Renewing an old MT3 lathe live centre

[GoceKU]

I bought this old rusty live centre couple weeks ago on a flea market, i know that it needed some work when i bought it, but should be a good candidate to make it better than new. First thing i needed to de rust it, because it contains oil and bearings , soaking it in vinegar wasn't an option, so i took a soft wire brush on my angle grinder and little by little removed the rust. When i clean it up the point looked like home made so i took it apart and found 3 opened bearings and what was left of the thrust bearing, it disintegrated because whoever made the point only made it to reach the second bearing and there wasn't anything to keep it centred, i did managed to find a new thrust bearing in my garage, but i'll have to make a new point which i'm thinking of making much bigger in diameter than factory.

 

[Dave Paine]

Nice cleanup of the rust. Good job getting this apart. That was not easy. Are you going to replace all the bearings while you have it apart?