I’m pretty sure that the bearings on my lathe are on their way out, and I was trying to take the spindle out of the headstock to replace them. However there is a problem. I have no problem getting the bearings/spindle partially out of the headstock, but  after this I’m stuck. The pulley in the center of the headstock is supported on either side by metal sleeves. After the sleeves there are the bearings, and what I’m hoping is a threaded sleeve keeps the bearings from coming off the end. Now on the similar Rockwell lathe that I had, there was a nut that screwed onto the outboard side of the spindle to keep everything in place. That was easy enough to take off, but on my general, there is no nut, only a round piece of steel which may or may not be removable. There is a small indentation in this piece, does this mean I need a spanner wrench to get it off? I tried using a metal punch and a hammer to get it loose but that didn’t work (it’s a common trick used in metalshops), so I’m not sure that a regular spanner wrench would do the trick, as that’s what I was taught to do when a spanner wrench wasn’t enough. Have any of you guys taken the spindle out of your general 160’s, and if so, how’d you do it? I don’t want to have to destroy the spindle or headstock to get it out. Any help would be appreciated.

Andrew

BTW, it’s a 1950’s model 160 (not sure if they’ve changed their spindle design since then)