Thread: Slinging oil from chuck

Hi guys.

Nice to find this forum, been doing a lot of reading here and on Practical Machinist. I recently picked up a Hercus Model A, plain bearing, Serial 11011, that needed to be removed from work so I jumped at the opportunity to get my first metal lathe. It would have been "disposed of" as no one could be bothered to deal with it or move it so despite the fact its in pretty good condition it would have been tipped or scrapped. It was a relic from the times when we actually had a workshop and made scientific equipment in-house before people got lazy and just pay exorbitant prices for anything with "scientific" or "medical" attached to the name. Prices we pay for stuff is stupid. Anyway, a tangent.

I had to do a full tear down as most of the oils and lubricants had turned to varnish and it was gummed up pretty bad from years of non-use. So I've done the full clean and re-lubed everything (done a lot of reading on correct oils etc, which sourcing them has been a nightmare) and set the spindle up correctly again to 0.001". The bearings looked "ok", not flawless to my untrained eye with perhaps some wear, the spindle is in good shape. When I picked it up with a bunch of other stuff with the lathe I found a mystery bottle of oil labelled "Machinery Oil". So guess this is what it spent it's life time drinking, which to me given the specs I've read looks to be a bit too heavy (thick) for the bearings. So it might actually be showing a little wear in the headstock despite the rest of the lathe being excellent, I can't vouch for it's oiling regime so have no idea how well it may or may not have been treated.

Anyway, I've just got it going again and I lose a a bit of oil from the headstock which to an extent is normal as it's a total loss system. I think I may have been over filling the oil pots also, so might actually settle to having them only a 1/3 full as opposed to full to the brim. Anyone know exactly how full they should be? Obviously this related to the height of the oil reservoir beneath the spindle, over full and it just weeps out. Less than that and it should just be wicked to the spindle.

But I get a bit of oil wicking to the chuck and flinging off. It makes a mess and throws oil over the back splash guard and me at the front. Is there any way I can stop this? The oil I'm now running is not ISO 22 but ISO 68 until I can find the proper weight oil, so thicker than spec but I imagine the thinner ISO 22 will weep more easily and make more of a mess? I'm thinking about trying to fit something between the head stock and chuck to stop oil migrating to the chuck and slinging off (with an oring slipped over the spindle, or build a perspex guard to catch the flinging oil). Just wonder if this is normal to have to put up with this or is this something I can get around?

Time for a new cross-slide nut too and a gear repair on the cone pulley but I'll get there. So far learning to turn has been good fun and looking forward to playing around and building a few things.

Thanks, HB