Record DML 24" Lathe.

Retired · Post by **Retired** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 3:46 pm

Hi,

Bron kindly bought me this delightful Record Power DML 24" woodturning lathe over 25 years ago from Tabwell tools in Bakewell as a wonderful Christmas present. It cost £199.99 and a couple of weeks after buying it the same lathe was reduced down to £99.99; money in those days was very tight indeed; we still have similar luck. In spite of feeling ripped off this small lathe has been my friend and still is; it's just a basic no frills lathe but made of proper cast iron and steel. It came with a set of three turning tools. I've used it a lot and with good bearings it is very sweet running indeed.

Recently I've noticed it's sounded unwell being somewhat rough when switched on so I knew immediately the headstock bearings finally required changing a sound I'm familiar with due to my mechanical engineering background. A lot of these lathes were manufactured and many are still in regular use so I thought I'd add a few details of the bearing change.

First job was to ensure the lathe was turned of at the mains and unplugged. The motor doesn't need disconnecting from the electrics; just a nut to remove and it slides free on its locating pin. Equally the headstock is easily removed by releasing a single nut found inside the base of the headstock; a ring spanner goes in nicely taking care not to nip fingers. With the pulley cover open the pulley is released from the mandrel by a single grub screw which secures it; the pulley isn't a friction fit on the mandrel so will slide free but take care to withdraw the grub screw until almost out otherwise it will foul a side of the flat machined into the mandrel to accept it. (Always bring these grub screws most of the way out because many shafts have dimples to accept them and I've also come across two grub screws in the same hole).

At the outboard end of the mandrel is a small 6mm socket setscrew; I removed this not wanting to damage it; I have lots of set screws so screwed in a longer set screw until it bottomed; taking a lot of care not to hit the casting I gave this set screw a sharp rap with an hammer and noticed the mandrel moved a bit so I was safe to drift out using the hammer; a lot of care is needed not to break the casting by being too rough; had the mandrel refused to move I would have rigged up a suitable puller. The mandrel together with bearing attached came away leaving the pulley and belt free within the headstock; the mandrel comes out towards the tailstock.

I opened the jaws of my big engineering vice sufficient enough to allow the bearing to sit comfortably on top of the jaws but without the jaws touching the mandrel then again a sharp rap with the hammer onto the set screw had the mandrel clear of the bearing. This is the main bearing at the chuck end and is a 6204Z. The outboard bearing remained in the headstock casting so aware of how fragile cast iron can be I decided not to "drift" this bearing out but rigged up a puller out of bits kicking around as seen below in the pictures; I used a large round steel spacer to draw the bearing into. A 10mm set screw and nut with lots of washers made light work of withdrawing the bearing using two spanners. This outboard bearing is a 6202Z These bearings are NTN of West Germany but any decent bearing will be OK of these two numbers. Avoid buying the cheapest bearings because there is little difference between cheap and expensive when it comes to buying bearings. I'll order a pair of bearings possibly SKF and post the details shortly. The bearings have metal shrouds. Removing the bearings took less than 30 minutes and I was taking my time. I can't stress enough not to cause damage by attacking the lathe using lots of force with an hammer; undue force should never be used especially where cast iron is concerned also care is needed not to cause damage to the mandrel in the form of burrs or dents; it's amazing what difficulty can be experienced by a single dent on a shaft bearing surface. I've previously lightly knurled shafts in the engineering lathe where a bearing seat has been a bit loose.

Replacing these bearings on the DML is about as easy as bearing changes go; take a note of which way the pulley locates otherwise if you suffer my luck it will be found the wrong way round once the new bearings are installed and please do not forget to ensure the drive belt is in place around the pulley before the mandrel goes back home; if I had a £1 for every belt that has not been added during assembly I think I would be rich? I'll also replace the Poly-V drive belt because after such a long duty life it would be false economy not to. More to follow but I've added this just for interest whilst I'm replacing the bearings on this very popular lathe.

Kind regards, Col.

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Retired · Post by **Retired** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 4:24 pm

Hi,

Bearings ordered and paid for through eBay. Pair of SKF Energy Efficient metal shielded bearings. 6202zz 15 x 35 x 11mm £3.98; 6204zz 20 x 47 x 14mm £4.93. By ordering two bearings an extra 5% discount is awarded so the total including P&P is £8.46. I need to sort the new drive belt and will add details later.

