Index 660 Converto-Mill

Thank you for the responses. I liked Silverbullet's suggestion of oiling them. This mill will probably never be run hard again. My use will be light duty, hobby work. The next time they need relubed may be in another 50 years when the grease is dried out again. I decided to drill and tap for two 1/8" NPT plugs for oiling purposes. I'm not installing oil cups because oiling will be infrequent.

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I've completed most of my cleaning and painting of the vertical head. I'm putting it back together now.

I decided to try to take the spindle out of the quill to clean out the crud. The bearings feel good, so I want to make sure that I don't ruin good bearings by disassembling it (the lower bearings are rather expensive). I see that TJ got his apart (link). I put mine into my shop press and pressed gently, but it did not come apart. My question is, "will any of the bearings be damaged if I press out the spindle?"

Which bearing races are "press fit" and which are "slip fit"?

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Looks like it's coming along nicely!

Press the spindle out from the top (after you have removed both nuts from the bottom of the quill and the snap ring from the top, of course). The upper bearing will stay in the quill, while the lower bearings will remain on the spindle. Once you have the spindle out, you can press off the lower bearings safely by utilizing a collar that is present above them. (It is visible in one photo in my thread that you linked). You will need a long rod to press the top bearing out of the quill from the inside. If I were you, I would replace the upper bearing since it is a standard, inexpensive one.
 
Dang, that is looking very find.
As stated up above, that is a neat combination to have for sure.
Wished I found that type instead of the Model 40 I scored 20years ago.
 
I finished reassembling the vertical head. I have some bugs to work out, but it is usable. Now, I've started to disassemble the knee for similar cleaning and inspection.

My last post was about removing the spindle from the quill. I realized that I could use the lower spindle bearing lock nut to force grease into the lower bearings, so I did that instead of disassembling. The grease that I used was CRC SL3131 "Drum brake bearing grease". It is sodium based so as to be compatible with the original "Mobilgrease BRB Lifetime". Unfortunately it is also a lot thicker (both NLGI grade and base oil viscosity), and it made the lower bearings run very hot. So, I got to disassemble my spindle anyway.

To answer my own question (Which bearing races are "press fit" and which are "slip fit"?), the lower bearings are mild press fit on the ID and OD. The upper bearing is "slip fit" on the OD and "slip fit" to mild press fit on the ID. I had some damage to the upper spindle bearing seat, so I got some advice from the General forum here. I emailed Wells-Index about the "slip fit" on the upper bearing ID, and Rick told me that the print says 1.1810" to 1.1813". This is a 30mm ID bearing (30mm=1.1811"). If the bearings have been recently installed, then I think that they can be pressed out without damaging them. In my case (removing bearings installed 50 years ago), the upper bearing was damaged.

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