Bearing Lubrication

[JasonW]

I am fixing a leaky seal on my RF-45 mill/drill. The mill is just over a year old. I got inside the gear box and noticed that all the gears are made of wood! Kidding.

All bearings inside the head are sealed. I noticed that one was "dry" and appeared to be toast.

They are SKF brand bearings. Would it be a good idea to remove all the metal seals/covers on one side of the bearings to allow the oil from the head to splash lubricate? The bottom bearings are always in the oil bath, the upper ones are not. It appears the factory grease from other bearings is trying to get out. Maybe the oil I am using is "thinning" out the grease? I am using ISO68, R&O gear oil as prescribed by the good doctor, Thrud.

Any suggestions?

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[Thrud]

JasonW:
You can try it, but if you have to replace the bearing again later because they do not get lubrication, don't say you were not warned. I might work very well, just don't count on it.

[wierdscience]

SKF used to make a bearing that included a thing called solid lube inside its seals,the stuff at idle resembled snot thick and slimy snot,but when the bearing would begin to rotate it would liquify and keep it lubed,it was an option on their sealed bearings.Another thing you might try is to get a new sealed bearing and fill it with white lithium grease using a syringe,the white stuff seams to last longer than the standard issue grease.