Any VL175 Owners??

[keithkarl2007]

I noticed the headstock was hotter than luke warm and followed the directions in the manual . The problem is, every time i tighten the 3 grub screws and they seem to be tightened evenly, when i start the lathe there is a terrible screech and noise and a faint odour. I've adjusted it i don't know how many times and can't get it right. Have i done any harm to it? I only have it about 2 months, should it have been regreased and where do i do that. Don't see it in the manual.

[bobsreturn2003]

hi have one works well, but needs more power . what are you doing? sounds like the bearings .can you give more info ? just rebuilt a mech var speed 200 . sounds like you have the shaft pin engaged? cheers

[keithkarl2007]

The shaft pin for the indexing plate? No thats no engaged. I haven't turned much on it since i got it. Just roughed turned a few pieces for drying.

[brendan stemp]

Keith, I will send Vicmarc an email with your description of what is going on. The screech sounds like a belt slipping. Is the belt aligned on the two pulleys? This could also explain the smell.

[keithkarl2007]

Thanks Brendan. I don't know what I've done. In the manual it says to unscrew the 3 grub screws and back off the adjusting nut by rotating 2-5 degrees anticlockwise. Then redo the grub screws by tightening up evenly.Once tight when the handwheel should turn freely without any tight spots. I don't find any tight spots but when i start the lathe it sounds like a rattling at first and then screeches. I hope i haven't done any serious damage. I have just bought it after having trouble with a previous lathe and if this turns out the same, it will put me off woodturning completely.

The smell is that of metal not rubber

[Jim Carroll]

Overtensioning the belt can cause problems as well.

If it is too tight it can cause overheating, back the belt of and see what happens then.

[keithkarl2007]

I think its from when i rotated the thrust ring and tightened back up the grub screws. They should be tightened evenly. When the thrust ring is rotated, will that cause the lathe to turn out of round as in the manual it states that when changing the belt, the thrust ring is removed and when replaced it has to be screwed on until there is no axial movement.

[brendan stemp]

this is the response I received from Vicmarc. I hope it helps. You might even like to email them direct because they want this problem resolved.
Something on this guys machine is obviously rubbing, perhaps it is the belt and it has de-railed and is rubbing on the side of the pulley. He needs to check that the belt is still in the grooves on both the headstock and the motor pulleys, also make sure that the pulley on the headstock has not come loose and is rubbing on the indexing pin. He will see this when he takes the cover off the headstock. There is no need to re-grease any bearings, I have personally pulled apart headstocks on machines that are over 5 years old and there is still grease remaining on their bearings. Please let us know how you go as we too would like to resolve such matters.<o></o>

[RETIRED]

Jeff will probably be interested in this as well.

I gave his VL175 the first decent :rolleyes: workout it has had since he got it and it ran fairly hot as well.

[bobsreturn2003]

re reading this it doesnt sound like bearings even the L200 wich is a 2003 model the bearings were ok you just need to tighten them by hand . you dont need a lot of force .to grease the brngs need to loosen belt and pulley and slide shaft foreward to grease bearing with quality high temp grease . then retighten all when in correct position . sounds like the pulley on the shaft has moved back or is rubbing and or the belt is slipping hence the scretch . does the handwheel turn freely? can you remove the cover and see anything rubbing ? vicmark do a good job . but perhas some carrier has dropped it ? although its going to take some force to bend the shaft .lets know what you find . best regards Bob

[DJ’s Timber]

I don't have the VL175, mine is the VL300, but I have replaced a set of bearings in mine and they do run hot when bedding in, my lathe did this with the original bearings and the replaced bearings, in fact they still run fairly warm/hot as I haven't really put a lot of time on the new bearings yet and I have use really good quality H/Temp grease in them.

Other then what I've said, check belt tension and that it is lined up with the corresponding upper/lower pulleys.

[keithkarl2007]

When the carriers took it off the lorry it hit the ground pretty hard. I'll have another look at it today. It was the rattling sound that worried me most. When i did seem to get it right and the lathe was running with no screeching, when stopped the handwheel was a little stiff and first and then ran freely.

