Lathe bearing preload and spindle seal, felt?

[GraemeVW]

My lathe has taper roller bearings. The spindle has a groove at the headstock end. Another collar goes over this.
The other end the locking ring also has a groove.
I guess these are for seals so when oiled, the bottom of the bearings sort of sit in an oil bath.
I'm also guessing they would be felt as the lathe is late 1940s.

How though? I've seen felt strip, would that have been used? Glue the ends, or would it stay in place anyway?

Also, any tips on setting preload on the bearings?

Thanks.

 

[GraemeVW]

Think I've found some info on preload, basically twerk it until you can sense the beginning of a change in resistance. Then run for 15 mins and check bearing temp.

As for the seals, I'd need 1/16 thick, 1/8 wide, felt strip. This is proving difficult to source.
I'm tempted to use will yarn! Just unsure about joining it.
If it was a one piece ring, how did they get it on without ripping? That kind of thing normally goes inside a ring doesn't it? Not outside on a shaft.

I could maybe use O rings, but would need some experimenting to find something that would work.

 

[GraemeVW]

The lathe is a very similar copy of a clausing lathe. The manual for that shows the same spindle set up, and shows the grooves, but doesn't mention seals.

 

[RichardM]

Could be labyrinth seals on the Clausing.

 

[GraemeVW]

Could be labyrinth seals on the Clausing.

It just shows nothing

Would be nice to try and keep a little oil in there though.

 

[gaz1]

do you mean those leather grease bearing seal that they used on older machines to keep the dirt away from the grease ?

 

[RichardM]

It looks like the same groove as yours, labyrinth seals are a tortuous route for the oil to escape.

 

[GraemeVW]

No space in this for any other kind of seal other than felt, string, or O ring.
I'd be looking at 1.78mm and 1.5mm section o rings, and even those may be too thick so would probably have to undersize so as to stretch them.

But, nothing shown in the clausing manual. The rear is a little different to mine though.

I might just see how it goes without, but as they are oil lubricated I can't see them staying wet for long.

 

[pressbrake1]

No seals

 

[6ply]

Here's my suggestion, just keep oiling it a little and often. Those groves tend to fill up with gunk after regular use and that forms a good enough seal so it doesn't just flood straight through.

 

[6ply]

Also, if the oil hole screw is kept in position that slows down the loss of oil.

 

[GraemeVW]

Thanks folks. I've assembled it all now with no seals, I'll see how it goes.