An expensive sound

[samharber]

I think the bearings on my Axminster AWVSL have died.
I was having a play with a banksia nut (my first attempt) so I had the vacuum on and ear defenders (as the vac is rather loud). When I turned off the lathe after producing nothing but dust for 5 minutes, I noticed that the nut had stopped rather abruptly.
I shut off the vac, took off the ear defenders and started the lathe up again, to hear a rather horrid, angry, and above all, expensive sound.

So my amateur diagnosis is that the bearings have gone all parrot shaped.

The question is, what do I do now? Is it fixable? Is it fixable by me? Is it going to cost an arm and a leg?

Help!

 

[CHJ]

Have you dis-engaged the drive belt?
Does the motor spin up with ease and no undue noise?
If (or can) you turn the headstock spindle by hand?
Does it feel like a bag of pebbles turning round or is there a problem with the pulley catching or rattling on the spindle?
Is there end float on the headstock spindle, are both bearings secure in their housings?

 

[tekno.mage]

I'd contact Axminster - they are very helpful. I'd expect lathe bearings to be replaceable - although you might have some fun doing it depending on how they are fitted.

Does the lathe make a nasty expensive noise if you rotate the work by hand? Are you actually able to rotate the work by hand? An expensive noise plus no rotation could just be a spindle lock that has accidentally become engaged?

How old is your lathe - I'd expect lathe bearings to last for several years of solid use.

 

[samharber]

The headstock will turn by hand, quietly, albeit a little stiffly.

I'll have a look at the drive belt when I get home tonight. The lathe is probably about 2 years old.

Cheers for the advice. Fingers crossed it's something simple.

Sam.

 

[boysie39]

Have you dis-engaged the drive belt?
Does the motor spin up with ease and no undue noise?
If (or can) you turn the headstock spindle by hand?
Does it feel like a bag of pebbles turning round or is there a problem with the pulley catching or rattling on the spindle?
Is there end float on the headstock spindle, are both bearings secure in their housings?

Well Sam , there is nothing more that Axi, can ask you that CHJ. has not made reference to ,except what name have you given it. :lol: :lol:
I hope it can be fixed and at not too much cost. Best of luck.

 

[jpt]

One other thing to check is undo the 2 screws holding the rev counter display in place and lift it off the lathe then run the lathe again. I had a similar things happen with mine and it turned out to be that the slotted bit on the spindle that is part of the counter had moved and was catching on the housing.

Also check that the belt is running on the correct pulleys, both on the same if one end has jumped to a different pulley this will have the effect you are experiencing.

Finally if you do need new bearings they are quite cheap either from Axminster or your local bearing place and easy to change.

john

 

[samharber]

Have you dis-engaged the drive belt?
Does the motor spin up with ease and no undue noise?
If (or can) you turn the headstock spindle by hand?
Does it feel like a bag of pebbles turning round or is there a problem with the pulley catching or rattling on the spindle?
Is there end float on the headstock spindle, are both bearings secure in their housings?

With the drive belt disengaged, it still makes a horrid sound, so it's narrowed down to the motor at least.

So the next obvious question is about the ease of changing the motor. I work reasonably close to the Warrington branch of Axminster, so at least picking up a replacement shouldn't be too taxing.

many thanks.

 

[CHJ]

Does the motor have a cooling fan on the end under a removable cover?

If so has the fan moved along the shaft and is fouling the cover?

Some of the cheaper motors just rely on a push fit plastic fan and the heat of usage can lead to it slipping along the shaft.

Is there any chance that there is some debris inside the cover fouling the fan?

 

[samharber]

I'll give it a poke when I get home. Many thanks.

 

[beech1948]

samharber,

Take a deep breath. Think about being young and tinkering with cars I'm sure you must have done that.

Well replacing a bearing is no more difficult.

First thing to do is to go to OWWM.org and look at the everything electrical section. Read a few of the threads with large numbers of viewers.

SEARCH for "bearing replacement" and see how its done.

Come back here and ask for help.

Replacement of electric motor bearings is a 30 minute job and would cost you maybe £12 in new bearings from a bearing factor.

Send me a PM if you want a step by step method to replace your bearings.

Al

 

[samharber]

Latest update...

After taking the motor apart, it looks like I've found the culprit. Their are two permanent magnets glued to the side of the case, and the spindle (with coil attached) runs down the middle. One of the magnets had come unstuck, clonked onto the coil and spun around till it hit the other magnet. The awful sound was the coil grating against the magnet.

I'm now gluing the magnet back in place (and really hoping I've got the polarity right and I'll put it all back together tomorrow.

Fingers crossed.

 

[CHJ]

Well that's hopefully a fix but I personally would be on the 'phone to Axminster, that's a gross failure of a motor basic construction and as such I would expect it to come under the remit of faulty construction and/or materials.

 

[tekno.mage]

I agree with Chas - contact Axminster & let them know what's happened. A magnet coming unglued inside a two year old motor is completely unacceptable.

The lose magnet may also have damaged the coil or it's insulation when it grated against it - I'd inspect the coil very carefully indeed before re-applying power.