Hi,

I have a General 25-100 10" swing midi lathe and its about 2 years old.
I have just become aware that at about 3000 rpm and above the headstock
bearings make an intermittent but sill rather coninuous popping chirp (
but not very high pitched ) racing sound. I have run the motor with out
the belt and it is quiet, so its not the motor. When you rotate the
headstock spindle by hand you can somewhat hear the bearings make noise
but it is neither a rough or high pitched sound. It just sounds like
the bearings are dry or something ( they are permanetly sealed bearings
). As I have more recently been using the lathe at higher speeds I do
not know it this is an old or new problem. There doesnt seem to be any
play in the spindle.
Any suggestions if the bearings need to be replaced?