Hello Dave

I believe the front headstock bearing is whick fed and so due to a long time of storage, is it possible that it has disintigrated and needs replacing. I am probably wrong but sometimes when i lift the oiler cap the level sudenly drops a bit which i asume is because the air needs to get in to allow the oil to escape.

Hope this is off some help

Kind regards Stephen

The rear mandrel bearing has a small oil nipple which I leave finger tight and unscrew it to fill up with oil. Dont bother with back gear bearing as I dont usually use BG – long time since last “blue moon!

Hi Dave my super7 shows a very slight ring of oil around the mandrel and nose bearing, which is as it should be. Take a look at the above drawing and note that the wick has to be in contact with the spindle / mandrel. It would not do any harm if you decide to drop the spring / wick out and inspect it, I think new wicks are available from Myford's.

Unscrew the headstock oil cup to check if there is no blockage and oil can reach the wick, if that is OK but still no oil becomes visible around the mandrel as written above, then you have to check the wick it self by taking out the spindle. Niko.

Edited By speelwerk on 30/12/2013 00:21:13

IIRC, when removing the spindle you have to restrain the wick from moving upwards by sticking a bit of wire or similar through from the side.

Possibly an opportunity to replace the belt if you use conventional vee belts (countershaft would have to come out too, of course.

In order to get to the plug you have to take the headstock from the lathe bed, for that you have to take half the lathe apart, it is much easier to remove the spindle. Do mark the position of the split collar on the spindle and make reassemble a little easier. Niko.

I was concerned that the oil consumption of the front headstock bearing of my lathe was negligible and certainly would not require topping up twice per day however much I used the lathe. I removed the spindle and took out the felt wick which was in perfect condition when compared with the new one I had purchased. The spindle was also in perfect condition and the bronze bearing still had most of the original scraping marks present. Absolutely miniscule wear (if any) after many years of use.

I put the new wick in (after soaking it in oil for a few hours) pushed it down and secured it temporarily with a large dress making pin to ensure the spindle cleared the end of the wick whilst assembling it. I carefully assembled the spindle and set up the bearing s as described in the Myford hand book – twice as I am ashamed to say the first time I forgot to put the belt back!

The bearing still only uses a minimal quantity of oil which I guess is correct as the compressed felt that the wick is made from clearly does not transmit oil readily. This is probably why Myford chose this method of lubrication control as opposed to the uncontrolled total loss system of the old ML7.

I use Three-in One in my head stock as it is a high quality thin lubricating oil. If any one wants to buy 32 grade hydraulic oil ( =Nutto H32) try your local garden machinery repair company, The one near me has a bulk tank and supplies it at a very reasonable price when you take along a suitable container. Myford charge the earth for a straight forward grade 32 hydraulic oil.

Lambton

Thank you for elaborating the point I made about holding the wick down; it is, of course, on *replacing* the spindle that this is important..

Did you research the spec of "Three-in One"? It seems from the 3-IN-ONE website that it is indeed a mineral oil but I couldn't see the viscosity stated. Instinctively, I would be wary of using such a general purpose product on my precious lathe.

The mark 1 Super Seven headstock lubrication was different and I wonder if anyone has information as to why it was changed.

Check out Morris Oils for Hydraulic 32 weight oil, they are very friendly and deliver at a reasonable cost. If you are near Shrewsbury or Stoke they have a retail counter at either of those depots saving the delivery charge.

Ega,

Instinctively, I would be wary of using such a general purpose product on my precious lathe.

You are quite right to want to do the best for your lathe headstock bearings. The front headstock bearing on a super 7 is a never very highly loaded provided the spindle is adjusted correctly so that an oil film can exist between the spindle and the bronze bush. This more important than the actual grade of oil used. I was concerned about the very low consumption of oil and that is why I stripped the headstock down and replaced the wick. As I said the bearing surfaces were in perfect condition.

I have used 3 in 1 oil in my workshop for all sorts of applications for 50 years with no adverse results of any kind. It appears to have a slightly lower viscosity than H32 so I reasoned it stood a better chance of wicking into the bearing producing the vital oil film. The front headstock bearing is a very light duty application compared with a heavy loaded hydraulic system that H32 is intended for. The reason why Myford chose h32 oil is now lost in the mysteries of time but I guess it was chosen a good low viscosity, readily available product.