Hi,
A good practice joint Doug; you're getting there.
I always have offcuts of timber so when I'm setting a machine up I can use the offcuts rather than wasting expensive timber.
I worked at an electric motor manufacturing company having six factories here in the UK for 24 years before I retired; it was recommended motor shafts should be slightly rotated occasionally if the motor wasn't being used in order to prevent metal to metal contact between rolling elements and races.
Whenever I buy an old machine first job is to replace the bearings; bearings aren't expensive and I like SKF these being decent quality; Timken bearings are one of the best but not cheap;
https://www.timken.com/products/timken-engineered-bearings/
Replacing bearings needs doing with a lot of care; cleanliness is vital and the use of excessive force will easily damage bearings. I use a puller to remove the old bearing but installing the new bearing I select a suitable length of very clean steel pipe the size to match the bearing inner race but a sliding fit on the shaft then I ensure the new bearing is aligned correctly before gently tapping the new bearing home onto the shaft. Electric motor bearings usually are reasonably easy to replace; I add punch marks (indents) to the end covers for alignment; two indents on the drive end and three indents on the non drive end; the indents are added to both the end cover and the yoke/frame this ensures the end covers go back in their original position. At work on the production lines bearings were pre-heated in big ovens allowing them to be quickly located on the shaft then once they cooled they were home.
Grease hardens and ages over the years; old motors used to have grease nipples but bearings these days are mostly sealed for life although open bearings are readily available and if not then it's not a problem to buy the correct shielded bearings and remove the shields. Bearings are big industry. A plain bearing will withstand a greater load than a rolling element bearing; I once restored a vintage Myford metal lathe turning the new headstock bearings from Whale Tufnol.
Given the age of your router Doug perhaps new bearings would be worth considering then the router should run as new for years to come.
I'm on the keyboard when I should be busy in the workshop or in the gardens but the weather wet; miserable and dark; interest is lacking on days like these.
Kind regards, Colin.
New SKF bearings.
New bearing being gently drifted home; please note cleanliness.
Old bearing being gently removed from a lathe headstock; excessive force would destroy the headstock casting.
My Graduate woodturning lathe as bought; I would never ever let a machine of mine reach this stage when bearings are cheap and reasonably easy to replace; this old grease is more of a grinding paste than a lubricant.
Mandrel removed and bearing housings thoroughly cleaned ready to accept new bearings. I did well on eBay buying correct SKF bearings; a seller had a spare new bearing which I bought cheaply; both bearings years ago only cost around £22 the pair.
Pulling a bearing from a rotor; these can be very tight indeed giving a loud "crack" when they finally move. The universal puller was very cheap to buy and I've used it many times; where shafts are extra long I make up extension arms. It's so easy to damage things; here the rotor windings are exposed. This is the rotor out of a very old two speed motor.
The Graduate lathe was initially sold when I enquired regarding buying it but once the proposed buyer had inspected it he walked away so I was given the option to buy and I snapped it up; it looked like a load of scrap but I like to buy machines like this and fully restore them.
Many motors are run to destruction when replacing their bearings is all they needed; too late once the cloud of blue smoke appears?
Sorry to hijack your thread Doug but I'd rather do this than watch someone kick a ball around.
