Those bearings are 32009, I found both NGK and FAG bearings .. though I'd rather have found some Timken bearings, if I were rebuilding a lathe. Fantastic video quality, even for a channel that ISN'T new. I think this guy's gonna go far, fast :D
i used sfk bearings and repalced the race with the skf ones. i also welded a steel tube between the bearings in the housing and used solicone to finish sealing it. i then drilled and tapped a hole for zerk fitting on each side so i can grease the roller bearings. i also used thich rubber style matting to make custom seals to keep the debris out and the grease in.did that on front and back. works so much better now!
Very tidy work, thanks for sharing. The runout of the new spindle bearings is impressive but what prompted replacing the original bearings - was there excessive runout or noise? I've got a small Optimum branded lathe and was wondering if or when I should consider replacing the spindle bearings.
I was rebuilding the entire lathe and given the original bearings were running with some casting sand in the grease and all the work involved in replacing them, it made sense to do that at that time. Like you said, if your bearings are making noise or if you have them adjusted and excessive runout directly measured on the spindle (that you didn't have before), you should consider replacing. Thanks
Hi, me again, just a thought, have a read of George Thomas' excellent workshop manuals if you can. There's a place where he talks about the errors introduced by tool setting height errors. It's not as serious as you might think. That's relevant here if running the spindle in reverse and worrying about the carriage front lifting. The late GT, for those who do not know was the UK model engineers guru's guru. He had a background in drawing office work and was particularly known for his work on add ons to Myford Instrument lathes but much of his expertise is highly useful regardless of the lathe make.
Hi Bob. I only have 1 machining related book. It's George Thomas 'The model engineers workshop manual' (red cover). A couple of years ago I started to read it, but stopped after the first pages. I'll give it another go 😉 Thanks
I had to sand the bottoms of my ways as well(Vevor lathe) and I also had .002" one way and .002" the other way. Imagine both ways would be twisted against each other. I had to sand the back way .002" off close to the spindle and the front way .002" off at the tailstock. The headstock it was off to, I had to shim it, it was machining tapered. I would face of the surface where the chuck mounts. How did you do the bearing preload?
Hi there, the preload was set by 'feeling'. The nut was tightened until there was no axial play. Then I run the machine for some time (15-20 minutes) paying close attention to the spindle/bearing temperature and adjusting the nut according to my 'feel'. In fact, I still check the temperature often when I use the lathe for 1 hour or more. I never had the spindle go more than just a little warm to the touch. Nothing that can be considered hot, just slightly warm. Then, with a long bar on the chuck and a DTI on the spindle, I try to look for movement on the spindle as I push the bar up and down. I did this a couple of weeks ago and had 1 tenth of movement. Almost one year has passed since the rebuild and I didn't need to readjust the bearings nut yet. I'm not sure if this is the proper method, but has been working for me. Hope this helps! Thanks
Hi, when you replaced the main spindle bearings did you heat up the rear bearing then pack it with grease or pack it with grease fist then heat it up or did it not need to be heated to get it on? (gave you a shout on Fixing the Lathe pt16)
Hi @thisthatotherstuff1203, that was cool, thanks! You're doing a very nice job on your lathe, I'm sure you'll be very pleased with the end result. The rear bearing on my lathe was more of a slip fit rather than a press fit. For that reason, I didn't need to heat it up, only the front one which was a (tight) press/interference fit. If your rear bearing is a press fit (as I think it should) you can try to make a big C-clamp that sits against the face of the spindle and helps driving the inner race in (square). Or maybe you can drift it in very carefully (no hammering against the front bearing) until you can get the nut on and then drive it with the nut? A fancy option, if you have access to another lathe, would be to turn an adapter that fits the spindle thread on the rear and with another set of threads could push another piece inwards (square) and drive the bearing home. Just some ideas!
Nice work mate, I'm regretting not doing this to my lathe after I purchased it new.. I shudder to think of the premature wear that may have already been done. They don't seem to build these lathes to last very long
Hi, Slightly smaller version of my lathe. Some suggestions. Don't get too concerned about front carriage lift, the cutting forces are normally downward unless running the spindle in reverse. Consider adding a cooling fan directing air onto the electronics heat sink. At least your lathe has one mine, came with no heatsink - fortunately spotted very early.
@@nbrworks You're most welcome. Incidentally nothing wrong with wanting to 'get things right'. OEM spindle bearings were dreadful, clearly needed changing.
Great video series! I have a similar lathe with similar issues and I really like your attention to detail and your methods for resolving issues. I need the same correction to the bottom of my ways and I like your solution. Would you have a link to those diamond coated metal strips? I'm having a little trouble finding good search results for those.
