[webgeek]

I damaged the threads on the top of my X2 spindle and ordered a replacement for it. Before you ask, they were damaged by me being a moron while installing the Steele belt drive. So I've torn apart the head but for the life of me, I can't see how to remove the spindle without potentially damaging the bearings (which I've heard is easy to do). So what's the trick? Also, where do you guys get replacement bearings when you do screw them up as I expect to do anyways - is there an upgrade over the LMS replacement ones? The head does get a bit hot with the current bearings and the spindle doesn't move anywhere near as well as it should when turned by hand. Thanks!

Mike

[degreaser]

Did you forget to loosen the set screw before turning the nut on the spindle? Don't ask me how I know that....

Get this video:

http://swarfrat.com/MillLatheSpindleRepair.htm

Also get a set of bearings from LMS:

http://www.littlemachineshop.com/pro...219&category=6
http://www.littlemachineshop.com/pro...220&category=6

LMS has a bearing puller kit but it's currently backordered. The Swarfrat video will show you how to make one.

http://www.littlemachineshop.com/pro...2287&category=

[webgeek]

That's exactly what I did. I was able to remove the spindle but I suspect I've damaged the bearings in the process. The real question is HOW THE HELL DO YOU PUT IT BACK TOGETHER?!?!? Man, that's not even a press fit, it's so tight that getting one installed pushes out the other. I created some wooden disks that fight tightly around the spindle that let me press in the bearings but tightening one side keeps removing the other.

The problem is that I'm screwed at this point, I desperately need the machine working ASAP and I don't have it so I can't build the tool. Does anyone have one for sale (individual or company)? I had no idea this would be such a mess or I'd have lived with the damaged threads. What a pain in the butt.

Thanks!

Mikie

[sansbury]

I went through several bearing changes on my X2 trying to reduce spindle heating problems. The fit of the lower bearing to the spindle was outrageously tight, so I put the spindle on my lathe and polished it with #600 sandpaper, which was a white-knuckle job to make sure I didn't over-do it.

If my experience is any guide, you'll be OK with the bearings so long as you apply pressure gradually when pulling or pressing them, even though the amount of force feels very high. What will damage them very easily is any sort of hammering--that's a big no-no.

[sansbury]

To answer the second question, when you press the second (upper) bearing in, you actually want to pull it into place against the spindle mouth using a screw--kind of like a drawbar pointing up instead of down. A picture makes this a lot easier to understand--check out that video linked above. The short of it is that you end up pulling the whole rig together from both ends, not pushing down from the top.