Spindle bearing grease?

Should a Chinese mini-lathe have grease in its spindle bearings??

Had the front plate off mine to replace the speed pot and had a peek at the bearings...dryer than the proverbial dry thing.

There is nothing in the manual, there are no grease or oil points and the only way of checking is to remove the switch plate.

Believe it has roller rear, tapered roller front. not sealed.....surely there should have been some lubricant?

I use high temperature lithium grease, available from any car parts dealer for wheel bearings. When you pack the bearings, be sure to leave at least 50% air space or the grease will churn as the bearings rotate and get very hot.

Edited By old mart on 02/04/2023 14:13:21

I expect all chinese mini-lathes are not the same. Some indications of machine make might help a bit?

Its an Amadeal 210... so basically a generic brushless belt-drive 8x16.

I don't know is the answer. The bearing type number might help. It's possible the bearing is self-lubricating, broadly meaning it will run satisfactorily for thousands of hours and then have to be replaced. Mini-lathe bearings aren't heavily loaded as bearings go, so probably OK for several years. They're not like the plain bearings found in most older lathes, that require a constant oil feed.

Judging by the absence of complaints on the web, bearing failure isn't a common mini-lathe problem. But people do replace them, partly because inexpensive ball bearings run a bit rough (and get worse), and partly because taper bearings are more suited to lathe stresses.

I think the most important thing to avoid is over packing the bearings with grease. Ever unreliable "Common Sense" says more grease the better, but too much grease is a really good way of wrecking bearings. So, if it worries you, put a smidge of grease in and check periodically.

I don't worry about ball bearings unless they slide front-back or lift up-down, make lots of noise, or get hot.

It's a mini-lathe, not a Swiss watch!

Dave

Steven,

Given what this link tells us about dry lubricants I think the answer to your question is yes. If you put in too much the unshielded bearings will throw it everywhere so be sparing with the grease.

No grease. Ever

Don't ask how I know this I read it in a book honest

I may ask you this:If your spindle bearings are not isolated from the gearbox by large seals, you probably find the bit of oil splashing from the inside will delute the grease over time. My lathe gearbox was desined with a hole on top of each spindle bearing, hoever the bearings were open on the inside, and the stuff it with grease and they used a gasket to block the designed oil holes, so here you have vin my opinion a standoff between oil and grease regarding the spindle bearings. Advice to me was give it access to oil, so I made a prototype oil catch lide delivering the oil to the spindle bearings in a positive way, no moving parts for in this case 3 splash types as gears change..

Personally i have never had anything to do with the lathes in question, however would it not be prudent to contact Amadeal and ask their advice ?

Also look on Arceuro site and the "projects & articles " tab there are a couple of articles relating to the Mini Lathes they supply -- logical really they both advocate lubrication with grease. IMO any bearing [other than an air bearing] needs lubrication in some form.

John

No metal ball or roller bearing should be run dry. For a spindle bearing that is not oil fed, grease is fine. The pil on thebgrease does th lubricating, the 'soap's holds the oil. If you over-pack it then it will run hot just from the churning friction.

If you inspected the bearing and it has no grease at all, put some in ,but dont go crazy with it.

I have to agree with Pete here. Any lube is better than no lube, within reason.

For high speeds and light loads oil seems to be best, grease for slow speeds and high loads. Then again oil should be applied regularly, so for sealed units without a sump I would choose grease.

For general use I used Castrol lithium based grease for a very long time,Local Halford now only sells Comma grease,after ia while on the shelf it tends to get thicker and gummier,does not feel as good as the Castrol product and I read now that Castrol have renamed their grease,though no local stockists. a good source for grease would be to goe to the online bearing suppliers and buy their grease. Do not use molyslip grease,it states on my tin of Castrol molyslip grease "not for automotive use" ie wheel bearings. Small Lathe spindle bearings should be greased,unless they are within a closed headstock with splash or pumped oil lubrication,

Take heed of the warning about Molyslip, I used Molyslip G in a car gearbox, this was in the 60’s, and it wrecked a needle roller bearing and the parts of said bearing then attempted to pass through the gears and wrecked them in the process. I subsequently found out that Molyslip is definitely not recommended for bearings with minuscule clearances as it has a plating action and fractionally increases the bearing size which can cause the bearings to overheat and fail, consequence an expensive recon gearbox. Dave W

Molybdenum disulfide is good for plain bearings as it chemically changes the surface giving a lower coefficient of friction. This makes the surface layer slightly more brittle which is not a problem with plain bearings, but not so good with rolling contact bearings where the loading is constantly changing.

I have a tin of Comma lithium grease which is 3 or 4 years old which looks exactly the same as when I bought it. In the past, (60's onward) I always bought Castrol LM for motorcycle and car bearings and it always separated fairly rapidly, the layer of oil on top could be easily skimmed off to reach usable grease.

Good afternoon all.

Having experimented with many greases for use on motorcycles. I have found that Morris K323 blue grease is the absolute mutts for bearings. It's resistant to shock loads, & doesn't fling, separate, or wash off easily.

What's more, only a tiny bit is required on a high speed bearing such as you will find in a mini lathe headstock.

It's only available in big tins or 400 gramme grease gun cartridges. I buy a case of cartridges & decant one into a pot as required.

I have an old 12 inch Milford grinder. I purged the old LM type grease from the bearings & gave them a shot of K323. It ran a shade smoother, & was a little more quiet too.

Cheers.

Stewart.

Perhaps a lttle tongue in cheek, maybe along the lines of ...where can I buy a rag impregnated with grit and swarf or is that something special used before leaving the factory

Thanks for the replies, I used plain lithium grease, didn't over load- less is more.