I have a Myford Mystro lathe with non-sealed bearings. It has run fine
for over 10 years, and I have added the provided lubricating grease at
what seemed 'reasonable' intervals. I do not run it every day...but
it gets heavy use at times.
For the last year or so, it has seemed that the headstock is not
running as smoothly, although it is hard to see daily change.
Lately, it has begun shutting down under strain, as if overheated,
then restarting after a little rest. The manual says nothing about
this, as it only discusses adding some occasional lubrication.
Could it be that the bearings are OVER packed, and that excessive
grease is binding the rotation?
Access to the bearings is not covered in the manual, but changing
the short drive belt involves partial disassembly of the shaft in
order to slip the new belt in.
I am not sure if this process, extended a bit, gives access TO the
bearings so I can tell if there's a problem.

So...I am just wondering if anyone has any experience, good guesses,
or absolute NOs about what I should try or not try?

Thanks in advance for any ideas.
--
remove nonsense for reply

I would expect that if the bearings were over packed, there would be
some extra heat involved some where. Does the lathe feel hot? The
motor should be pretty warm, but not burning hot. For me, if my lathe
is shutting down, it is usually because I am working it too hard, like
on the line between stalling, and easy cutting. Or on occasion because
of a big catch that stalls the motor. Other than than, I don't know.
Do you have variable speed? I wore one out on my PM once, but it
didn't cause it to stall.

robo hippy

On Aug 16, 6:21*pm, Bill Day
wrote:
I have a Myford Mystro lathe with non-sealed bearings. It has run fine
for over 10 years, and I have added the provided lubricating grease at
what seemed *'reasonable' intervals. I do not run it every day...but
it gets heavy use at times.
* For the last year or so, it has seemed that the headstock is not
running as smoothly, although it is hard to see daily change.
* Lately, it has begun shutting down under strain, as if overheated,
then restarting after a little rest. The manual says nothing about
this, as it only discusses adding some occasional lubrication.
* Could it be that the bearings are OVER packed, and that excessive
grease is binding the rotation?
* *Access to the bearings is not covered in the manual, but changing
the short drive belt involves partial disassembly of the shaft in
order to slip the new belt in.
* *I am not sure if this process, extended a bit, gives access TO the
bearings so I can tell if there's a problem.

So...I am just wondering if anyone has any experience, good guesses,
or absolute NOs about what I should try or not try?

Thanks in advance for any ideas.
--
remove nonsense for reply

On Sat, 16 Aug 2008 19:00:02 -0700 (PDT), robo hippy
wrote:

I would expect that if the bearings were over packed, there would be
some extra heat involved some where. Does the lathe feel hot? The
motor should be pretty warm, but not burning hot. For me, if my lathe
is shutting down, it is usually because I am working it too hard, like
on the line between stalling, and easy cutting. Or on occasion because
of a big catch that stalls the motor. Other than than, I don't know.
Do you have variable speed? I wore one out on my PM once, but it
didn't cause it to stall.

robo hippy

Thanks for the response.

It is not variable speed. It just has a 5 step pulley. I can't tell if
it seems excessively warm....it doesn't 'seem' to. This has been a
very gradually developing problem, which is why I made that guess.
Because it seems to slow faster when I hit the 'off' switch, I felt
like it was 'binding' in some manner.

I will also be emailing the company, although they barely want to
admit they once dabbled in wood lathes.

Thanks again
--
remove nonsense for reply

why don't you try the simple stuff first:

1. remove pressure on belt and if possible unhook belt from motor
2. turn motor on/off - does it spin down slowly or quickly? if quickly,
motor bearings may be an issue
3. rotate spindle by hand - stiff or free - if stiff, spindle bearings are
suspect




"Bill Day" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 16 Aug 2008 19:00:02 -0700 (PDT), robo hippy
wrote:

I would expect that if the bearings were over packed, there would be
some extra heat involved some where. Does the lathe feel hot? The
motor should be pretty warm, but not burning hot. For me, if my lathe
is shutting down, it is usually because I am working it too hard, like
on the line between stalling, and easy cutting. Or on occasion because
of a big catch that stalls the motor. Other than than, I don't know.
Do you have variable speed? I wore one out on my PM once, but it
didn't cause it to stall.

robo hippy

Thanks for the response.

It is not variable speed. It just has a 5 step pulley. I can't tell if
it seems excessively warm....it doesn't 'seem' to. This has been a
very gradually developing problem, which is why I made that guess.
Because it seems to slow faster when I hit the 'off' switch, I felt
like it was 'binding' in some manner.

