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View Full Version : Re: Heat buildup - causes?



mobrien
14th May 2007, 03:30 PM
HI everyone,
As you may recall, I got an old Woodfast lathe recently. I finally got some time to use it, with my new supernova 2 chuck as well.
The job was drilling out two pen blanks - I used the chuck to hold the blank, and the drill in the jacobs chuck on the tailstock. Maybe 5 minutes use with the slow drilling.
Afterwards, I noticed that the outboard thread on the active center was quite warm. Not hot, but certainly warm to touch. I checked the belt, and it wasn't very warm.
Now given the small amount of use, this suprised me. I don't ever recall things getting warm on the last lathe I had (10 years ago) - but then again memories fade!!
Any thoughts? Should I be concerned? Should i get a grease gud and check all the nipples? Could it be bearing issues?
As an aside, I also noticed more movement in the chuck than I expected - it didn't really seem to be truly centered (we aren't talking much here though). What checks should I be doing on a second hand lathe to check all is as it should be?
Thanks for any and all suggestions!
Matt

rsser
14th May 2007, 06:33 PM
Warm bits are no surprise though there could be issues to check out. Lubricate everything that should be.

The tip of my bowl gouge is sometimes too hot to touch after a session of hogging out. And drilling is hot work; make sure you clear the drill flutes of shavings often.

As for centering, see if your spur centre and live centre line up when brought together. If not, play around with different positions for the spur cos they can sometimes have a slightly bent pin. Also feel inside your morse tapers to see if there's any crud build up. If there is try a bottle brush with a small amount of solvent.

Edit: re chuck centering, as Jim C advises, when you fit the jaws screw them into the centre before tightening the screws. This helps align the jaws.