(First post, hi all!)
I have an old ML7 which has some problems. The spindle runs pretty much
concentric by my dial gauge, but has a 'wobble' of around 1 thou forward
and back along the axis of the lathe. Initially I thought this was an
end float problem, but when this is reduced, you can actually feel the
spindle tightening for one half of the rotation and loosening for the
other.
Having just lifted the bearing caps, I can see it has been mucked about
by the previous owner. There are some dodgy looking brass shim pieces
combined with the originals, and some scoring on the lower bearings.
Having said that, the spindle looks pristine...
So, I guess the question is, how difficult is it to fiddle with shims
and hand-scrape bearings?? Pretty damn hard, I would have thought -
after all, it doesn't sound like the sort of thing you can just nip down
to B&Q to get the right tool... On the other hand, a new spindle and
bearings are £££!
Or is 1 thou not too much to worry about in a machine this old? The
difficult bit is that any chuck fitted has a big concentric runout!
Any advice appreciated...