# Spindle Seal?



## derf (Dec 11, 2015)

Is there any way to put an oil seal on the bottom of a bridgeport spindle.? I have an R2E3 with an Erickson nt 30  spindle that leaks oil at the most inappropriate times, especially when I 'm working with wood. I know that there is a dust shield on the lower bearing, but the oil seems to go through it like a sieve. The  automatic oiler must keep the spindle so flooded with oil that it "pukes" about every 3 minutes. It's a shame to get a big blob of oil on a custom gunstock before it is even finished. If I can't put a seal in it, anybody got any ideas how to put a diaper on it?


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## JimDawson (Dec 11, 2015)

just a few random thoughts:  I have the same spindle on my mill and the only way I can think of is to redirect the drips.  It might be possible to connect a shop vac to a ring around the nut and get an upflow of air across that area.  It would take pretty high velocity to overcome gravity at that point.  I suspect the drips might be coming from the quill rather than the spindle, that's where my drips come from.  If the oil was coming from the spindle, the oil would be slung out to the side when it hit the nut, and the nut would be wet with oil.  I also suspect that the lube system does not oil the spindle bearings, but only the quill.  The spindle bearings should be greased and sealed.

Maybe tie-wrap a rag around the quill like a sweat band and set your z-home position lower to clear the rag.


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## zmotorsports (Dec 11, 2015)

JimDawson said:


> just a few random thoughts:  I have the same spindle on my mill and the only way I can think of is to redirect the drips.  It might be possible to connect a shop vac to a ring around the nut and get an upflow of air across that area.  It would take pretty high velocity to overcome gravity at that point.  I suspect the drips might be coming from the quill rather than the spindle, that's where my drips come from.  If the oil was coming from the spindle, the oil would be slung out to the side when it hit the nut, and the nut would be wet with oil.  I also suspect that the lube system does not oil the spindle bearings, but only the quill.  The spindle bearings should be greased and sealed.
> 
> Maybe tie-wrap a rag around the quill like a sweat band and set your z-home position lower to clear the rag.



I agree with Jim, the oil is most likely coming from the quill oiler, otherwise it would be slung around as the spindle bearings are greased/sealed.  Even my new mill drips a little but not as much as you are talking, maybe a drip after sitting for several days on my mill vise is all.  Maybe merely replaceing the seal in the spindle nut would be enough to at least slow down the drip to a manageable amount.

Mike.


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## Bob Korves (Dec 11, 2015)

Some here might recoil at the thought of cutting wood on the mill.  I think that is OK, as long as you clean up the dust well and keep it out of the ways.  What's the matter with using way oil for finishing your gunstocks?   8^)


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## derf (Dec 12, 2015)

As you can see, I don't use the Erickson nut. I gundrilled the spindle and use a power drawbar.  Like Jim said , the oil is coming from the quill, not the spindle......so I removed the flange on the bottom of the head and removed the felt wipe. I replaced it with a rubber O ring in hopes of controlling oil moving down the spindle. I ran this thing for about an hour......and still have oil dripping.
So I wrapped a piece of absorbent material around the threaded part of the spindle that is exposed. Now I have no steady drip, but rather more of a spray, like it is now slinging. I removed the absorbent band and it was dry.(???) Now I'm really scratching my head.
 So I completely wipe down the spindle and everything under it and degrease it with some carb cleaner so it is absolutely dry. I started another stock and while it was running, I kept my eye on the quill and the spindle and noticed that dust was accumulating to the spots where the oil was seeping from between the quill and the nose cap. My question is how does it get there? According to all the information in my manual, the oiling system doesn't lube the spindle, only the quill.
 As far as the drip goes, my wild guess would be that the oil originates from the gap at the nose cap, it runs down the side then under the face of the cap. When it goes downs to the threads, instead of slinging it, the rotating threads acts as an escalator, moving it back up to accumulate on the bottom face of the nose cap and when the volume of oil is big enough, gravity takes over.
 Do you think it would be OK to shoot some silicone  caulk between the nose cap and quill?


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## JimDawson (Dec 12, 2015)

I can think of one more possibility.  The oil might be running down inside of the quill, but external to the bearings.  The top of the quill is open to the oil chamber and when the quill is down there is nothing to stop the oil from running into the open top of the quill.  From there, it could run down the outside of the spindle, but inside of the quill and work it's way past the cap nut.

It might be possible to put a seal inside of the cap nut (o-ring maybe?), and seal it there.  If I remember correctly there is quite a bit of clearance between the cap nut bore and the spindle nose.

One other option might be to put a valve in the quill oiler line and turn it off when you are working with wood.  There is plenty of oil in there to last for several hours without oiling.
.
.


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## derf (Dec 12, 2015)

The top of the quill is not open, as this is a ball quill. There is a 1/4" plate between the top of quill and the ball screw flange that guides the quill and trips the limit switches, so I don't know how anything could get between them. There for a second, I thought it could be running down the ball screw, as it gets oil from the system, but it has nowhere to enter inside the quill.
I'm gonna seal up the nose cap and see what happens.


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## JimDawson (Dec 12, 2015)

I guess I'm going to have to look at an assembly drawing of your machine.  The head is quite a bit different than mine, or J2 machines.


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## derf (Dec 12, 2015)

This is a R2E3, which has a rigid ram, and was actually born a cnc, so the head is quite different.  There is a 8" x8" cover plate on the front of the head which gives access to see the quill and the ball screw assembly.


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## JimDawson (Dec 12, 2015)

Looks like the only place oil could get in there is at the splines, above the ball nut.   Looks like there is an oiler up there.  The only problem I can see with sealing off the cap nut is that to whole assembly will fill with oil.  Maybe the best way to handle the problem is re-direct the oil that is coming out the bottom, some kind of a shield?


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## derf (Dec 12, 2015)

Well, I just backed off the nose cap about 1/8" and squirted some silicone in the gap. I snugged back up and wiped off the excess, so I'll see if this works. If it does fill the quill up, I can drain it by removing the set screw in the quill.
 If that doesn't work, I had and idea about a cup type catcher that would screw on the tool holder threads


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## JimDawson (Dec 12, 2015)

Should be interesting, let us know how it works out.


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## derf (Dec 13, 2015)

OK... the "diaper" method didn't work. So I sealed everything up, and the "constipation" method didn't work either, it still leaked. So......I'm at plan C, the "spitoon" method. I turned up an aluminum ring and threaded it to fit the Erickson threads on the spindle. I then found a piece of 1/2" lexan to use as a saucer. When I turned the lexan, I left an undercut on the inside so oil would not sling out. The benefit of the lexan is that it is clear and I can see the oil being trapped. The aluminum ring was fit into the lexan as a snug fit and super glued.




	

		
			
		

		
	
 Guess what??? This thing ACTUALLY works!!!!   And when it gets full, I can remove and empty it.


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## JimDawson (Dec 13, 2015)

Great solution!


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