[Tim the Timber Turner]

Keith

The problem you are experiencing only came to light when you adjusted the bearing backlash of the tapered bearings?

If so, the noise you are getting is due to the incorrect adjustment of the 3 grub screws resulting in the collar being kicked over to one side and rubbing on the headstock housing.

I suggest you try this.

Back off all 3 screws.

Adjust each screw in turn untill each one is just touching the bottom, no pressure should be applied.

Turn each of the 3 screws 1/10 of a turn,.

Repeat adjusting all 3 screws in turn, but only 1/10 of a turn at a time untill tight. This should centralise the collar in the headstock hole.

The noise should disappear, if not repeat the procedure.

This adjustment set up is critical.

There is minimal clearance here because this is how a dust seal is created.

It is not uncommon for the excess grease to be expelled from around the collar as the lathe bearings bed in and get warm the first few times.

How hot is hot? It is not uncommon for the headstock to get quiet warm when applying pressure with the tailstock. If you can hold your hand on the headstock without discomfort then that is OK, no problem.

Every new Vicmark I have used ran warm in the headstock when new, this is worse when heaps of pressure is applied to the tailstock as when holding large pieces of wood between centers.

Don't forget these are tapered roller bearings, not the cheaper ball race bearings.

However if the lathe has been dropped you may have bent something.

That could be another set of problems.

If the set up I have recomended doesn't work send me an airline ticket (Qantas are having a sale at the moment) and I'll pop over and see if I can sort it for you. In fact 2 tickets would be good as I'm sure Brendan would like to see if he could help out.

Of course will get upset if he misses out.

Good luck with the adjustment.

Cheers

Tim

[keithkarl2007]

When the collar is kicked to one side, will that throw the spindle out and cause it to turn out of round

[jefferson]

Jeff will probably be interested in this as well.

I gave his VL175 the first decent :rolleyes: workout it has had since he got it and it ran fairly hot as well.

Yep, , very interested.

We had the VL 175 running all arvo at maybe 2000 rpm, not as fast as when we had it running hot a couple of weeks back. No heat problems today. Hmmm.....

Worries, worries.... :rolleyes:

[Tim the Timber Turner]

When the collar is kicked to one side, will that throw the spindle out and cause it to turn out of round

No way, not possiable.

If it turns out of round it is more likely to to be a problem with the spindle shaft. (bent? or the thread not true on the shaft?) either of these is highly unlikely in a new lathe unless it was damaged in transport.

The bearings supply the aglingment of the shaft.

The main function of this collar is to provide the pre load adjustment to the bearings.

The 3 grubscrews lock the collar in position and maintain that adjustment.

The close tolerance of the collar in the housing provides the dust seal to the bearings.

Incorrect adjustment of the 3 grub screws can result in the collar touching the headstock housing. This makes a noise and is probably what you heard after making the adjustment.

Cheers

Tim

[keithkarl2007]

No way, not possiable.

If it turns out of round it is more likely to to be a problem with the spindle shaft. (bent? or the thread not true on the shaft?) either of these is highly unlikely in a new lathe unless it was damaged in transport.

The bearings supply the aglingment of the shaft.

The main function of this collar is to provide the pre load adjustment to the bearings.

The 3 grubscrews lock the collar in position and maintain that adjustment.

The close tolerance of the collar in the housing provides the dust seal to the bearings.

Incorrect adjustment of the 3 grub screws can result in the collar touching the headstock housing. This makes a noise and is probably what you heard after making the adjustment.

Cheers

Tim

Thats exactly whats wrong but i've tried i don't know how many times to adjust them and always have them rubbing. I just can't seem to get it right

[Tim the Timber Turner]

Keith

When you had the original misadjustment and the lathe was making a noise, you may have got some metal transfer onto the collar and this interfered with the clearance.

Suggest you remove the spindle and check both the collar and the housing.

If this has happened it would be more likely there would be metal pick up onto the collar rather than the reverse. Check the collar for any raised burrs on the outside diameter.

Again I'll state the importance of the correct method of tightening the 3 grub screws. A small amount of tightening to each one in turn, rather than to tighten one fully followed by tightening the next one fully, ect.

Cheers

Tim