Oil Fill Quantity for Victor 1630

As you can see in the pics below, mine has no visible drain or means to check level. I'd like to pull the cover, drain and clean the box, then drill and tap it for drain and level holes but I was hoping to get some guidance from someone who had done it before or had a copy of the parts list/exploded diagram. It appears that the gear change handles come with the cover but I'd like to be sure.
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Have you taken off the back cover where the gear chain is and looked for a drain? Possibly a small pipe from the gearbox through to the back? I agree that just putting some oil to lubricate the shafts is enough. The feed shaft is what is most often used and it is likely covered with what you have in place. If you are threading, you may want to squirt some on the leadscrew. It doesn't look like you can overfill as excess runs into the gearbox. Dave
 
Here's a picture of my sight glass and drain plug (it's at the bottom left of the 1-8 selector) on my 1630.
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Is there a half circle kind of hiding in approximately the same spot as the sight glass in the other picture? Almost like the whole area has been puttied over/ Dave
 
Sorry, I have nothing to add regarding the oil drain business. I can say, though, that those Victor 1630/1640 lathes KICK ASS! Those are REAL lathes!
 
Beckerkumm said:
Is there a half circle kind of hiding in approximately the same spot as the sight glass in the other picture? Almost like the whole area has been puttied over/ Dave
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No, it's just an artifact from the paint job the PO put on it.
 
This link has several Victor 1600 manuals and service parts lists, and also a brochure. One set is older and one slightly newer. Let me know if you have trouble accessing it and I'll figure out another way to share these with you.

Victor Manuals
 
Update: it appears that the early units, up to the 80s had a very different lubrication plan the the later versions. Lathes like mine were designed with total-loss lube systems in the gearbox and apron, with later units having sump systems for those areas, along with auto lube oiling for the ways, from a pump, powered by the carriage feed handle.

The one thing they still share is the oil port above the leadscrew. I took mine apart last weekend to see what the deal was and found that the port on the right leads to an oil galley that supplies the thrust ball-bearings that control the end play of the lead screw. They are up too high to get splashed by the gears, so they must be lubed independently. I thought sure that I took some photos of the intervals, but I guess I didn't.

Hope this is helpful!
 
11andrew11 said:
I have an late 70s/early 80s Victor 1630. That's what Victor told me based upon the S/N. It's early enough that it has a 5 HP motor, as opposed to the 7.5 HP versions. I've sourced several manuals for it online, though they are written in imperfect English. The manuals point to the areas that require oil/lubrication and also make recommendations for the type of oil to use, but they are vague on the quantity. While that wouldn't normally be an issue, I have one fill cup that has me wondering.

There is a fill cup on the right side of the gearbox (see right side of attached picture) which I believe supplies oil to several of the rotating shafts. I don't have a good idea of how much oil is required here and I can't see very well into the fill hole. The manual just says "fill it with oil gun". I have been adding oil in 250ml increments and have now added about 750 ml, which seems like a lot to me given the type of fill cup. None is leaking out anywhere, though.

Can anyone tell me roughly how much oil goes into this oil cup?

Many thanks,

Andrew
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I posted a longer answer at the end of this thread, but the short answer is: that oil hole serves a dedicated galley that directly oils the lead screw thrust bearings. They're an open style that are up too high to be reliably splashed by the oil in the sump. 3-4 pumps of your oil can each time you run it should be just fine.
 
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