The title just about says most things. The lathe mandrel appears to be in excellent condition and I have a new set of white metal bearings.

My scraping abilities were learnt off full size locomotive axle boxes and to say the least are not good for small size bearings! So hopefully any scraping can be kept to a minimum.

Andrew.

Hello again,

I am still unsure of how do this job. Do I simply put in the new white metal bearings, then put the mandrel back and shim the headstock top retainers, until I get a smooth turning of the mandrel, without it binding up?

Does one then use engineers blue and scrape the bearings in?

I have seen that people sometimes use a flat block and reduce the bearing half diameter to get a good fit. Seems odd to me as this will make the bearings none round and hence they probably will need scraping.

I have one mandrel that is in visual good condition (i.e. no scoring marks). This doesn't mean that it has not worn undersize. Does anyone know what size the mandrel bearing surfaces are? I also have brand new white metal bearings. These are as rare as hen's teeth, so I do not want to make a mess of this job!

So anyone that can make some helpful suggestions would be very welcome. Maybe this is a straightforward job for those that know, but I am a scientist and really not into the ins and outs of practical bearing fitting!!

Andrew.

Edited By Andrew Tinsley on 29/03/2017 12:17:41