spindle oil

[hiram]

I have an inherited Southbend model C lathe from my dad.

There is a screw plugged hole in the spindle for oil.

The manuals which I have make no mention of spindle oil. I do have the oil.

How much do you put in--anything to look out for??

Thanks.

[e15cap]

Practical machinist has a South Bend section

[Jon K]

hiram,

Those had drip oilers(pre-war), check out drip oilers & oil reservoirs page 2155 Mcmaster-Carr catalog.
AW-32 or any light 10-15 oil works.



Jon

[JIMinPHX]

+1 on what Jon K said.

Add to that, if you don't have proper spindle oil, plain old motor oil will also work. I used 10-30 in a South Bend for years with no problems.

You do want to get oil cups though so that you can have a constant oil drip when she is running. Get ones with adjustable drip rate if possible & about an ounce or more of oil capacity. There should be two oil cups. One up near the chuck & the other on the far left end of the spindle.

There should also be a small screw in the middle of the flat belt pulley where you oil the back gear shaft. (no cup on that one)

[Buckshot]

...............I'm certainly no expert on South Bend lathes, but from my reading and pictures I've seen, a lot of them had oil reservoirs and a wick to carry oil UPWARD to the plain bearings. SInce South Bends are so common there is LOTS of information out there about them. As e15cap suggested, I'd check the South Bend forum at the Practical Machinist website: http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/index.php

There is also a South Bend 'E' list on Yahoo. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/southbendlathe/

You can get a bit of history here: http://www.lathes.co.uk/southbend/index.html

.................Buckshot

[3006guns]

I think he means the lube hole on the spindle pulley, which oils between the cone pulley and spindle proper....this keeps things sliding when the back gears are engaged. Spindle oil would be the right oil, but as already mentioned any good clean oil will work in a pinch. Just add a few drops once in a while, more often if you use the slow speed back gear a lot.

[hiram]

Thank you---a few drops is a start. I couldn't find anything about quantity---drops, ounce, cup??????

[JIMinPHX]

When I'm running one of them hot & heavy I usually set the dripper for about 2 drops per minute. For les demanding work I usually go about a drop every 5 minutes. Just don't forget to shut it off when you are done or you will find a mess when you return.

[hiram]

There is no resevoir -- just a small threaded hole in the spindle pugged with a screw.

[Buckshot]

There is no resevoir -- just a small threaded hole in the spindle pugged with a screw.

..............My Logan is like that for oiling when the back gear is being used. Before I use it if I haven't in awile I just take it out, put about 10 drops in, replace and go to work.

................Buckshot

[JIMinPHX]

There is no resevoir -- just a small threaded hole in the spindle pugged with a screw.

Back to what Jon K said...

You need to get a pair of drip oil cups from some place like McMaster Carr for the 2 main spindle bearings (bushings). The good cups have adjustable drip rate. They come in various sizes. They come in various threads. You need to check what threads your oil plug is so that you can replace the plug with a suitable oil cup of the same thread.

...or you can just keep stopping what you are doing to dribble some oil in there every little while.

[Flinchrock]

...............I'm certainly no expert on South Bend lathes, but from my reading and pictures I've seen, a lot of them had oil reservoirs and a wick to carry oil UPWARD to the plain bearings. SInce South Bends are so common there is LOTS of information out there about them. As e15cap suggested, I'd check the South Bend forum at the Practical Machinist website: http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/index.php

There is also a South Bend 'E' list on Yahoo. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/southbendlathe/

You can get a bit of history here: http://www.lathes.co.uk/southbend/index.html

.................Buckshot

Any oil is better than no oil,,,that being said, depending on how old and worn your machine is, freshly rebuilt and tweaky a light oil is best, just make sure it is there all of the time you are running it!!! My South Bend is over 80 years old, and to tell the truth it is starting to get a little loose. I am a great believer in the right lubricant for the application,
so on my old machine I use a heavier spindle oil than I would on a tighter machine. Spindle oil for spindles, way oil for ways, keep it clean and oil it often!