Kind regards, Col.

fin · Post by **fin** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 6:49 pm

not too bad at all then fixing something for a few quid.

i often keep broken power tools to one side as i can use them for spares. managed to fix a one of those mega cheap sds drills that way that i borrowed of a bad tempered brickie. it fell to bits as i was using it and luckily enough my dad had been conned into buying the exact same machine some years before hand. the motor burnt out but it was put to one side and i managed to get bearings etc out of it to repair the angry blokes drill

Hitch · Post by **Hitch** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 8:28 pm

I did the exact same job on mine when I first got it, mine is the RPML300, Solid cast bed rather than round bars, but the headstock looks like it may be the same but with a fraction more machining to the underside.

I bought it for a fairly good price from a friend, it was his late grandfathers, and was sat in a greenhouse waiting for the scrapyard!

A cleanup of the motor insides, and a set of new bearing and its served me well for 3-4 years.

Pretty simple job as you say, once you realise the pulley has 2 grub screw, rather than one. Obvious, really.

Retired · Post by **Retired** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 11:18 am

Hi,

Nice one fin.

It's a pity so much good machinery ends up scrapped Hitch so well done in saving it.

These Record lathes will last forever with the odd bearing and drive belt change because there is little else to wear out; I'll never part with mine because Bron bought it for me and it's a lathe I've always enjoyed using. I have usually had two woodturning lathes; previous ones being a huge industrial 3 phase Dominion and I've also owned two nice Union Jubilees; my current second lathe is a wonderful Union Graduate which I always dreamed of owning but could ill afford; I've totally rebuilt the Graduate to better than new upgrading with inverter rated 1.1KW motor and VFD; it's a joy to own and use and this coming winter I plan to use it a lot more now I'm caught up with household jobs.

My DML pulley only has one grub screw to secure it but many pulleys have two; its easy for a novice to get caught out after loosening a grub screw then trying to force the pulley free unaware there is a second grub screw; lathes being of metal construction would appear to be bullet proof but a novice can soon cause serious damage by using too much force.

For a novice wanting to have a go at woodturning I can highly recommend any of the Record Lathes to give excellent service for many years.

The new bearings are now on the way to me so I need to buy a new drive belt quickly; re-assembly won't be difficult then the DML will be set up for another 25 years trouble free enjoyable service.

Kind regards, Col.

Retired · Post by **Retired** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 3:44 pm

Hi,

A quick update. The drive belt on my DML is a Poly-V 180J4. I've just visited Huddersfield Bearings and was surprised they had one in stock. Total cost £5.40.

Kind regards, Col.

Retired · Post by **Retired** » Tue Aug 25, 2015 1:06 pm

Hi,

The new bearings arrived as expected this morning and now the DMl is running ever so sweetly once again ready for another 25 years trouble free service.

To complete this small job I'm happy to post a few more pictures. Installing the bearings was easy enough but I have lots of kit to hand; The main bearing drifted into position with the use of a short length of steel pipe and a hammer taking care not to be rough with it. Re-installing the mandrel was straighforward but I ensured both the pulley and belt were included; it's very easy to forget adding the belt. I used a long set screw with washers and nut to draw the outboard bearing onto its seat in the headstock casting then the setscrew was removed. Next was to rig up a pair of extractor bars with long threaded rods; washers and nuts; not having been blessed with three hands I supported one of the bars with a bit of timber at the correct height then aligned the second bar and nipped up the 8mm nuts evenly; when one nut felt to be tightening I then nipped up the opposite nut doing this until the mandrel was fully home all with the greatest of ease and no damage caused. I had used a marker pen to draw an axial line along the mandrel showing the position of the flat on the mandrel where the grub screw locates to aid alignment of the pulley; the grub screw was eased down gently until it just located the shaft then backed off a touch; this allowed the pulley to slide and as the grub screw hit either side of the flat I could determine the centre of the flat then nip up the grub screw fully.

The headstock and motor were soon installed onto the bed and another job ticked off. What a difference these new bearings have made to the sweetness of this lovely lathe. I hope these notes are of help to anyone wishing to do the same or similar bearing change.

Kind regards, Col.