Question about a Part

[ddickey]

This little brass job goes on the bottom of the gear that control feed fore and aft. Could this be a grease fitting?

 

[Ed ke6bnl]

I have seen grease fittings like that, that you fill with grease and turn occasionally to force grease in.

 

[ddickey]

Oh that makes sense.

 

[cathead]

Looks like it was used with oil last or there would be grease in the bottom part. That's just an observation
on my part so you will have to decide for yourself I guess. It does look like a grease fitting though...

 

[ddickey]

I tried squirting some oil in there once but was almost impossible to get to. Now that I have the carriage off it is easier to inspect the gear was packed with grease so I'm pretty sure it should be grease.

 

[kev74]

I tried squirting some oil in there once but was almost impossible to get to. Now that I have the carriage off it is easier to inspect the gear was packed with grease so I'm pretty sure it should be grease.

But... was it supposed to have grease in there? Or oil?

 

[francist]

The fitting itself is typically called a "grease cup", and if you search images for that you'll find lots of the same type. The idea is as Ed said earlier, the reservoir and cap are filled with a soft grease and every now and then you put another quarter-turn on the cap to force a bit more into the bearing. I have an older motor with them on, as well as some other fittings off of steam turbines from navy vessels that had them filled with a nice red-coloured grease. My old Sagar woodworking lathe has them on the spindle bearings as well.

That said, they do make for a nice oil cup although it's a fair bit of fiddling with threads to add five drops of oil to something that drains out almost instantly. I've not run across one yet with wadding in it.

-frank

Edit: here's the tag from inside the Sagar headstock

 

[ddickey]

Thanks guys. I have the grease cup back and filled with some Lubriplate.
Having a struggle getting the bearing block back in place.