Member postings for Jim Warren 1

The lathe is an old Zyto.

I'm a bit OCD and now I've fixed the play in the headstock bearings the only place with play is the cross-slide screw so I assumed it would need sorting.

I'm a complete lathe novice and have not used one for 35 years so I will listen to what I'm sure is your experienced advice and leave it as is for now.

I've got loads to learn once the lathe is ready to use

It's good to know lathework is like sex. It means I should be very good at it

Hi,

I am restoring an old lathe and have got to the cross slide.
There is play in the handle I turn to move the cross slide. I can turn the handle about a sixth of a turn with the slide not moving.

The handle is attached to a rod with a square thread.
The rod screws onto a hole that has a matching square thread.
The problem is with the thread in the hole (The rod is OK).

It looks like someone has fixed/bodged this before with a heli-coil type of square thread insert. You can see it in the pic below.

When is the best/correct way to repair this and remove all play.
Bear in mind I am a novice engineer and if a lathe is needed I do not have one until this project is finished.

Thanks in advance for any advice

Thanks again for all the replies about this.

I ended up using oilite bearings and I drilled a hole for an oil drip feed.

It is working well with no play.

Lets see how it lasts …. fingers crossed.

Here is the lathe so far

Thanks very much for the offer of machining down bearings.

The oilites are actually the right length, it is if I find split plain bearings they only seem to be longer.
I will probably try the oilites and see if I can measure any ply once assembled.
Still not sure if/how to lubricate them though

I have also found the following. Not sure if the construction type would be suitable ?

onlinebearings.co.uk --
PTFE lined split bearings which come in the length I need
DX split bearings which are too long so need cutting down. DX = a steel backing strip and a sintered porous bronze matrix, impregnated and overlaid with a pigmented acetal copolymer bearing material.

Bowman.co.uk --
Standard wrapped bearing which is also too long - steel backing strip with a sintered bronze layer

I have actually bought Oilite sintered bearings from Simply Bearings in the UK. It was less than a tenner for both

I'm still not sure if they are suitable.

As you pointed out Duncan the lathe body does have pinch bolts on one side.
The bearings I removed are split bearings but I am sure they are not original. I remember seeing pictures in another post where someone removed non-split bearings.
Do you have to use split bearings in a pinch bolt arrangement or could I use the Oilite ones and very gently tighten the pinch bolt so the bearings are held firmly but not squashed ?

My options are:
1. Use the Oilite bearings I have bought and never oil them
2. Use the Oilite bearings, don't drill a hole in them but feed oil through the drip oil hole hoping it will soak through the pores.
3. Use the Oilite bearings and drill a hole in them then feed oil through drip holes
4. Source non-sintered split bearings that are too long, cut them to length and drill a hole in them.

Unfortunately it is catch 22 and I do not have a lathe to cut bearings to length until this project is complete so unless I found someone else to do it I would have to use a hacksaw and file.

Please continue to give the very useful feedback

Thanks very much for the replies.

Based on all that has been said, I think I would prefer not to use Oilite bearings but after an extensive search I cannot find plain bronze bushes in the size I need.

The size needed is 1” ID, 1-1/8” OD AND 1-1/4” long.

Any ideas where I might find these ?

Thanks Phil for your very detailed reply.
Doh …. I was hoping for a simpler yes/no answer.
no disrespect meant

is it really that complicated ?

I thought it would maybe be a bit more simple in the way a sintered bearing would absorb and distribute the oil.
I'm very interested in the detail behind this but surprised at the complexity of your answer to my question.
Is it really this complex ?

Thanks very much again for your reply

Hi All,

Sorry if i'm posting this when it's already discussed on other threads.
I have read answers to similar posts but want to be sure about my specific application.

I have an old Zyto lathe I am restoring which needs new headstock bearings.
The headstock has oil feed holes at the top to lubricate the bearings which I guess I could fit drip feeders to if needed.
The old bearings have holes lined up with the oil feeds to get the oil to the shaft surface.

I have found Oilite "sintered" bronze bearings the exact imperial size I need.
From what I have read I should not drill sintered bearings as it could seal the small holes existing by the design of sintered bearings.

So my questions …...

Will the oilite sintered bearings be OK for the load of an old small lathe headstock ?

If I don't drill a hole and feed oil through the holes in the top, will the bearings soak and distribute the oil enough to give the required lubrication ?

Many thanks in advance for your experienced advice

Thanks,

Jim

The reservoir is only filled enough for the metal ring to touch it so it pulls oil around as it spins, if it was any lower the metal ring would never touch the oil so there would be no lubrication.

Hi Neil,

Here is an image of the countershaft which might help.
Oil seems to be getting out of the ends of the split bushes

Thanks for the update about overtightening. makes sense.

The problem I think is going to be sourcing new bearings. I have spent ages looking for Zyto bearings but no luck. Maybe I'll find more when I take them out and get the actual sizes. I am assuming I might have to search in imperial rather than metric ?

Hi,

I am new to lathes and this forum.
I am rebuilding an old Zyto lathe and have posted a few questions.

There is a bit of play in the headstock (about 4 thou on a dial gauge when I pull up on a bar through the middle of the headstock shaft).
I've done some research and cannot find a source of new bronze bushes.
When I take it apart and remove the bushes I assume I need dimensions for the shaft diameter, the bush outer diameter and the bush lengths. I would then have to get some made.
Is this right and where is a good place to get these made up ?

Also, the bushes clamp into the housing with a pinch bolt on one side only.
How does this work ?
If I overtighten is there not a chance of distorting the bushes ?

Thanks,

Jim

Hi,

I am new to this forum and lathes and this is my first post.

I am attempting to rebuild a Zyto Lathe and have a few questions (more posts to follow).

The rebuild has started with the separate shaft/pully that drives the lathe.
It has bronze bushes with an arrangement where within each bush housing there is a metal ring that passes through a pool of oil and rotates over the shaft providing lubrication (clever idea).
When it runs there is quite a lot of oil sprayed from each side of the bushes. I am thinking this is maybe due to the oil I have used being too thin.
After some research I have used Nuto H32 oil. This is a very thin hydraulic oil.

Is the problem because of the oil and if so what is the best oil to use.
I was also going to use this same oil for the headstock bearings. will it be OK for that ?

Thanks,

Jim