lathe, make them.
 
I bet you could make a slightly oversized expander pretty easily, or maybe enlarge your existing ones with a bit of hammer work. Or, solder a little bit of shim stock to them to make them wider.

allan
 
Rear Brg 1.jpgRear Brg 2.jpgShims.jpg
Rear bearing with displaced material and embedded chip on bottom. Shims are dirty and corroded from "loose" bearing caps.
 
Making the bearings was pretty straight forward. I measured the spindle journals and allowed .002" clearance for the bearing bores. I made the ODs of the bearings .001" under the nominal diameter of the bearing housing. I started with bearing bronze stock purchased from McMaster. I machined all the lathe features while holding on to the extra stock to insure concentricity between the ID and OD. For the mill work I held the bearing in a vise with the bearing centerline perpendicular to the vise jaws. I milled the split and used a 60 deg dovetail cutter until I got a loose fit with the expanders.
 
Headstock rebuild is complete. Ran it for about 15 minutes with no noticeable temperature change. Haven't taken a cut yet but I am satisfied with the outcome.
Headstock_.jpgHeadstock_2.jpg
 
I started with bearing bronze stock purchased from McMaster.

I was thinking about how the bearings were originally made and how I would make them if I had to. My thoughts were to start with a flat sheet of bronze, then roll/press that around a form. My thought was that the spindle and the housing would make everything conform properly. Most of the features in the bearings could be machined before rolling, but I would leave the dovetail machining for once the bearings were round (and held in a fixture).

I never thought about machining them from a piece of solid stock, because of the expense. I would think that SB wouldn't have done that either. I'm NOT criticizing your work - you had a problem and you successfully solved it (and did beautiful work, too). I once considered making these bearings, but the cost of bronze made the risk/reward equation tilt to the too risky side.
 
I never thought about machining them from a piece of solid stock, because of the expense. I would think that SB wouldn't have done that either. I'm NOT criticizing your work - you had a problem and you successfully solved it (and did beautiful work, too). I once considered making these bearings, but the cost of bronze made the risk/reward equation tilt to the too risky side.

Could always use an annular cutter in the tailstock to rough cut it, that way you're not wasting all that bronze. You get to keep the slugs and bore out the shells.
 
Could always use an annular cutter in the tailstock to rough cut it, that way you're not wasting all that bronze. You get to keep the slugs and bore out the shells.

That's what I would have done with a solid piece - core out useful material from the center using a standard hole cutter (cut from both ends). I don't know what the two sizes are, but maybe the core from the front bearing could be used for the back.
 
I also have a 14.5 with damaged bearings. Would you be able to share any drawings or dimensions you used to make yours? Thank you.
Sorry but I don't have any drawings or sketches. I took the dimensions from the original bearings as best I could. The bearing ID would be the shaft plus clearance. The OD was a little trickier to guess at.
 








 
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