# Spindle oil consumption



## martik777 (Apr 14, 2014)

The left spindle cast iron bearing on my 9A uses about 5x as much oil as the right, probably needs a fill every 15 mins. Clearance is just under .001", does not heat up at all.
Tried both fibre and thrust bearings, with the fibre using somewhat less oil. Is this normal or is there a way to seal the bearing?


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## brasssmanget (Apr 14, 2014)

My Hvy 10L acts the same way, but not all the time {??? not sure what's up} I'll be watching this thread closely for info. :bitingnails:


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## Kernbigo (Apr 14, 2014)

are your oil fill cups on top or the side?


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## brasssmanget (Apr 14, 2014)

Kernbigo said:


> are your oil fill cups on top or the side?



Not sure who your question was directed to. If you are asking me, they are on the side....


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## Kernbigo (Apr 14, 2014)

Sounds like you need new felts they are probably plugged just letting the oil run out the back


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## Redirish (Apr 14, 2014)

brasssmanget said:


> My Hvy 10L acts the same way, but not all the time {??? not sure what's up} I'll be watching this thread closely for info. :bitingnails:



So does my 9A. Seems that sometimes the friction of the thrust washer pulls oil out of the bearing ( don't know why ), then oil runs down the end of the headstock. As you said, not all the time, but it gets aggravating.


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## Kernbigo (Apr 14, 2014)

No the felt are so contaminated they won't hold oil any more so it runs out the end


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## Weldingrod1 (Apr 14, 2014)

You need to make sure your thrust washer doesn't have a step worn in it; the step will pump out oil quickly.
The other thing to check is that you have oil return wires inside the bearing; they live in the grooves on both sides of each bearing and make the oil drain back better.
Regards,
Rod


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## brasssmanget (Apr 14, 2014)

Oh boy - that sounds like some tear down work and re-assembly required stuff. I use this thing a lot, and it is working so fine for me right now - I hate to mess it all up. :thinking:


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## 12bolts (Apr 14, 2014)

My 9" Hercus, (SB clone) uses 10X more oil on the RH headstock bearing. This is a completely rebuilt lathe. I think my bearing is just worn to the point it has a groove that allows the oil to drain freely.

Cheers Phil


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## Kernbigo (Apr 14, 2014)

don't tear it down just add a little oil


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## Halligan142 (Apr 14, 2014)

The left bearing is physically shorter than the right bearing so there is less room for the oil to slow down and get picked up by the oil return grooves.  This is pretty much normal, but there are a few things you can do to minimize it.  

1) Spindle clearance, but you're ok there
2) check to make sure the vent hole above the oiler is not clogged or covered with paint
3)  make sure the thrust washer and it's mating surface do not have any steps or grooves worn in them.  Better yet replace the washer setup with a needle thrust bearing.
Everything below here requires spindle removal
4) check and replace felts, clean all oil passages
5) make sure the shim packs haven't moved slightly out of there position.  When you look dead on at either end with the spindle removed the split line should be barely visible.  In other words no step between the top and bottom split and the shimpacks
6)  *this helped me a lot*  Some NOT all southbends had these little bent brass wire clip looking things in the spindle oil return holes.  More common on the segmented bearing lathes than the solid bearings.  These seem to break the surface tension of the oil and help the oil return to its well especially during higher speeds.


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## martik777 (Apr 15, 2014)

I tore it down and replaced the wicks. They were still spongy but fairly dirty as was the oil, but not gummed up.  Shim packs look ok, and oil returns were clear (no brass wire clips).   Ran for an hour at 500rpm and NO LEAKS or noticeable consumption, but the temperature on the casting above both bearings got up to 89F (68 ambient).  I ran the hour test with both the fibre washer and thrust bearing with the same results, so I left the thrust bearing in there.

I guess it was the wicks, since I did not change anything else, just performed a good cleaning. Not sure why, though, since both wicks were in the same condition and the right bearing never used much oil.

It would be nice to flush these without removing the spindle, maybe a few squirts of solvent thru the wick hold down holes and suction applied to the gits oiler holes?


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