Thanks James. You can lookup for 'diamond knife sharpening stones' (something like that) and you'll find results from the usual places. Here is a direct link just to guide you (it might not be the best price): aliexpress.com/item/1005005596524294.html Be careful removing material from the lathe, you cannot add it back. I removed the plastic backs because it prevents getting to corners. I used 320 grit for roughing and 600 for finishing - actually I use the 600 a lot to deburr edges (after milling stuff on the milling machine, etc). It takes very little material, but you can feel the difference. Good luck!
@@nbrworks Great info, thanks! I'm sure of the errors after multiple measurements with DTIs and precision straight edges, and I have been working it down with stones and files already and measuring and feeling the improvements. I like those diamond strips you described and was surprised not to find them so easily, guess I was blanking on alternate search terms. Thanks for your help, I was able to find some. 👍👍👍
And so, what I'm learning here is; if I buy a lathe, the OOTB state sucks and I need to have it entirely overhauled so it can become half-decent and actually make parts.
It will depend on some factors. Not all machines are made to the same quality standards, so researching and buying well is the best thing you can do to start with. Then it will be a bit of luck. It will also depend on your requirements, if you want a little bit more precision, buying cheap is not really the best option. I wanted to have a strong basis from the start, including knowing the machine very well, hence the rebuild.
@@nbrworks Thanks for the reply! I think mine is a bit cheaper than yours, I have metal gears and abrasive sand like substance everywhere that I want to remove! I need to find some way oil in Belgium... And th runout on mine is bad, it's about .2mm
Spindle bearings. Your lathe is the Vario version with speed control (no VFD indeed). I bought the 'dumb' version because I want to replace the spindle motor with a 1.5kW servo motor (have several of these laying around).
@@WoutRikkerink Oh, ok. My spindle bearings are 32009X. I recommend you check yours before purchasing a set, yours might be different (I don't know). Also, if you can find precision bearings, even better.
Intention to chat and to inspire. why are you doing that extension thingy? You could do the easy thing and change the lathe. Turing down the dead center and using a lathe dog and a live center in the tailstock is some of the most accurate options we have in turning, when the spindle runout is accaptable - when. we have 4 lathe here and non is young, they are all old ladys. Every one of em is over 50 years old, the oldest is from around 1900. Think about getting a old toolroom lathe or an industrial machine because they are build to high standards. Non of our old lathes has a runout over 5 micron, i mean think about it mate 50 years old tech and no runout over 5microns. I started on a "Coop" lathe the spindle runout was around 60microns. The machine had about 15kilos, it was a mess to work with. After i got an old swiss watchmakers lathe for 200$ i never turned back on the pitty thing! I assume you run a somewhat "hobbylathe"... do your self a favor get rid of that thing and get another lathe an old toolroom lathe maybe or a industrial machine. They produce those lathe with the intention to sell as many as they can for the least amount of work to put in. That is a recipe for disaster. Getting an old but when then new very expensive lathe will be a reasable better recipe for better results. From where are you, who made there the best lathes?
Lovely job. But is it not a bit extreme to repaint it? I am not criticising you. Just curious why you decided to repaint a brand new lathe. I do understand why you changed the bearings though.
I get your point 😄 The question is: how much would I regret not painting it after the reassembly? I knew I wouldn't have another chance so soon, it was a now-or-never situation, so I went for it. Also, I didn't paint all the parts, for instance the backsplash, the electrics housing, the change gears cover and the tailstock were not painted. I just did what looked worse from the factory and could look better with a little more effort. And this is a tool I am (and will be) using, I know the paint job is not going to last forever 😃 Thanks
@@nbrworks I have been looking closer at my own lathe now and the Chinese paintwork is very thin and chips very easily. Guess I never thought about it. I have been thinking of maybe selling the one I have and get another. The one I have now is not branded and quality of it is very questionable. I have had everything apart, cleaned and all of that though. I have similar to yours but with step pulleys and single phase motor. I dont have much faith in electronics 🤣. The motor on it sounds very rough and badly made. I am looking forward to more of yours videos.
Happy Dance time with those runout readings right! Well done.
Thanks. I guess I had some luck too 😊
Those bearings are 32009, I found both NGK and FAG bearings .. though I'd rather have found some Timken bearings, if I were rebuilding a lathe.
Fantastic video quality, even for a channel that ISN'T new. I think this guy's gonna go far, fast :D
i used sfk bearings and repalced the race with the skf ones. i also welded a steel tube between the bearings in the housing and used solicone to finish sealing it. i then drilled and tapped a hole for zerk fitting on each side so i can grease the roller bearings. i also used thich rubber style matting to make custom seals to keep the debris out and the grease in.did that on front and back. works so much better now!
