Myford Super 7 Headstock Lubrication

I have been a "silent" member of the forum for some time, but the time has come to poke my head above the parapet. I have owned my Super 7 for about 30 years, during which time it has seen several moves and the occasional spell in storage. The lathe is now back in use BUT the lubrication of the headstock has been worying me. The Myford instruction booklet requires the headstock front bearing to be lubricated twice a day. On my lathe, the oil level in the cup does not drop and I have not topped it up for years.

This seems to be wrong: does anybody have any suggestions for the lack of oil use? The headstock does not appear to run hot or sqeal. Should I strip the headstock to investigate, or leave well alone?

Thanks, Dave

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

Hi Dave

That does tend to suggest that you have a problem with the wick. As a first action I think i would replace it. I understand that the lubrication is a " total loss" system ( ie the oil you add to the front bearing is "lost" once lubrication via the wick has taken place) If your oil cup remains full that suggests that it is "bunged up" somewhere.

Here is a diagram

Regards

Norman

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.

hi dave,

i have an oil can that is very good quality that pumps oil similar to the myford that i use on my locos. i would suggest unscrewing your oil caps and pumping oil in the bearings to flush them out with fresh oil. wont do any harm. oil isnt expensive in the overall scheme of things. old oil can get a bit 'gungy'. i would even take the wicks out totally to see what happens after the above treatment. i often run my lathe very fast for stuff like making injectors, so bearing quality means a lot.

i wouldnt strip the headstock down at all unless there is a problem after the above treatment - though you do need a decent pump oil can to do the above treatment.

cheers,

julian

Edited By julian atkins on 29/12/2013 23:51:39

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

Thank you for your suggestions. They confirm my fears that all is not well in the headstock. As soon as I get permission from SWMBO to go to my workshop, I will take the oil cup off & see if the oil passage is blocked. I will let you know my findings.

Dave

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.

OK I've not done this but why is it necessary to remove the spindle to check and replace the wick? Surely by removing the plug the wick and spring can be removed from the bottom of the headstock casting and a new wick inserted?

N

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.

Two steps forward! I have just removed the oil cup: no blockages, but very little oil in the passage. Checking the Myford manual, I should be using Esso Nuto H32. I am actually using Castrol Magne BD68 (as called up for my little Emco mill). It looks like it is far to thick to flow throught the Myford headstock. Read the blasted manual.

I will update you all when I get my hands on the right oil... Time to invest in one of those Reilang oil cans, too?

Thanks for the help. I should have asked earlier!

PS. Who thinks up these names for oil??

Dave

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.

Niko.

Thanks !

I could have sworn that the retaining plug was accessible - so sure in fact that I had to go out to the workshop and check. You are, of course, quite right and looking at the machine it is obviously the case. I guess I must have looked at the section in the manual and assumed that removing the plug would be easy!

Norman

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.

Norman, it is perhaps a bit of a design flaw but one you can live with. In the almost 40 years I have this lathe, used when bought, it went through several drive belts but it still has its original wick. Niko.

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.

It's just struck me Dave it may be worth while reaching down the hole from the oil cup to the spring, with something like an electrical size screw driver and seeing if there is any spring movement, you will not feel much, but as you say it has never in all these years used oil, it would be interesting to know that all is well, if it had been changed for instance one would suspect that what ever was used to hold the wick assembly clear of the mandrel during the rebuild was still in there, may be worth having a really good look to see what you can see.

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.