Thread: Record CL3 lathe leaking oil

Originally Posted by oreo

Hey all, as the title suggests, I've got a record lathe i bought of gumtree a couple of months ago and i noticed it was leaking a bit of oil out of the back of the spindle housing in the headstock, for now I've got a little lid to catch most of the drips so it doesn't get all messy with shavings and all. does anybody have any ideas that could fix my slippery situation? I've tightened all the locks around the bronze bearing but still it leaks . i can take photos if needed once i get home from work in a little bit. Thanks all

How much oil are you talking about? Mine has always been slightly "damp" where the bearing emerges from the cast casing at the business end, where the spur drive goes or the chuck screws on. There is a little oil cup with a hinged lid on mine to keep the bearing lubricated.

I've not seen oil emerge from the other end, eg, the motor end of the pulley shaft at is comes out of the cast shell.

Originally Posted by Ray153

How much oil are you talking about? Mine has always been slightly "damp" where the bearing emerges from the cast casing at the business end, where the spur drive goes or the chuck screws on. There is a little oil cup with a hinged lid on mine to keep the bearing lubricated.

I've not seen oil emerge from the other end, eg, the motor end of the pulley shaft at is comes out of the cast shell.

Same same for me.
back of drive drips nothing, drive end is 'wet'. I put 2 drops oil in that oil filler cup every 3rd or 4th time I use it.

Seeing that you just bought it, I wonder if it has been sitting for a while and the seal has dried out a bit?

well ive been using it for a few months now so too my understanding it was not used for a fair while by the previous owner. and the amount leaking is pretty much what goes in comes right out the back end to the point where it runs almost dry within 20 minutes so i have to put a few drops in every 15 - 20 mins or so. at first i thought that it was missing a seal or something but as i checked out the manual, i did not see anything resembling a seal or ring or anything like that.

I also have a CL3 that I bought second hand that spreads some drops around from the spindle end. I also have to keep the oil up to it every 20 to 30 minutes. Perhaps it is just a function of the design and age of the unit. Mind you mine was pretty cheap so I am happy enough to keep going with it as it certainly does the job that I want it to do.

If there is a solution out there I'll be trying it as well.

Cheers

Steve

I find this:Record CL3 major bearing - adjustment/replacement : Wood Turning - Lathes - UKworkshop.co.uk

And this:http://www.slhardwoods.co.uk/UserFiles/file/CL3.pdf

Coronet | Machine manuals, drive belts and books

Thanks paul, from reading that, it may be the case that i have not tightened the locking ring all the way up, i will give it a check when i get home from uni, if thats not the case, does anyone have any other ideas i could use to keep the oil in the bearing?

Oreo,

That is supposed to be a plain tapered bearing. When you tighten the adjusting nut it will make the clearance smaller.

Assuming you are using the specified spindle oil, if you don't have that, 5 - 20 or 10 - 30 auto engine oil will work.

I would put a face plate on the spindle thread and loosen the locking nut, then tighten up the adjusting nut a bit and spin the face plate by hand, repeat until it gets a bit hard to turn, back off the adjusting nut just an oonch so that it turns a bit more easily then lock with the lock nut. Chuck to be sure it didn't get harder to turn when locking.

Run the lathe for about 10 minutes, keeping oil in the cup. If it gets slightly warm and turns freely, use it. If it gets very warm or hard to turn, loosen the adjuster.

Before starting the lathe the first time each day, put oil in the cups and turn it over a few times by hand. Plain bearings are used in turbines for generators and if kept oiled run for years 24 hours a day.

The plain bearing lathes are going to lose a certain amount of oil. If it doesn't get on your turnings, don't be concerned.

I also use a South Bend metal lathe, which has plain bearings and leaks oil. This is less troublesome on a metal lathe than a wood lathe. Every photo of a plain bearing metal lathe I have seen has a stripe of oil on the wall behind the lathe.

"If it ain't leakin oil, there ain't none in it."

so i played around with the adjusting rings a little bit, the spindle doesn't move as freely, but it seems the amount leaking has been reduced greatly, though i am still yet to turn an project on it since the adjustment.