Grease For Spindle Bearings

[Deerslayer]

I have an old Leblond model 21 lathe that I just got recently, I haven't even installed a motor yet but in giving it a onc over and hitting the oil ports I noticed that the spindle bearings have grease zeros on them. I pulled the zerts and sure enough they are full of grease. Is that normal on these older machines or is it a retro hack?

 

[Andre]

I have no experience or knowledge with Leblonds, but sometimes grease Zerks (if indeed that's what you meant) are used for oil; as in the case with bridgeport mill table lubrication. Mine were packed with grease but not meant to be.

 

[T Bredehoft]

Matt, at Quality Machine Tools, recommended to me that I use Kluber spindle bearing grease on my PM25. I haven't sourced it yet, but that's the best recommendation that I've had.

 

[4GSR]

Just plain old "wheel bearing grease" is all you need for these old lathes. The spindles do not spin fast enough to need the high dollar Kluber grease. It's made for high speed spindles where class 7 or 9 super precision bearings are used. Your bearings were probably Timken "0" precision bearings when new. My preference is Lubriplate grease or Mobile 28 grease. A EP-1 grease should be sufficient, too.

 

[Deerslayer]

Just plain old "wheel bearing grease" is all you need for these old lathes. The spindles do not spin fast enough to need the high dollar Kluber grease. It's made for high speed spindles where class 7 or 9 super precision bearings are used. Your bearings were probably Timken "0" precision bearings when new. My preference is Lubriplate grease or Mobile 28 grease. A EP-1 grease should be sufficient, too.

Thank you for that!!
Any idea what I should limit spindle speed to on a older machine like this

 

[4GSR]

The older LeBlond's like yours used oil in the spindle bearings, not grease. Didn't realize how old your lathe is. I would take the bearing caps off and purge out all of the grease and start using some kind of oil like ISO 46 or 68 hydraulic oil. Install the type of oil applicators that allow you to meter so many drops of oil per minute pass through. You can buy them from McMaster-Carr.

 

[Deerslayer]

The older LeBlond's like yours used oil in the spindle bearings, not grease. Didn't realize how old your lathe is. I would take the bearing caps off and purge out all of the grease and start using some kind of oil like ISO 46 or 68 hydraulic oil. Install the type of oil applicators that allow you to meter so many drops of oil per minute pass through. You can buy them from McMaster-Carr.

Any suggestions on purging the grease? Can I pull the bearing caps off the top or is that a big no no?

 

[4GSR]

Rather than pulling the bearing caps right now, take a flat bottom drill bit (one that has been reground to create a flat bottom hole) and run it down into the hole by hand. Work it by hand to remove all the gunk that you can get out. Fill with some oil, rotate the spindle for a bit to see if a ringer of oil appears on the outer edges of the bearings and spindle. If you get this to happen, you are in good shape for now. If no signs of oil, pull the bearing caps and the spindle and clean. Let us know how you make out. If you have to pull the caps, I'll try to direct you on doing so. It's been almost 40 years since I've done this on a large lathe like the LeBlond.

 

[kingmt01]

That big old lathe is cool. Congrats.

 

[joshua43214]

To add a bit to 4gsr's recommendation;
If you don't get any oil coming out of the seals, you can fill the oilers with mineral spirits and run for 5 or 10 minutes at low speed while toping up the oilers.
If the mineral spirits do not pass the seals, then things are really gunked and the bearings should be pulled and cleaned. If the mineral spirits do pass the seals, just keep adding oil and the spirits will get displaced.