I have had my jet mini lathe for 3 years. Last night while turning I
noticed a a increased sound while turning and when I would turn the
lathe off it would stop spinning immediately.I backed the tention off
of the hand wheel and that helped but there is still some extra noise
from the lathe. I have never lubricated the bearings. Is this something
I should do? The lathe also seemed to have slight changes in speed
while spinning. Anybody have a clue as to what might be wrong?

You may have a bad bearing somewhere. I don't have a Jet mini but to try and
pin it down I would remove the belt. Turn on the lathe and the motor should
run fairly quietly. If it rumbles then you probably have a bad bearing in
the motor.

Turn the unbelted spindle by hand and see if it turns freely and smoothly.
If not you probably have a bad spindle bearing.

Another trick is to use a stethoscope (or a piece of wood) to place on the
various bearing locations while the lathe is running. Put the stick on the
bearing location and then put your ear on the other end. Be careful the
bearing end doesn't slip onto moving parts! You can usually track down the
offending bearing quite quickly using this method. However, if you replace
the bad bearing then do yourself a favor and replace all the bearings in
that particular piece.

Bearings are lubricated for life so you didn't do anything wrong by not
lubing them. This doesn't apply to lathes that have bushings!

Billh


"snakeriver" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have had my jet mini lathe for 3 years. Last night while turning I
noticed a a increased sound while turning and when I would turn the
lathe off it would stop spinning immediately.I backed the tention off
of the hand wheel and that helped but there is still some extra noise
from the lathe. I have never lubricated the bearings. Is this something
I should do? The lathe also seemed to have slight changes in speed
while spinning. Anybody have a clue as to what might be wrong?

"billh" wrote in message
...
You may have a bad bearing somewhere. I don't have a Jet mini but to try
and pin it down I would remove the belt. Turn on the lathe and the motor
should run fairly quietly. If it rumbles then you probably have a bad
bearing in the motor.

Turn the unbelted spindle by hand and see if it turns freely and smoothly.
If not you probably have a bad spindle bearing.

Another trick is to use a stethoscope (or a piece of wood) to place on the
various bearing locations while the lathe is running. Put the stick on
the bearing location and then put your ear on the other end. Be careful
the bearing end doesn't slip onto moving parts! You can usually track
down the offending bearing quite quickly using this method. However, if
you replace the bad bearing then do yourself a favor and replace all the
bearings in that particular piece.

Bearings are lubricated for life so you didn't do anything wrong by not
lubing them. This doesn't apply to lathes that have bushings!

=========================
Another way to isolate the noise site is with a piece of garden hose or a
piece of automotive heater hose. Plug one ear and use the other to listen as
you move the hose to the various points you suspect of being faulty. A
stethoscope with the membrane removed is also a great tool.

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX

"Ken Moon" wrote: (clip) A stethoscope with the membrane removed is also a
great tool.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I guess you mean a medical stethoscope with the membrane removed. I have a
mechanic's stethoscope from Harbor Freight which cost just a few bux. It
has a long slender probe with is ATTACHED TO the membrane, and it works
really well for finding squeaks, squeals, rumbles, whines, and other noises.
You can find your way toward the source of the sound very quickly.

Thanks for the replies. I will try to find the source in the way
suggested above. If I do find the bearings are bad in the spindle are
they easy to replace? And where can I get them?

Okay I just went out to the lathe and detached the belt. I then turned
on the motor, nice and smooth and quiet, when I used the hand wheel to
spin the spindle it made a low hum or drag sound. I would still spin
but I'm quite sure thats where my new noise is coming from. So I guess
I really do need to know where to fingd replacement bearings. Mabey a
new belt too.

Buy Jet parts here;
http://www.wmhtoolgroup.com/index.cf...=vendors&VID=1

"snakeriver" wrote in message
oups.com...
Okay I just went out to the lathe and detached the belt. I then turned
on the motor, nice and smooth and quiet, when I used the hand wheel to
spin the spindle it made a low hum or drag sound. I would still spin
but I'm quite sure thats where my new noise is coming from. So I guess
I really do need to know where to fingd replacement bearings. Mabey a
new belt too.
==========================
A lot of your better auto parts stores can help you with the bearing. They
may not have it in stock, but they should be able to measure it and cross
reference it to one of their vendors. That way you can get a better quality
than comes in most new products, especially the Asian ones.

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX.

"Ken Moon" wrote in message
.net...

"snakeriver" wrote in message
oups.com...
Okay I just went out to the lathe and detached the belt. I then turned
on the motor, nice and smooth and quiet, when I used the hand wheel to
spin the spindle it made a low hum or drag sound. I would still spin
but I'm quite sure thats where my new noise is coming from. So I guess
I really do need to know where to fingd replacement bearings. Mabey a
new belt too.
==========================
A lot of your better auto parts stores can help you with the bearing. They
may not have it in stock, but they should be able to measure it and cross
reference it to one of their vendors. That way you can get a better
quality than comes in most new products, especially the Asian ones.


Be sure to ask for the better grade, or they may think you're like a lot of
their customers - looking for cheap. Those who pick up HF or low-end clones
should consider the extra twenty bucks it might take to get good sealed
bearings as part of their original equipment investment.

"Ken Moon" wrote in message
.net...

"snakeriver" wrote in message
oups.com...
Okay I just went out to the lathe and detached the belt. I then turned
on the motor, nice and smooth and quiet, when I used the hand wheel to
spin the spindle it made a low hum or drag sound. I would still spin
but I'm quite sure thats where my new noise is coming from. So I guess
I really do need to know where to fingd replacement bearings. Mabey a
new belt too.
==========================
A lot of your better auto parts stores can help you with the bearing. They
may not have it in stock, but they should be able to measure it and cross
reference it to one of their vendors. That way you can get a better
quality than comes in most new products, especially the Asian ones.

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX.

My first step would be to find a bearing supply outlet. They are likely to
have a better selection than an auto parts outlet.
Billh

"billh" wrote: (clip) find a bearing supply outlet. They are likely to
have a better selection than an auto parts outlet.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The counter person in an auto parts store will ask you for the make and
model of the car it is for. No answer? No help.

A bearing person will know what it is at a glance, and if they don't have it
in stock, "I can have it here in the morning." (At least that's the way it
is at Bearing Engineering, where I go.)

"billh" wrote in message
.. .

"Ken Moon" wrote in message
.net...

"snakeriver" wrote in message
oups.com...
Okay I just went out to the lathe and detached the belt. I then turned
on the motor, nice and smooth and quiet, when I used the hand wheel to
spin the spindle it made a low hum or drag sound. I would still spin
but I'm quite sure thats where my new noise is coming from. So I guess
I really do need to know where to fingd replacement bearings. Mabey a
new belt too.
==========================
A lot of your better auto parts stores can help you with the bearing.
They may not have it in stock, but they should be able to measure it and
cross reference it to one of their vendors. That way you can get a better
quality than comes in most new products, especially the Asian ones.

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX.

My first step would be to find a bearing supply outlet. They are likely to
have a better selection than an auto parts outlet.
Billh
========================
The only problem with that is the limited number of those in small and mid
sized towns. Just about any small town has an auto parts jobber that can get
the bearings for you. In larger cities, some place like Motion Industries or
similar outlet would be my choice also. If you're some place like the Texas
oil patch, even the smaller towns have some place that can supply gear and
drive train parts, and they are excellent sources for heavy duty bearings.

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX.