Can I swap spindles on a plain bearing lathe?

[rwdenney]

I was told that southbend wants type c oil for spindles. One of the oils is medium and heavy vactra oil which is way oil. That being said due to the bearing condition the oil runs out fast and it seizes up at higher speeds.

South Bend wants Type A oil for spindle bearings--10-wt Spindle Oil (Vactra, etc.)--for the reasons mentioned above.

$275 for a spindle and bearings that will at least work is a good deal. You'll need to adjust the shim stack all over again--don't run it if it's too tight when you assemble it, using the test provided by the manufacturer (and the South Bend deflection test is probably good enough for that if there isn't any period-relevant information from other sources).

The current bearings are probably worn to the point where reducing the shim stack just clamps the spindle top to bottom, and still leaves gaps at the sides where the cap rests on the headstock. That will let those oil channels on the side empty.

The openings in the new bearing caps don't have a metering hole the way the old ones do, so you'll probably want a felt plug in that opening to meter the oil into the bearing. And I'd probably replace those Gits oilers with something bigger, if they empty during a session even after you replace the spindle. South Bend uses a capillary wick to pull oil up from a reservoir below the spindle, which gives you an idea of how slowly the oil can move and still be effective.

Rick "bearings can be loose, up to a point, but they can't run dry" Denney

 

[matthewsx]

$275 shipped for the spindle and bearings. May spindle and bearings don’t look bad but they feel bad. Those bearings pictured are the ones that would come with the spindle. My lathe can’t run in high gear for longer than a couple minutes before it wants to seize up. Loosening the bolts helps but the bearings still get really hot as the oil pours out. It’s weird that mine don’t have the oil grooves that these do. They seem like a fundamental part.

I'd try it for $275.

John

 

[tobnpr]

They definitely look much better than what you have.
Mine's a later model (wick fed, reservoir in headstock), and I don't recall seeing holes in the top bearings when I disassembled the machine after purchase.

Why would there be holes (in this case with top oilers) in the bottom bearings? That's just going to allow the oil to flow out into the gap between the bearing and the headstock. Adding a top wick as suggested above will help- but still puzzled at to why there would be large holes at the bottom.

 

[matthewsx]

Only one part number for both top and bottom bearings?

 

[Jake M]

They definitely look much better than what you have.
Mine's a later model (wick fed, reservoir in headstock), and I don't recall seeing holes in the top bearings when I disassembled the machine after purchase.

Why would there be holes (in this case with top oilers) in the bottom bearings? That's just going to allow the oil to flow out into the gap between the bearing and the headstock. Adding a top wick as suggested above will help- but still puzzled at to why there would be large holes at the bottom.

Agreed, replacements look like a step up.

The "extra" oil hole is kind of common. If the bearing is a proper fit to the housing, there is no gap, it'll fill with oil and that will be that. They don't (well, until something goes horribly wrong they don't) fill with crap, the oil gets "exchanged" with what's passing by, and it's really just nothing. It's a very common thing with this type of bearings in general. I can't see any reason it would bother on a lathe, when it does not bother in any other application.

 

[matthewsx]

One thing to keep in mind is the shop conditions back when these machines. Very likely would have been driven by a line shaft in a shop that has wood floors and lots of sawdust to absorb the oil.

My buddy had a shop I stored my tools at for a while and the entire floor was end grain maple that was completely saturated with oil. Former Supertool building in Elk Rapids, MI.

This is all to say the oiling system on your lathe was designed to be total loss. Put oil in the top and it flows through all the bearings and gears until it hits the floor.

John

 

[D.sebens]

They definitely look much better than what you have.
Mine's a later model (wick fed, reservoir in headstock), and I don't recall seeing holes in the top bearings when I disassembled the machine after purchase.

Why would there be holes (in this case with top oilers) in the bottom bearings? That's just going to allow the oil to flow out into the gap between the bearing and the headstock. Adding a top wick as suggested above will help- but still puzzled at to why there would be large holes at the bottom.

This Sheldon is oiled from the top but there is spring loaded felts in the bottom. The oil goes from the top through the oil grooves to the felts at the bottom. That’s why there’s a top and bottom hole.

 

[Weldingrod1]

South Bends have an end groove for collecting and returning oil.

These bearings would not normally have scraping marks, unless there was damage that needed work.

Sent from my SM-S911U using Tapatalk

 

[D.sebens]

The bearings and the spindle are being shipped separate, the bearings arrived today. I will wait for the spindle before I go about fitting these but they seem pretty good. I’m going to have to press the oil reservoirs out so I can embiggen the holes on the bearings a smidge. The oil reservoirs are tight. I scraped off some hard stuff from around it, I wonder if there was some sort of anaerobic sealant used? I’m thinking I’ll heat it up some to try and loosen it. The oil cup hole locations must have a tolerance in placement when drilled, the thing is from the 40’s. I’m hoping the bottom ones line up. Might need some embiggening on those too. We will see once that’s done if I need to fill in the excess. I don’t think so as I think the cap will be tight enough. Here’s some pictures of it.

 

[D.sebens]

Also, the original bearings had these strips of paper between the cap and bearings. I’m unsure if it’s purpose and if it should go back in with the new bearings.