What bearings to use in my lathe
- Thread starter holstil
- Start date
I replaced the bearings on my Logan many years ago and had limited brand choices. This was especially true when trying to find bearings with a high ABEC rating. I ended up at an industrial bearing supplier who gave me a crash course in bearing ratings and the changes in manufacturing of bearings from the time my old Logan was made (1950's) and today. I would suggest tracking down a similar supplier and have them help you. It was an education for me. At least I did not know these details. My Logan uses a series of Belleville springs to maintain a preload on the bearings. The spindle disassembly and re-assembly can be a bit tricky. Take digital pictures as you go. I do recall that the bearings were not cheap.
Good luck, Peter.
Good luck, Peter.
holstil
Silver $$ Contributor
I have the little gunsmith Grizzly. I know it will never be American iron by changing the bearings, just trying to make a better product off the machine. It makes a slight swirly or spiral pattern on the material. It's not too hard to look at, just would like it not to be there. This could be from the gears. They all have differing smoothness and sounds.
I want bearings with a high abec rating also. I am going to try to learn more about ceramics. I believe they are less sensitive to temperature=less thermal growth= less warm up time I hope. There seems to be a break in period with them as well in that the longer they run, the better they get. Wandering if I'll have to reset clearances.
I am happy with the machine overall and it can do anything I need it to. I thought I would try to make it a smidge better.
Thanks, Jim
I want bearings with a high abec rating also. I am going to try to learn more about ceramics. I believe they are less sensitive to temperature=less thermal growth= less warm up time I hope. There seems to be a break in period with them as well in that the longer they run, the better they get. Wandering if I'll have to reset clearances.
I am happy with the machine overall and it can do anything I need it to. I thought I would try to make it a smidge better.
Thanks, Jim
hi
I used the build laths as my job a 2 years ago and i would say skf ot fag/ina ,
I used the build laths as my job a 2 years ago and i would say skf ot fag/ina ,
Jim, that vibration pattern is described as "a Schleshinger(SP) Normal". It is directly relevant to the number of bearings in the headstock and the harmonics generated by running the machine.holstil said:
A way of creating a dampening effect is by fitting a Bushing style bearing onto the spindle. That is what Summit did with their tool room lathe. It used a "Hybrid" bearing/bushing headstock spindle! South Bend lathes with the oil lite bushing headstock spindle were long gone. A friend bought one of these Summit tool room lathes 20 years ago, for his shop. Works great. Dont know if they are made any more.
You will have to improvise a retrofit if you want the same outcome.
Fitting a Bushing style bearing to your existing setup is theoretically possible. Just make sure the spindle is aligned correctly, with the tail stock center. Hope this is helpful?
Greg
holstil
Silver $$ Contributor
I did check the preload and it was heavy. I wanted to replace more out of curiosity than necessity.
After much talk with many different people, I went with NSK P5 front and NTN P5 rear. I used Nachi standard for all the back gearing. I looked at the ABEC and ISO ratings for different bearings. These are metric which limited some options. I think I paid around $170.00 for all.
It had NSK P5 on both ends of the spindle and some kung pow chin on the rest of the shafts.
I feel the Japanese bearings are good. I could not get a quote from my (friend) vendor for Timken. I probably would not have paid what I was told they would likely cost. I got tired of waiting for prices to come in, needed to make chips. There is more to know about ABEC ratings than just seeing a number. It is a general standard in that a bearing could make a good TIR ABEC rating but be of a lesser material composition.
I learned that the bearing world is not without chaos. I heard that FAG does not manufacturer bearings and that most bearings, no matter of name on box, are not made where most think they are. Not that other countries don't make a good product. Also, Timken, most major Japanese, and few other are the most trusted bearing suppliers. Meaning that, what actually comes in the box was made by who you thought it was. The Chinese will put anything in a box with any name on it.
This is information I collected from the people that I spoke to.
The patterning is better, barely noticeable. Was it worth it? Probably not for the money, but it was for the piece of mind. It spins a lot easier now. I prolly could have just reset the preload and been allmost as happy with the outcome.
Jim
After much talk with many different people, I went with NSK P5 front and NTN P5 rear. I used Nachi standard for all the back gearing. I looked at the ABEC and ISO ratings for different bearings. These are metric which limited some options. I think I paid around $170.00 for all.
It had NSK P5 on both ends of the spindle and some kung pow chin on the rest of the shafts.
I feel the Japanese bearings are good. I could not get a quote from my (friend) vendor for Timken. I probably would not have paid what I was told they would likely cost. I got tired of waiting for prices to come in, needed to make chips. There is more to know about ABEC ratings than just seeing a number. It is a general standard in that a bearing could make a good TIR ABEC rating but be of a lesser material composition.
I learned that the bearing world is not without chaos. I heard that FAG does not manufacturer bearings and that most bearings, no matter of name on box, are not made where most think they are. Not that other countries don't make a good product. Also, Timken, most major Japanese, and few other are the most trusted bearing suppliers. Meaning that, what actually comes in the box was made by who you thought it was. The Chinese will put anything in a box with any name on it.
This is information I collected from the people that I spoke to.
The patterning is better, barely noticeable. Was it worth it? Probably not for the money, but it was for the piece of mind. It spins a lot easier now. I prolly could have just reset the preload and been allmost as happy with the outcome.
Jim
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