Rick, thanks for your kind offer also. But I think that I'll pursue with Griz. I checked my live center and if I apply side pressure on it, it has about 1/32 inch (or 0.030 to 0.040) slop at the business end.
Waiting on a new spindle so I can't turn. Decided to see if my live center was wobbly, too. With no load pressing against if longitudinally, it has a slight wobble. When pressure is applied it centers itself and doesn't move a bit. Strange? Wonder if the bearing is conical?
I assume it is ball (get the bearing number on the bearing and check) which would have some of the same characteristics as conical. If it goes on center with MININAL load I would think it is ok.
I decided to order a new live center and a new potentiometer. The old pot seems to have some dead spots and the inverter sometimes "hunts" a little. When I opened the live center I was impressed with how well it was wrapped. It was in a little cocoon. I tried wiggling the end of the new live center and there was no play. For an instant I had mentally declared success. But my happiness quickly disappeared when I tried to turn it. It is real "lumpy". That is, when I try to turn it there is a whole lot of resistance until I reach a point and then it kind of bumps over to the next point of resistance. The bearing is obviously defective. Either there is some debris inside (the sealed bearing) or perhaps one or more bearings is oblong or has a flat spot on it. [sigh....] I called Griz and they were perplexed a little - - how do they handle a warranty replacement on a warranty replacement ??
I received my new live center today. There is a very slight amount of looseness to it, but I think that it will probably work just fine. They had a QC guy inspect it and he confirmed that it "spun freely". So, once again, Grizzly support has come through.
tMy live center works fine. So far everything on my 766 works like it should.
The new Griz live center is kind of a generic live center. It is not the same as the original. The tip is no longer removable and it looks "stubbier". On my old one, I had made an extended point that gave me better access. But the bearings were so loose that the tip would move around over 1/8". The new one is better. So, I guess that I am happy.
brice you are correct the new ones do not let you remove the center had the same problem with mine for about $4.00 you can order a set of 5 bearings to replace the bad ones in the old live center you onlly need 1 so you will have plenty for replacements.
Yes, Keith, that is a good idea. Also, having a second live center (one with a long protruding point and one stubby one for just pressing) will make it easy to switch without having to switch out the points. It appears that this class of live centers only use a single bearing. Also, this application puts a tremendous amount of side load on the bearings - - their weak point. So, having a few spares can't hurt.
