Spindles for an old Concept wood lathe

[XT500fred]

Hello,
A while ago i was given an old Concept wood lathe that had been neglected somewhat, and after a little tlc i have managed to get it running. All is fine apart from the bearing on the tail spindle, where the outer casing concealing the roller bearings has corroded. I have given it a clean with oil and have been able to get some grease in there so it spins relatively freely, but it is not as good as it ought to be, and needs to be replaced.

Can the bearing be removed and replaced, or I will have to replace the whole spindle?
The tail spindle looks to have a 3/4" 10TPI thread with a 1.25" (32mm) lock nut.

The wood lathe itself is 40.5" long (overlength taken from the edges of metal structure) and it looks like it will hold a maximum length of 24".

Also, the head spindle is a little worn, so ought to be replaced, and i'm going to need a chuck for turning bowls.
The head spindle mount thread is 1/2" 12TPI and has a 3/4" cut away for a spanner. The spindle itself takes a 13/16" spanner.

I have spent a few hours on the net searching via google, but not found anything to do with this brand of lathe, but have noticed that the Sealey and Clarkes look very similar. Is it possible that i'll be able to buy a Sealey/Clarke replacement part?

Photos have been added as attachments. I wasn't allowed to post urls of the photos (I have them on photobucket)

Many thanks in advance for any help with this.

Yours,
Fred.

 

[chipmunk]

Hi Fred,
I wouldn't spend too much on the restoration to be honest because if you get the turning bug you'll soon outgrow this primitive lathe.

However, I would expect that the bearing would be a standard part if you can remove it from the end of the tailstock quill thread.
Probably the best way to do this would be to make, or improvise, a bushing between the tailstock body and the rim of the tailstock point and then use the thread to force the point off the bearing. It should then be clear how to remove the bearing from the end of the quill. It may just be a case of using the same method or just simply unscrew it?

Bearings can then be bought fairly cheaply...
http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Bearings/Ball-Bearings

HTH
Jon

 

[XT500fred]

Hi Jon,
Thanks for the idea on how to remove the bearing. I was thinking of doing that and wondering how to go about it, and had only thought of using the vice, bushing and hammer. Of course, the perfect tool for it is already there! lol.

I'll have a go later.

Many thanks,
Fred

 

[XT500fred]

Well, that was easy. The center and bearing came off really easy. I made a bush to remove the center from the bearing by cutting a section of pipe. Put that over the thread and wound up the handle and off she popped. After that, i removed the bush and wound up the handle again to remove the bearing. It didn't take much force.

I've measured the bearing (OD 32mm, ID 12mm, 10mm thick) given it a clean in some turps and suprisingly it rotates really well without any grease in there. So i've greased it up and put it back on for now. I'll give it a test run tomorrow. Regardless of the outcome i'll order a new bearing anyway.

Many thanks for the help Jon.

 

[Spindle]

Hi

You were fortunate that the bearing stayed on the spindle and not inside the centre when you pressed it off

To be honest I wouldn't bother replacing the bearing - the roughness would have come from debris in the old grease and as you've mow cleaned and re-greased it will probably be as good as new, the bearing doesn't experience much in the way of forces that would cause it to wear.

Get stuck into a bit of turning

Regards Mick