Nice video! That’s some sweet low numbers on your runout. I did similar things to my lathe when I got it. Looking forward to seeing more videos!!
Finding sand, metal particles, and grit inside is fairly standard for Chinese made lathes. Do not run them out of the box - clean them out first.
Very tidy work, thanks for sharing. The runout of the new spindle bearings is impressive but what prompted replacing the original bearings - was there excessive runout or noise? I've got a small Optimum branded lathe and was wondering if or when I should consider replacing the spindle bearings.
I was rebuilding the entire lathe and given the original bearings were running with some casting sand in the grease and all the work involved in replacing them, it made sense to do that at that time. Like you said, if your bearings are making noise or if you have them adjusted and excessive runout directly measured on the spindle (that you didn't have before), you should consider replacing. Thanks
Hi, me again, just a thought, have a read of George Thomas' excellent workshop manuals if you can. There's a place where he talks about the errors introduced by tool setting height errors. It's not as serious as you might think. That's relevant here if running the spindle in reverse and worrying about the carriage front lifting. The late GT, for those who do not know was the UK model engineers guru's guru. He had a background in drawing office work and was particularly known for his work on add ons to Myford Instrument lathes but much of his expertise is highly useful regardless of the lathe make.
Hi Bob. I only have 1 machining related book. It's George Thomas 'The model engineers workshop manual' (red cover). A couple of years ago I started to read it, but stopped after the first pages. I'll give it another go 😉 Thanks
I had to sand the bottoms of my ways as well(Vevor lathe) and I also had .002" one way and .002" the other way. Imagine both ways would be twisted against each other. I had to sand the back way .002" off close to the spindle and the front way .002" off at the tailstock. The headstock it was off to, I had to shim it, it was machining tapered. I would face of the surface where the chuck mounts. How did you do the bearing preload?
Hi there, the preload was set by 'feeling'.
The nut was tightened until there was no axial play. Then I run the machine for some time (15-20 minutes) paying close attention to the spindle/bearing temperature and adjusting the nut according to my 'feel'. In fact, I still check the temperature often when I use the lathe for 1 hour or more. I never had the spindle go more than just a little warm to the touch. Nothing that can be considered hot, just slightly warm.
Then, with a long bar on the chuck and a DTI on the spindle, I try to look for movement on the spindle as I push the bar up and down.
I did this a couple of weeks ago and had 1 tenth of movement.
Almost one year has passed since the rebuild and I didn't need to readjust the bearings nut yet. I'm not sure if this is the proper method, but has been working for me. Hope this helps! Thanks
Hi, when you replaced the main spindle bearings did you heat up the rear bearing then pack it with grease or pack it with grease fist then heat it up or did it not need to be heated to get it on? (gave you a shout on Fixing the Lathe pt16)
Hi @thisthatotherstuff1203, that was cool, thanks! You're doing a very nice job on your lathe, I'm sure you'll be very pleased with the end result. The rear bearing on my lathe was more of a slip fit rather than a press fit. For that reason, I didn't need to heat it up, only the front one which was a (tight) press/interference fit.
If your rear bearing is a press fit (as I think it should) you can try to make a big C-clamp that sits against the face of the spindle and helps driving the inner race in (square). Or maybe you can drift it in very carefully (no hammering against the front bearing) until you can get the nut on and then drive it with the nut? A fancy option, if you have access to another lathe, would be to turn an adapter that fits the spindle thread on the rear and with another set of threads could push another piece inwards (square) and drive the bearing home. Just some ideas!
Nice work mate, I'm regretting not doing this to my lathe after I purchased it new.. I shudder to think of the premature wear that may have already been done. They don't seem to build these lathes to last very long
Thanks Simon. Not only cleaning but also deburring. It makes the lathe much nicer to work with.😉
Hi, Slightly smaller version of my lathe. Some suggestions. Don't get too concerned about front carriage lift, the cutting forces are normally downward unless running the spindle in reverse. Consider adding a cooling fan directing air onto the electronics heat sink. At least your lathe has one mine, came with no heatsink - fortunately spotted very early.
Hi @bobuk5722. Thank you for your comments and your suggestion about the cooling fan 🙂
@@nbrworks You're most welcome. Incidentally nothing wrong with wanting to 'get things right'. OEM spindle bearings were dreadful, clearly needed changing.
Great video series! I have a similar lathe with similar issues and I really like your attention to detail and your methods for resolving issues. I need the same correction to the bottom of my ways and I like your solution. Would you have a link to those diamond coated metal strips? I'm having a little trouble finding good search results for those.
