On Wed, 03 Jun 2015 20:56:17 -0500, Don Foreman
wrote:

My lathe is throwing oil at me from behind the chuck. I like this
lathe a lot. I've been using it for a couple of decades. I'd like to
get that oil slinging problem fixed.

There are no seals in the headstock; it uses a "labyrinth" slinger
method of oil management.

One guy I talked to asked if I ever turn plastic. (Yes, I do, fairly
often) He said he'd seen this befo fine delryn or nylon swarf
somehow gets in behind the chuck and plugs an internal drain hole.

The lathe is an Enterprise 1550 made by Mysore Kirloskar Electric in
India.

(This is probably where Larry Jaques insensitively and rudely asks
what I did to my Kirloskar to make it sore.)

Moi? har! I'd likely wonder why Oskar was curled, too.


It (the lathe, not my Kirloskar) looks a lot like a Clausing
Colchester, and I think that the maker had a relationship with
Colchester at one time back in the early '70s. I've been told that
this method of headstock oil management is used on some Colchesters.

I located the nuts that preload the spindle bearings, made a spanner
and got them off. The gears on the spindle in the headstock slide
freely, now that grub screws and circlips have been removed. From
looking at the drawings (I have the manual) I can see no reason why
the D1-4 camlock spindle shouldn't just slide out toward the tailstock
so I can get in there to clean out a plugged drain hole. But I can't
get the damned spindle to budge. I've pried on it and hit it a few
times with a big brass hammer.

Lathe? Isn't that the horizontal kinda doohickey with the spinny part
on the left? Is there any way to get an air hose inside to attempt
blowing out the swarf from inside the gearbox? Some of those old
boxes had some extra room in them, while others were completely
stuffed. I'm guessing it doesn't have the split case where you can
lift the whole top half out of the way. That would make it too easy.
Chucks can get really wound up on the spindles, so sometimes it takes
a whole lotta torque to unwind 'em. Have you tried strapping
something firmly to the chuck and whoppin' on that? (I'm sorry if I'm
getting too technical for ya.)

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb...manual-223545/
Jeeze, bigarse beastie, innit?

And make bloody well sure that there isn't a retaining screw in the
very center of the chuck, like a drill chuck. That'd turn ya pink.
DAMHIKT


I thought I had a professional on deck to come help me with this but
it appears that he's flaked on me.

Condolences.


Any informed or experienced ideas or suggestions? I really don't want
to barf up the spindle bearings.

Good call. Heaven forfend that happening!

--
It takes as much energy to wish as to plan.
--Eleanor Roosevelt