Changing Headstock Oil

Guys,
I can't get the drain plug out. I thought it might be short enough but no.
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Taking off the pulley is pretty straightforward I guess. I can put a punch mark lined up with the key slot so i know I get the tension correct when I put it back on.
 
Decided to use a hand pump instead PITA. Everything is changed now so good to go.
One question I have is the driven pulley, the one in the pick above turns hard. It is smooth but there seems to be a lot of drag. I thought it might just be heavy oil but after I sucked it all out there was no change. I have not tinkered much with this lathe so not sure if that is normal.
There is zero axial & radial play that I can detect.
 
Another thing I learned from reading all the manuals is that the worm and worm gear and the half nuts on the back side of the apron do not get lubed unless you do it manually. They are not in a particularly easy place to get to. You can use a light grease like NLGI 1, or way oil, on both the worm gears and the half nuts. I use either one, but it is important to lube them regularly, or they will fail.
Bob, I do not know how to get into the feed rod without disassembly. There is a nut/bolt that has a cover on it (see pic) the bolt has a small hole drilled into it. I wonder if it is a port to shoot grease or oil in there.
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Hello ddickey,
I hate seeing stupid things like the placement of that drain plug. Looks like a rainy day project next oil change to put a new drain plug in somewhere it is easy to get at perhaps with a pipe to make it spill free. With the drag on the input shaft was every engagement out of gear? You could,(belts off), wrap some cord around the pulley and turn with a spring balance,calculate the torque required to maintain turn, find out the bearing sizes and ask your local bearing factor what preload range for that size bearing. If it was too tight you would have had a lot of heat and some nasty noise developing pretty fast.
I like your belt tension system, far superior to what I have.
 
Hi NortonDommi,
Yes there were no engagement of any gears. It was one of those that doesn't feel right moments. Thing is I've ran like that for a year or two now. I don't notice any heat unless I'm running at max speed then it's only very warm not hot. The gears overall though looked to be fine condition.
 
Be sure to try to wipe up all of the crud that collects in the bottom of the headstock. At least, get to that you can. If you don't, your no better off than you were when you started.
 
Must be O.K. then. I don't know if you have ever rebuilt a vehicle diff but they have quite a bit of drag on the bearings when turning over by hand even after they are blueprinted and the bigger the vehicle the harder to turn. Taper bearings need some preload to work properly and there is oil drag as well which is why there is often a call to measure turning torque.
If they were too tight you would have been doing major repairs before now aye?
I was in the middle of watching an auction on Trade Me when typing the above and should of said Taper Bearings need to be preloaded to a load above running load while turning, backed off then adjusted to final setting again while being turned. Most heavy load applications have a few lbs/inch to avoid skidding the rollers but every application differs which is why I mentioned turning torque. Bearing factors are the best people to talk to if you have no information.
My comment about too tight stands. I appologise if I have upset anyone by saying taper bearings NEED some preload.
 
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