- Joined
- Jan 12, 2019
- Messages
- 96
My 9C was beginning to make a little noise with the back gear disengaged and the lathe running in the upper speed range. Back gear engaged running in low speed was quiet as a church mouse.
1. I had intended to do the roller thrust bearing upgrade so I got hold of the bearing. (20.00 on eBay)
2. I also wanted to redo the oil wicks in the headstock.
3. Needed to inspect the running surfaces.
Built in 1947, I bought the lathe about ten months ago in okay condition. I was fairly certain it had been lightly used but not well maintained. It had actually been in a guy's closet for the last four years.
I had watched a coupla videos on dismantling of the headstock and in each one, the craftsman had made a removal tool using all thread and wooden blocks or sleeves. As I watched the videos the method in use seemed like overkill. Why not just tap the spindle out with a soft mallet? I tried that on mine and it worked. It took very little force. The spindle moved on the first tap. Six or eight light to moderate taps later and I finished removal by hand.
I found the running surfaces to by in like-new condition. But I did not some minor darkening on the center of the spindle whee the oil vanes on the cone pulley has rested for four years. As I said earlier, the lathe operated very quiet with the back gear engaged and the cone pulley turning on the spindle, so I knew the mark was not creating problems. I replaced the wicks before putting it back together. Took the oil cups out and cleaned them up for cosmetic reasons.
For reassembly I found a suggestion in one of the videos to be quite helpful. I noted the position of the keyway in the locking gear and the key on the spindle. That made lining up the locking gear much quicker. I found that the locking gear turned on the spindle quite easily so I will not say the marks were essential.
My lathe has the pin holes in the headstock journal that allows the use of retaining pins to hold the wicks in a retracted position until the spindle is in place.
The roller thrust bearing fit onto the end of the spindle perfectly.
I found on re-installation of the locking collar that the roller thrust bearing is much thicker (perhaps an eighth inch) than the original shims. This means that the locking collar rests further out on the spindle. On my lathe the situation caused the collar to interfere with the reverse gear holder. I had a second collar which I faced in such a way as to remove the offending metal. I faced it down by about fifty thousandths and then releaved the outer perimeter of the collar the rest of the way. This permitted the collar to be installed and the lathe reassembled such that it operates properly in both forward and reverse modes.
This work was rewarded by the quietest lathe I have ever owned. The sound of the lathe was drowned out by two Florida Love Bugs flying around in the shop.
I am pretty happy with this rehab and upgrade. It was much easier that would be indicated by the various videos on the internet.
1. I had intended to do the roller thrust bearing upgrade so I got hold of the bearing. (20.00 on eBay)
2. I also wanted to redo the oil wicks in the headstock.
3. Needed to inspect the running surfaces.
Built in 1947, I bought the lathe about ten months ago in okay condition. I was fairly certain it had been lightly used but not well maintained. It had actually been in a guy's closet for the last four years.
I had watched a coupla videos on dismantling of the headstock and in each one, the craftsman had made a removal tool using all thread and wooden blocks or sleeves. As I watched the videos the method in use seemed like overkill. Why not just tap the spindle out with a soft mallet? I tried that on mine and it worked. It took very little force. The spindle moved on the first tap. Six or eight light to moderate taps later and I finished removal by hand.
I found the running surfaces to by in like-new condition. But I did not some minor darkening on the center of the spindle whee the oil vanes on the cone pulley has rested for four years. As I said earlier, the lathe operated very quiet with the back gear engaged and the cone pulley turning on the spindle, so I knew the mark was not creating problems. I replaced the wicks before putting it back together. Took the oil cups out and cleaned them up for cosmetic reasons.
For reassembly I found a suggestion in one of the videos to be quite helpful. I noted the position of the keyway in the locking gear and the key on the spindle. That made lining up the locking gear much quicker. I found that the locking gear turned on the spindle quite easily so I will not say the marks were essential.
My lathe has the pin holes in the headstock journal that allows the use of retaining pins to hold the wicks in a retracted position until the spindle is in place.
The roller thrust bearing fit onto the end of the spindle perfectly.
I found on re-installation of the locking collar that the roller thrust bearing is much thicker (perhaps an eighth inch) than the original shims. This means that the locking collar rests further out on the spindle. On my lathe the situation caused the collar to interfere with the reverse gear holder. I had a second collar which I faced in such a way as to remove the offending metal. I faced it down by about fifty thousandths and then releaved the outer perimeter of the collar the rest of the way. This permitted the collar to be installed and the lathe reassembled such that it operates properly in both forward and reverse modes.
This work was rewarded by the quietest lathe I have ever owned. The sound of the lathe was drowned out by two Florida Love Bugs flying around in the shop.
I am pretty happy with this rehab and upgrade. It was much easier that would be indicated by the various videos on the internet.
