I just changed the spindle bearings on my X2 mill as the old ones were starting to have a high pitched squeal when they warmed up. I followed the Little Machine Shop instructions and got them swapped with only a reasonable amount of frustration. The only change I made was I didn't reinstall all of the internal gears and spacers as I have a belt drive kit installed and have had it since the week I got the mill.
I got everything back together and I noticed that now there is noticeable vibration at certain rpm's. It is only present in one rpm range when I don't have the draw bar or a collet installed. When I do have the collet and draw bar installed, there is some vibration in a couple of different rpm areas.
I figured the issue may be an out of balance draw bar so I made another one last night our of some bar stock I had. I also made a new bushing that only had .003" clearance as the factory bushing had approx. .100" clearance or more and I figured that the draw bar was not centered sometimes when it was tightened. I quickly discovered that it was difficult to screw the new draw bar into a few of my collets when they were in the mill spindle, but not when I had them both out of the spindle. I realized very quickly that the threads on my collets were not tapped very square at all. My assumption that is when the draw bar is inserted, the misaligned threads are pulling the draw bar to one side or another which is throwing the assembly off balance. The slop in the factory bushing would allow the draw bar to move far enough to one side or the other that there was never any binding when it screwed in the collets. Now that I have a bushing that won't allow for misalignment, it is difficult to screw the draw bar ito the collets. I believe this misalignment is causing the major vibration issue. I am currently looking for new collets for a reasonable price, even used ones, that I am sure the threads are centered and straight.
Now, I need to figure out why there is vibration without the draw bar and collets installed. There is a chance that I am just hypersensitive to any vibration now that I have done a spindle bearing swap as I am watching for any sign that I damaged the bearings on installation. The vibration is very slight without the draw bar and collet, so I am thinking this is just in my head and that it was there before.
The big questions I keep having are 1) did I bend the spindle somehow? The runout is the same as it was before so I don't think this is the case. 2) did those extra gears and spacers make that much difference? 3) should I have filled the key slots since I didn't reinstall the keys? Perhaps that is where the vibration is coming from. 4) Am I just crazy?
If you have any similar experiences, please chime in.
Thanks
I got everything back together and I noticed that now there is noticeable vibration at certain rpm's. It is only present in one rpm range when I don't have the draw bar or a collet installed. When I do have the collet and draw bar installed, there is some vibration in a couple of different rpm areas.
I figured the issue may be an out of balance draw bar so I made another one last night our of some bar stock I had. I also made a new bushing that only had .003" clearance as the factory bushing had approx. .100" clearance or more and I figured that the draw bar was not centered sometimes when it was tightened. I quickly discovered that it was difficult to screw the new draw bar into a few of my collets when they were in the mill spindle, but not when I had them both out of the spindle. I realized very quickly that the threads on my collets were not tapped very square at all. My assumption that is when the draw bar is inserted, the misaligned threads are pulling the draw bar to one side or another which is throwing the assembly off balance. The slop in the factory bushing would allow the draw bar to move far enough to one side or the other that there was never any binding when it screwed in the collets. Now that I have a bushing that won't allow for misalignment, it is difficult to screw the draw bar ito the collets. I believe this misalignment is causing the major vibration issue. I am currently looking for new collets for a reasonable price, even used ones, that I am sure the threads are centered and straight.
Now, I need to figure out why there is vibration without the draw bar and collets installed. There is a chance that I am just hypersensitive to any vibration now that I have done a spindle bearing swap as I am watching for any sign that I damaged the bearings on installation. The vibration is very slight without the draw bar and collet, so I am thinking this is just in my head and that it was there before.
The big questions I keep having are 1) did I bend the spindle somehow? The runout is the same as it was before so I don't think this is the case. 2) did those extra gears and spacers make that much difference? 3) should I have filled the key slots since I didn't reinstall the keys? Perhaps that is where the vibration is coming from. 4) Am I just crazy?
If you have any similar experiences, please chime in.
Thanks