Thanks James. You can lookup for 'diamond knife sharpening stones' (something like that) and you'll find results from the usual places. Here is a direct link just to guide you (it might not be the best price): aliexpress.com/item/1005005596524294.html
Be careful removing material from the lathe, you cannot add it back. I removed the plastic backs because it prevents getting to corners. I used 320 grit for roughing and 600 for finishing - actually I use the 600 a lot to deburr edges (after milling stuff on the milling machine, etc). It takes very little material, but you can feel the difference. Good luck!
@@nbrworks Great info, thanks! I'm sure of the errors after multiple measurements with DTIs and precision straight edges, and I have been working it down with stones and files already and measuring and feeling the improvements. I like those diamond strips you described and was surprised not to find them so easily, guess I was blanking on alternate search terms. Thanks for your help, I was able to find some. 👍👍👍
@@jameshisself9324 no problem. Glad to help 🙂
zero! you nailed it!
And so, what I'm learning here is; if I buy a lathe, the OOTB state sucks and I need to have it entirely overhauled so it can become half-decent and actually make parts.
It will depend on some factors. Not all machines are made to the same quality standards, so researching and buying well is the best thing you can do to start with. Then it will be a bit of luck. It will also depend on your requirements, if you want a little bit more precision, buying cheap is not really the best option. I wanted to have a strong basis from the start, including knowing the machine very well, hence the rebuild.
I just got the same lathe without dro! Not looking forward to the prep work and doing things like this
Hi! You don't have to! Just use it as is and improve along the way. I hope it serves you well!
@@nbrworks Thanks for the reply! I think mine is a bit cheaper than yours, I have metal gears and abrasive sand like substance everywhere that I want to remove! I need to find some way oil in Belgium...
And th runout on mine is bad, it's about .2mm
Can you share the part numbers? I now want to do the same to my lathe (I have the non VFD version of this lathe).
Hi Wout, which part numbers are you referring to? This is also non-VFD, this has a DC motor.
Spindle bearings. Your lathe is the Vario version with speed control (no VFD indeed). I bought the 'dumb' version because I want to replace the spindle motor with a 1.5kW servo motor (have several of these laying around).
@@WoutRikkerink Oh, ok. My spindle bearings are 32009X. I recommend you check yours before purchasing a set, yours might be different (I don't know). Also, if you can find precision bearings, even better.
Intention to chat and to inspire.
why are you doing that extension thingy? You could do the easy thing and change the lathe.
Turing down the dead center and using a lathe dog and a live center in the tailstock is some of the most accurate options we have in turning, when the spindle runout is accaptable - when.
we have 4 lathe here and non is young, they are all old ladys. Every one of em is over 50 years old, the oldest is from around 1900. Think about getting a old toolroom lathe or an industrial machine because they are build to high standards.
Non of our old lathes has a runout over 5 micron, i mean think about it mate 50 years old tech and no runout over 5microns.
I started on a "Coop" lathe the spindle runout was around 60microns. The machine had about 15kilos, it was a mess to work with. After i got an old swiss watchmakers lathe for 200$ i never turned back on the pitty thing!
I assume you run a somewhat "hobbylathe"... do your self a favor get rid of that thing and get another lathe an old toolroom lathe maybe or a industrial machine.
They produce those lathe with the intention to sell as many as they can for the least amount of work to put in. That is a recipe for disaster. Getting an old but when then new very expensive lathe will be a reasable better recipe for better results.
From where are you, who made there the best lathes?
Lovely job. But is it not a bit extreme to repaint it? I am not criticising you. Just curious why you decided to repaint a brand new lathe. I do understand why you changed the bearings though.
I get your point 😄
The question is: how much would I regret not painting it after the reassembly? I knew I wouldn't have another chance so soon, it was a now-or-never situation, so I went for it.
Also, I didn't paint all the parts, for instance the backsplash, the electrics housing, the change gears cover and the tailstock were not painted. I just did what looked worse from the factory and could look better with a little more effort. And this is a tool I am (and will be) using, I know the paint job is not going to last forever 😃
Thanks
@@nbrworks I have been looking closer at my own lathe now and the Chinese paintwork is very thin and chips very easily. Guess I never thought about it. I have been thinking of maybe selling the one I have and get another. The one I have now is not branded and quality of it is very questionable. I have had everything apart, cleaned and all of that though. I have similar to yours but with step pulleys and single phase motor. I dont have much faith in electronics 🤣. The motor on it sounds very rough and badly made. I am looking forward to more of yours videos.
Hi, I found this bearings
Skf 32099 X/QVK210 - 2 22 148 T
у нас такие станки плохого качества. удешевленные, жескости нет, станина слабая.