I will also be emailing the company, although they barely want to
admit they once dabbled in wood lathes.

Thanks again
--
remove nonsense for reply


** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

On Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:26:14 -0700, "William Noble"
wrote:

why don't you try the simple stuff first:

1. remove pressure on belt and if possible unhook belt from motor
2. turn motor on/off - does it spin down slowly or quickly? if quickly,
motor bearings may be an issue
3. rotate spindle by hand - stiff or free - if stiff, spindle bearings are
suspect


Yes, I should have mentioned that I did those tests. The motor runs
easily when the belt is disengaged. It is only the spindle/shaft that
turns stiffly.
So the thought is that it might be bearings themselves rather than a
lubrication (or lack of) issue? My manual makes a brief reference to
an 'adjustment' of the bearings. I'll go check it again and see if I
can gently change anything.

Thanks....
--
remove nonsense for reply

Might have wood powder in the bearings that prevent grease/oil flow.
The motor might be off axis with the load. The bracket might be worn
or just not set square.

Look at the setup and see if it is square to the spindle and the shafts
are parallel. Sometimes the belt shows wear on one side more than
another.

The dust might be in the spindle - being close to the dust.

Does it rotate easily ?

Is the tail stock driven in hard and binds itself ?

Hope some of these leads you to the issue before time and money are lost.

Martin

Martin H. Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
TSRA, Endowed; NRA LOH & Patron Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder
IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member.
http://lufkinced.com/


Bill Day wrote:
On Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:26:14 -0700, "William Noble"
wrote:

why don't you try the simple stuff first:

1. remove pressure on belt and if possible unhook belt from motor
2. turn motor on/off - does it spin down slowly or quickly? if quickly,
motor bearings may be an issue
3. rotate spindle by hand - stiff or free - if stiff, spindle bearings are
suspect


Yes, I should have mentioned that I did those tests. The motor runs
easily when the belt is disengaged. It is only the spindle/shaft that
turns stiffly.
So the thought is that it might be bearings themselves rather than a
lubrication (or lack of) issue? My manual makes a brief reference to
an 'adjustment' of the bearings. I'll go check it again and see if I
can gently change anything.

Thanks....


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Hi Bill
My nephew has a small Myford metal lathe, I remember him complaining
that he had to dismantle halve the lathe to get the second belt off,
anyway, I can't see your lathe from here of course, but what's keeping
the headstock spindle from coming out, or keeping it from moving back
and forth ??
Is it just a snap-ring or is there maybe a treaded ring that could
have gotten tighter and so making the spindle stiff to turn ??

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

On Aug 20, 10:54*am, Bill Day
wrote:
On Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:26:14 -0700, "William Noble"

wrote:
why don't you try the simple stuff first:

1. remove pressure on belt and if possible unhook belt from motor
2. turn motor on/off - does it spin down slowly or quickly? *if quickly,
motor bearings may be an issue
3. rotate spindle by hand - stiff or free - if stiff, spindle bearings are
suspect

*Yes, I should have mentioned that I did those tests. The motor runs
easily when the belt is disengaged. It is only the spindle/shaft that
turns stiffly. *
* So the thought is that it might be bearings themselves rather than a
lubrication (or lack of) issue? My manual makes a brief reference to
an 'adjustment' of the bearings. I'll go check it again and see if I
can gently change anything.

Thanks....
--
remove nonsense for reply

"Bill Day" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:26:14 -0700, "William Noble"
wrote:

why don't you try the simple stuff first:

1. remove pressure on belt and if possible unhook belt from motor
2. turn motor on/off - does it spin down slowly or quickly? if quickly,
motor bearings may be an issue
3. rotate spindle by hand - stiff or free - if stiff, spindle bearings are
suspect


Yes, I should have mentioned that I did those tests. The motor runs
easily when the belt is disengaged. It is only the spindle/shaft that
turns stiffly.
So the thought is that it might be bearings themselves rather than a
lubrication (or lack of) issue? My manual makes a brief reference to
an 'adjustment' of the bearings. I'll go check it again and see if I
can gently change anything.

Thanks....
--


so you know it is a problem in the spindle bearings - if it were my lathe
I'd pull the spindle - at least remove whatever holds the bearings in place
and see if it gets easier to turn - something is wrong, you can probably
find it easily and fix it. And, it's not likely to be too much grease.


** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **