- Joined
- Nov 14, 2014
- Messages
- 851
just finishing up a restoration of my lot 5 Dalton lathe. It's in very good condition overall, but has some slop in the headstock bearings. In taking it apart, I think I lost one of the shims from under the bearing cap at the chuck, hence the spindle 'clinks' a bit when I pull it vertically up and down. The bearings are split, so one upper and one lower front and back.
I will be putting a dial indicator on the spindle to measure movement, probably tomorrow.
So it brings up several questions...
Am I correct in assuming the two sets of shims for both end caps should be the same thickness?
If so how do you know how much clearance to start with, when setting the four sets of shims in place? Iam anticipating laying in equal thicknesses of shims and going nuts taking out thousands on all four positions...
Also, what is the rule of thumb for shimming under the bearing material itself, versus shimming the end cap???
Finally I've heard people say the Dalton bearings were not meant to have actual contact with the spindle - they 'float' on a film of oil, hence .001" clearance is fine. whereas the South Bend bearings have actual contact. Can anyone clarify this?
Thanks much!
Glenn
I will be putting a dial indicator on the spindle to measure movement, probably tomorrow.
So it brings up several questions...
Am I correct in assuming the two sets of shims for both end caps should be the same thickness?
If so how do you know how much clearance to start with, when setting the four sets of shims in place? Iam anticipating laying in equal thicknesses of shims and going nuts taking out thousands on all four positions...
Also, what is the rule of thumb for shimming under the bearing material itself, versus shimming the end cap???
Finally I've heard people say the Dalton bearings were not meant to have actual contact with the spindle - they 'float' on a film of oil, hence .001" clearance is fine. whereas the South Bend bearings have actual contact. Can anyone clarify this?
Thanks much!
Glenn