K&T 2HL, saddle oil passages and pipe cleaners

I'm in the middle of rebuilding the saddle on a K&T 2HL horizontal mil, SN 10-3676. I wanted to document what I found concerning the oil passages and ask a couple questions.

10_saddle bottom.jpg: Shows a bottom view of the saddle with the oil through passages circled in green. There are 4 flat bottom holes 1.0in in diameter which receive 3/16in thick felt pads. The holes are connected by oil grooves.
11_saddle top.jpg: Shows a top diagonal view of the saddle with the oil passages identified in the table below. Some passages contained pipe cleaners and others did not. There are 4 flat bottom holes 1.0in in diameter which receive 3/16in thick felt pads.

The following table lists the oil passages I found and what I found in the way of pipe cleaners inside these passages. The pipe cleaners were 1/8in diameter and there was 1 felt cord 1/2in diameter.


Oil passages C, D, E, and O are blind drilled, counterbored 3/8in OD, and plugged with a 3/8in OD x 1/2in long interference fit plug. I removed the plugs by blind tapping 1/4-20 x 3/8in deep and then pulled them out with a slide hammer. The pipe cleaners I found in D and E were too mangled to know for sure, but I believe they were just long enough to fill the passage.
12 pipe cleaner typical.jpg: Shows a typical pipe cleaner arrangement for one of the felt pads. A piece of 1/8in pipe cleaner is bent in half and then bent to have a short leg and a long leg. The short legs are separated or splayed slightly, the long leg is inserted to the full depth of the oil passage, and the felt pad is placed in contact with the splayed short legs.
13_saddle RTDS gear pipe cleaner.jpg: Shows a close up of the Rotary Table Drive Shaft Gear (RTDS gear) bearing after cleaning with the "T" shaped pipe cleaner still in the oil passage. I did not notice the pipe cleaner was there until after cleaning. The RTDS gear itself is missing on my machine.
14_saddle missing rotary table drive shaft gear.jpg: Shows the RTDS gear bearing and the table screw clutch gear bearings after cleaning and painting.

Questions:
1) For anyone who has disassembled a similar saddle, how does this compare with what you found for pipe cleaner & felt placements?
2) Should the table screw clutch gear bearing oil grooves also have "T" shaped pipe cleaners? This saddle has clearly been worked on before I got it. The pipe cleaners I found were in pretty rotten shape, but some were less rotten than others. It is possible that someone previously just removed the pipe cleaners and did not replace them. The oil in the saddle is not pumped and just flows by capillary action and gravity. So, maybe there should be pipe cleaners to bring oil up from the passage below and apply it to the bearing surface. I don't see a down side to having pipe cleaners there as long as there is enough clearance so the wire doesn't rub the bearing.

Walter

Interesting that three years later and not a single reply. Yet, here I am doing the same thing to my 2HL and looking for help. LOL!

Did you find any useful information? I spoke with Ron Grundy (former K&T employee and friend to Kieth Rucker) and he suggested that many if not all of these are felt runs were intended to be home runs back up the brass tubes and into the oil reservoir. However, I find that being able to do that to be near impossible. I don't think I had any pipe cleaners (maybe 1?) in the saddle on my machine. I also do not have the rotary table drive shaft gear or the shaft.

I know not a thing about a K & T 2HL lube system.

By description in what I am reading here, can I presume oil is wicked from the reservoir ? And is it gravity fed as well, with res being higher than destination of oil ?

If so, can that be changed to use something like a 'one shot' oil system where oil is forced in with positive force ? Lines, tee's, manifolds for several branches readily available to customize anyway you like. Longevity of parts, smoothness of operation would be a whole lot better than a wicking system.

It's purely by wick. I am sure a one shot could be used in place, but that's also not going to be a simple task. But personally, I prefer the wick method - I can barely remember to pull the handle on my Bridgeport. lol.

If wanting to continue with wicking system. . .Not sure what kind of turns, or corners there are through passage. . .

But I might take, lets say a 10 or 12 gauge copper wire, fine strands inside. Slice the plastic insulation long ways a couple feet, to pull plastic off. Clip a single strand off. Feed the single strand all the way through oil passage. Choke a length of felt with the strand, and pull it through passage.

And on the end of oil's destination, ball up the felt so final outlet hole is filled. During the course of the oil passage, felt does not need to be a tight fit. But it will need to be strong enough to not be ripped apart. Probably why pipe cleaners were used. You can still choke a pipe cleaner, with a wire strand, to assist pulling it through.

When we pulled the table on one of our K&T we used round kerosene lamp wick for the oil wick gallerys. It's offered in different diameters and can be purchased in long lengths and it wicks great.

dana gear said:

When we pulled the table on one of our K&T we used round kerosene lamp wick for the oil wick gallerys. It's offered in different diameters and can be purchased in long lengths and it wicks great.

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I just used felt cord from McMaster.

Pipe cleaners made today don't have enough felt or cotton content to wick the oil as needed for long length passages. I'm referring to the type for cleaning the smoking variety of pipes. Now pipe cleaners sold at hobby shops and such may have enough cotton/felt needed for wicking.
I tried some of the pipe cleaners for smoking pipes and did not have much luck with them. It had too many nylon bristles.

4GSR said:

Pipe cleaners made today don't have enough felt or cotton content to wick the oil as needed for long length passages. I'm referring to the type for cleaning the smoking variety of pipes. Now pipe cleaners sold at hobby shops and such may have enough cotton/felt needed for wicking.
I tried some of the pipe cleaners for smoking pipes and did not have much luck with them. It had too many nylon bristles.

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I tried the ones from a craft store called Michaels and they did not work at all. I left one of the pipe cleaners in a dish of oil for several days and there was no wicking action at all. The bad part about felt is the fragility. Nothing like getting 90% through a passage to have the damn thing break on you just as it's coming out the other end. LOL!

" I also do not have the rotary table drive shaft gear or the shaft." Note that this particular gear and shaft also drive the low lead attachment for certain leads.. Happy New Year! Ramsay 1