10" Atlas Countershaft Question

On the counter shaft pulley I can see some drill marks that make me believe it was balanced from the factory.

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Of course that was 60+ years ago. There does appear to be a tiny bit of wobble to the pulley as well. Maybe it was bumped or dropped at some point. I can try to rig up something to find any heavy spot as you suggested.

About oil, I've been using this automotive motor oil for years:

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Castrol HD SAE 30. Now I'm seeing that it may not be the best choice.

What do you guys think of this oil from ebay? Link

Other than this, what's a good source for a light weight non detergent oil?
 
Weldo said:
Here's a few old pictures from the rebuild.

It appears to be grease on the bearings when they were disassembled. Also would not the grease fittings indicate the use of a grease gun for lubrication?

View attachment 324652

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Does anyone foresee a problem with trying to seal the collars to the cast bearing holder? Maybe with a felt ring on either side or perhaps a large O-ring?
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Collars have grooves, on the pulley as well. Original seals for those bearings were felt, I cut replacements from leather. Still slings grease, most just builds up on the collars and (bearing)outers, Wipey wipey.
Lawn mower engine oil(4stroke) should be around 20w, although I guess that could vary depending on local climate, but I should imagine only weirdos would be mowin' lawn in tha' snow....
 
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I have been using Mobile Circulating Oil Heavy Medium ISO 68. Used to be able to get it from Enco before they were swallowed up. For a while, Tractor Supply carried SAE 20 in gallons. I bought a couple of gallons and that's what I'm using now. The SAE 20 shown from eBay looks fine. But at $6.99 per pint, that's $55.92 per gallon. So it's pretty expensive. Around $20 per gallon is what I have paid but I haven't checked recently. On the ways, I have been using Way Oil as it clings to vertical surfaces better. More expensive, too.

Timmeh, if your countershaft is slinging much grease, you may be using too much. And in the South at least, Briggs & Stratton 4-stroke engines called for SAE 30 as best I can recall from many years ago. But I haven't owned a lawn mower for 30 years, at least.

While age doesn't affect pulley balance, they can get bent over the years.
 
Thanks for the tips @wa5cab.

Regarding using too much grease, Since I'm dealing with Zerk fittings, how do I know how much grease to pump in? If it starts to seep out under pumping pressure it's too much I guess.
 
As you are supposed to lube everything either daily or before each day that you actually use the lathe, I would start which one full stroke of the grease gun's pump and reduce it if that slings too much grease. Pump the grease gun 1 full stroke (or until grease come out) to be certain of the amount that you are injecting into the Zerk. Put a Magic Marker mark on the side of one of the pulleys to confirm that they are stopping at a random point so that you know you aren't putting the grease in the same spot every time.
 
If you search back about a year for "New Counter-shaft Bushings" there is a thread about changing the needle bearings to sealed ball bearings. Makes for a clean and smooth setup that doesn't need any attention.
HWF
 
Dude! I just read about your solution on that thread, it's brilliant!

Since I already bought the felt washers I'm gonna try that first but if I still get grease slinging I'll try to tackle the sealed bearing project. I'll probably have to attempt to make the bearing holders from scratch since I only have the one lathe... It's kind of the chicken and the egg thing.
 
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