It's not about my tractor (a Kiot1LK 3054) but I need help replacing lathe bearings

[dmoerman]

Well, I did it.

Yesterday I finished replacing the bearings on my 10 year old Nova 3000.

It was quite a job. I got a lot of internet advise on two forums, Fine Woodworking, and on Tractor by Net, both fora that I follow. (I'm a persistent woodworker, and I have a compact tractor, a Kioti 3054). I also got some excellent advise from Jim Echter, who had written earlier on bearing changes. And special thanks to Phil at Teknatool Tech Support in St. Petersburg Florida who got me a set of directions for doing the job (I had asked at least 5 or 6 times before he came up with the needed specs. It is one of those things that has to go in just the right order or you end up with no way to pound home the last item.

For those who don't know, bearings are tough nuts, designed to fit very very tightly in machined holes, and over shafts. The key is "very tightly." Ordinarily they are installed with hydraulic presses which cost upwards of several hundred dollars. And one application like mine could take several such presses to do the job. So I wanted to do it without presses. The key to using hammers is to have satisfactory "drifts." A drift is an intermediary between the hammer and the hole. An important tool can be the old bearing which if a bit battered takes the punishment in place of the new bearing.

Ironically, the most useful tool to have to make drifts would be. . . a lathe. Bearings are round; lathes make round things with holes in them all the time. Good hard wood makes excellent drifts (before I learned that, I tried a few pieces of pine drilled with appropriate holes; they split easily, and deformed, absorbing the energy meant to move the bearing.

So, lathe-less, I found that the most useful thing was to make drifts of pvc pipe and fittings, primarily end caps. Having a piece of pipe a bit larger than the shaft worked great in sliding a bearing onto its mount. Put 6 or 12 layers of duct tape around the shaft until the drift is just snug. If you cut the pipe carefully (I used my bandsaw) and have the end exactly at 90 degrees to the length, it will drive the bearing absolutely straight into the hole or over the shaft. So, with two drifts, used alone or in combination, I pounded the whole thing back together in about an hour after getting everything together.

The photograph shows the essential tools for the job. When I was done, I held my breath, and turned on the switch. It was purring like a kitten! One word to the cautious. If you find your lathe making noise, clattering, and if you have the feeling the turning isn't exactly circular (this could be due to failed bearings) first be sure your pulleys are both tight. That takes maybe an eighth of a turn on a set screw, and 3 minutes. If they are already tight, the bearings are the next thing to consider.

Thanks for all your help and encouragement!