Pulling spindle on a 3520B

[KEW]

I may be needing to pull the spindle on my PM.
1) Those of you who have done this, did the task require a bearing puller or torch?

2) Also if someone knows the correct bearings (or a better replacement), it would be nice to get them before I start.

 

[robo hippy]

I took mine to a local tool repair shop. You can remove the motor to make it lighter. I did get the bearings locally, and a new belt, and ended up getting the parts and replacement done for less than the cost of the parts from PM. The parts list in you owners manual will have the necessary info in it. I never did find out what they had to do to get the bearings out, but they had to force it. It had rusted in. I turn a lot of green wood, and I guess the associated moisture was respincible. I wore the bearings out in about 5 years of turning chainsawn blanks. Now I have to see if I can do the same thing with my Robust, the challenge is on.
Robust robo hippy

 

[Doug Thompson]

No special tools needed. Loosen the set screws on the pulleys then remove the hand wheel and nut. With a rubber mallet knock the spindle out then reassemble. Bearings are common and easy to match up, look for a number and letters stamped on the outer race these give the type of bearing, size and type seal.

 

[Sean Troy]

I may be needing to pull the spindle on my PM.
1) Those of you who have done this, did the task require a bearing puller or torch?

2) Also if someone knows the correct bearings (or a better replacement), it would be nice to get them before I start.

Why would you need to pull the spindle on such a new unit? The b model hasen't been out long enough for spindle problems to be developing. You might want to contact Powermatic for a replacment.

 

[KEW]

Thanks for the info Reed and Doug. Mine is just over a year old, so I hope it won't be as difficult as Reed's.

Sean,
I was wanting to be ready in case I need to. At the time I posted this. I had established that a chuck with spur insert ran true on my Nova 3000, but had a wobble on my PM. Since then I have put a dial indicator on my spindle and established it is true. I have also established that my chuck/insert can be true on the PM, but it is inconsistent. Right now, my best diagnosis is that the threads are buggered-up such that they will not always seat the chuck properly.
The lathe is used and I imagine someone must have not backed out the set screw enough and messed the threads up by forcing the removal of a faceplate or chuck.
I have borrowed a 1-1/4" X 8 die and will chase the threads. Hopefully that will remedy the problem. If not, I am back to replacing the spindle.

Thanks!

 

[Sean Troy]

If the 3520 is the same as the 4224, there is a collar seated behing the handwheel with 1 or 2 set screws. That collar can lossen slightly sometimes and cause spindle wobble. You can losen the set screws a bit and take a blunt chisel and on the flat spot on the collar, tap with a hammer lightly and snug up the collar and then re-tighten the set screws. Don't over tighten as you'll strain the bearings.

 

[Garmar]

Teknatool has posted on their website a notice about defective or bad inserts for their chucks. So if you are using a nova chuck that might be the problem.

 

[KEW]

I'm not sure what the problem was.
I chased the threads, but I don't think it cut enough to make a difference.
I cleaned the threads and the shoulder of the spindle with a stiff brush.
I removed and reinstalled the chuck/insert 5 times and was true every time. There was nothing conspicuous, but it must have done something.

Garmar,
It is indeed a Nova chuck, but I'd assume the insert is OK since it always runs true on my Nova 3000 lathe.

At any rate, thanks for the info. I was getting kind of excited about opening up the lathe. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to turn something instead!😉:cool2::cool2:

 

[john lucas]

Most of the time it's not the threads. The threads simply pull the chuck up to the spindle face. It's the face of the spindle that aligns the chuck. Any dirt, grit or anything on there can throw the chuck off quite a bit.
I suspect the same would be true of the chuck insert. If both insert and spindle had any dirt at all it could multiply the error. Since you cleaned them I'm guessing that is what caused the problem.

 

[LHauch]

I agree with John. When I first started turning, I got a Nylon spindle washers for my Nova DVR. I kept having issues keeping some of the larger bowls and hollow forms true. I removed the washer at the end of March on some advice by Donald Derry - No more issues. Don also advised to make sure you tighten the chuck with a good shove (about the same force used to install a drive center) the when you install it - getting it nice and snug. It stays nice and tight and I do reverse hollowing after getting the outer form - chuck hasn't loosened up on me yet.
:cool2:

 

[Bob Boettcher]

I also had a problem with Nova chucks and one insert for my 3520B.

On one chuck, the insert worked fine, but on another chuck, it would not properly seat. I think the insert went too deep in the chuck body, and would not properly seat on the spindle. My guess is that the spindle threads went so deep they seated at the end instead of the shoulder. This might be why it would work on one lathe and not on the other.

Bob

 

[KEW]

Good points John, Larry, and Bob.
At this point I've quit taking alignment for granted. I'm watching everything I put on the lathe and I anything looks suspect, I'll put it on the Nova and troubleshoot from there. So far the problem seems resolved, but as a hobbiest I only mount something on the lathe about once every week or two so it may be a while before I can accept that all chuck hardware is good.
I did toss the nylon ring about halfway through troubleshooting this. It didn't cause all of my trouble, but I checked with the indicator and it gives away more accuracy than I am willing to forfeit.