Bearings

[krhoover]

I’m working on a wood lathe from 1940. It has open bearings in the headstock. They seem tight. They get oiled thru a flip top oiler. I was thinking about changing out to sealed bearing to do away with the mess and need to oil. What’s the pros and cons?

 

[john.k]

A catch with stock /shop deep groove ball bearings is they have considerable internal clearance,to cope with tight shaft /housing combinations that close up the internal clearance .......most lathes are little more than slip fit ,so your spindle will be loose......a way round this is to endload the bearings sufficient to eliminate this clearance ,and no more.

 

[krhoover]

That’s pretty technical to me. I was looking to put in sealed bearing to not have to oil and have the oil seep out. Maybe I didn’t give a good explanation. What I meant about the bearings being tight I was meaning that they were in good shape and not worn out.

 

[Bill D]

I think you will be fine. The tailstock will load the bearings to reduce any clearance. A little slop in the headstock is not a big issue in wood like it would be in metal working. Quite likely they are two different sizes so measure both before ordering.
Bill D.