Oil leak at spindle on my lathe

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spro
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Re: Oil leak at spindle on my lathe

Post by spro »

I think this was caught in time and by some encouragement went the correct path. There is something to be said about posts which require some thought, time and ability. Factors and knowledge change in short time but the intent was good and we are just having a conversation. Imagine not being able to remember exactly what you said, at a specific time to hundreds or thousands different people during thousands of miles.
Cadres of lawyers ready to eat you alive for any misstep. Can't go there but we have it good.
spro
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Re: Oil leak at spindle on my lathe

Post by spro »

If I am flat out Wrong about something, somebody will correct me. That is further knowledge to the whole Board and it will correct my thinking and interpretation of the Facts. I'm not bound by endless interrogations. At some point...nuff.
RSG
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Re: Oil leak at spindle on my lathe

Post by RSG »

LOL, Spro, we'll get the lawyers on you soon enough! Kidding of course, your posts are thought provoking to say the least, a good thing!

Pete, It uses a splash system to move the oil. Regarding finish, I can't say I've seen any deterioration, it still looks good. Come to think of it I noted actually how consistent my measurements have been as of late. I measured 20 spools the other day and all but one were less than .0005" difference. That in itself should say something about the bearings.

I think as Spro mentions, having the conversation causes one to become aware whether on purpose or other wise. The forum gives me insight to investigate and take preventative measures. I think it's safe to say the problem has been nipped in the bud!

Thanks to all who chimed in.
Vision is not seeing things as they are, but as they will be.
pete
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Re: Oil leak at spindle on my lathe

Post by pete »

Well if your finish hasn't deteriorated then I'd agree your pretty safe. I wouldn't feel too bad about overfilling the gearbox. That bubble in the sight glass has fooled a lot of people. And we all seem to learn the best by our own mistakes.
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SteveHGraham
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Re: Oil leak at spindle on my lathe

Post by SteveHGraham »

I remember putting too much oil in my Harley. I could not understand the problem. I kept putting it in, and the dipstick always said it was low. Then I found out a Harley oil reservoir slowly releases oil into the crankcase while the bike sits. I must have had two gallons in there.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
spro
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Location: mid atlantic

Re: Oil leak at spindle on my lathe

Post by spro »

Gee Steve G, there must have some seal leakage. Same here, overfilling a flat four. Anyway, the oil sight windows of my 12X36 were probably like that. There are set screws, supposed oil ports, above the spindle bearings but didn't seem to go anywhere. I filled to overflowing but made little difference in the sight glass. I found later there was other painted over set screws in the head case, which when removed , allowed that oil to flow thru the bearings and into the sight glasses. Air bubble, as noted. The oil was dark then before flushed out.
spro
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Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2006 11:04 pm
Location: mid atlantic

Re: Oil leak at spindle on my lathe

Post by spro »

Main good thing about a gear head is you don't have to lift the cover. Mine wasn't. I would always have a tray of tooling or parts sitting on that top cover which required some exertion to slide off. I could lift it a little and engage the bull gear to the head pulley, shift the head belt and otherwise avoid knowing more. At one point I would remove the side set screws and fill the sight glasses right there. There was evidence that a "wicking" action was happening, to where the clean oil in the sight glass was recirculating up into the bearings and down again. That was what I wanted at the time but think about how this worked. The oil port above was closed, so there was some venting through the bearing seals. With an oil bath, done But I think some filtering before the bearings.
Patio
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Re: Oil leak at spindle on my lathe

Post by Patio »

About Harley's, They have an oil bag and are a dry sump crank case system. The oil pump has a check ball to keep the oil going to the motor, unless under pressure from the pump. If the check valve leaks the case will fill with oil and once the engine is started, a good amount of oil will end up on the ground, via the breather system. This happened to me the first time I started my first Harley and freaked me out. I am having the same problem with the Panhead I am in the process of building. I will correct the issue in time.
Not meant to hijack the thread, back to it everyone. :)
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