Help Jet 13 X 40 Lathe spindle oil leak

I have a older Jet 13 X 40 belt driven lathe the leaks oil out the rear spi ndle. The lathe has a tumbler feed select not the newer lever select. Looking at the parts list I don?t see any seal s or O-rings. Two nuts press against a clamp that has some oil flow groves machined into it. The clamp clamps the shaft to the main roller bearing.

The lathe was rebuilt by a previous owner and it looks like he used Permate x instead of new gaskets that hold on the bearing mounts. Oil is not leakin g from these seals. The gaskets are not near the shaft.

I have some suspicions but I would like some unbiased suggestions.

Reply to
d32
Loading thread data ...

Many lathes have no seals on the rear bearing. My Sheldon R15 is like that. Sometimes oil will pile up on the rear spindle and drip out when it is stopped. Does yours do the same thing, it starts dripping oil right after the spindle is stopped? Mine has a slinger ring near the rear bearing that is supposed to sling off the oil and prevent it from getting past it, but it doesn't completely prevent some oil getting past the slinger, and then spreading outward.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Elson

pindle. The lathe has a tumbler feed select not the newer lever select.

s press against a clamp that has some oil flow groves machined into it. Th e clamp clamps the shaft to the main roller bearing.

tex instead of new gaskets that hold on the bearing mounts. Oil is not leak ing from these seals. The gaskets are not near the shaft.

It drips a quite a but when I stop the spindle. I don't see a slinger in the parts list but I might add one.

I am thinking when the lathe was rebuilt without the two gaskets the shaft is moved in about 100 mill with respect to bearing mount so the groves no l onger line up.

For now I have two rags catching the oil.

Thanks

Dan

Reply to
d32

d32 fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

That model leaks if the fluid level in the headstock is even CLOSE to in the sight glass. It also leaks if the wrong viscosity lubricant is used, and only testing will tell which is going to work best.

The sight glasses were misplaced on that unit. Drop the oil down a bit, and observe (with the cover off) that everything's still staying wet and moving oil everywhere it needs to. You'll be amazed at how low it can go and still fully lubricate every moving part.

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com: > It drips a quite a but when I stop the spindle. I don't see a > slinger in the parts list but I might add one. > > I am thinking when the lathe was rebuilt without the two gaskets the > sha ft is moved in about 100 mill with respect to bearing mount so the > groves no longer line up. > > For now I have two rags catching the oil. > > Thank s > > Dan > That model leaks if the fluid level in the headstock is even CL OSE to in the sight glass. It also leaks if the wrong viscosity lubricant i s used, and only testing will tell which is going to work best. The sight g lasses were misplaced on that unit. Drop the oil down a bit, and observe (w ith the cover off) that everything's still staying wet and moving oil every where it needs to. You'll be amazed at how low it can go and still fully lu bricate every moving part. LLoyd

Thanks LLoyd!

I was searching the RCM arcives looking for this problem. It stuck me how RCM has changed. It used to be full of machining and fabrication topics. Now it is 80% politial and personel attacks. Still some meat on the bone though as you have shown in your post.

The leak problem did show up when I saw the low lub and added oil.

Thanks

Dan

Reply to
d32

The reason RCM has become more politics and less metalworking..is that we have countless trolls coming in and causing bullshit..and less input from people who actually do metalworking.

If you filter out the crap..there is still a significant number of people discussing metalworking. But...few post about what they are doing.

My latest metalworking inputs....

formatting link

formatting link

Reply to
Gunner Asch

Thanks to LLoyd's advice I drained the 85 weight gear oil and added 2 qts of 20 weigh engine oil as a substatue for the recomended Shell Turbo 68

Leak is gone:-)

Reply to
d32

d32 fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

Hooray! That lathe isn't the best in the world, but for the price, it's a pretty good small machine -- FAR better than most of the Chinalloy crap. It was made originally for Woodstock International. Whatever lack in quality their Chinese goods have, they REALLY make up for in stellar customer service.

We picked one up for really cheap because they couldn't find the matching follower and steady rests for it; so it was no longer "complete". They threw in non-matching rests to build out the kit. (they fit the ways, but didn't center because they were for a 13" lathe)

We worked the bugs out of it over a couple of weeks, and modified the wrong-fitting rests to fit properly. Woodstock stood by us the whole time, sending this-n-that small part overnight as we found problems. Now, it does quite a bit of our light tool load work.

The same model was badged as three different company brands, but except for changing the control panel layouts and outboard accessories a little to keep folks guessing, they were identical.

Lloyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

"Lloyd E. Sponenburgh" fired this volley in news:XnsA1F769F8BDDEElloydspmindspringcom@216.168.3.70:

... should have mentioned, ours was the 14x40... I guess that didn't make sense without knowing that... L

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

news:XnsA1F769F8BDDEElloydspmindspringcom@216.168.3.70: > (they fit the wa ys, but > didn't center because they were for a 13" lathe) > ... shou ld have mentioned, ours was the 14x40... I guess that didn't make sense wit hout knowing that... L

I got the Lathe to replace a Smithy 3-1 so compared to what I had it is bea fy:-)

I picked it up for $2400 but it included a very nice Newal DRO. No problem holding 0.001 which is fine for what I am doing.

The lathe has been a bit of a challenge mostly because of my ignorance.

Burned the motor out when the brushes went bad. Should have fixed them rig ht away for $30 but pushed it and end up needing a new motor for $250 and a lot of trouble modifying wiring and mounts. Burned out the DRO board because I don?t ground it when working of the mo tor. $200

Oil leak $20 for two qts of gear oil and 2 qts of 20 weight.

Reply to
d32

d32 fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

FWIW, that lathe in good condition and with a bit of care in setup (of the lathe and the work) can do work down to a couple of tenths.

I doubt if it will hold that over years of use, but it was pretty 'tight' new.

Lloyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.