The sump of the headstock is full of greasy sludge, no gear teeth in there- but it is messy.  I ended up pulling the bearing caps and removing the spindle so I could evaluate the bearings and pitch the headstock up so I could reach in further and wash out the gunk.




After some scrubbing with paper towels and lacquer thinner, the bearings cleaned up nicely.  The bearing caps are shimmed with paper, which I removed intact with a razor knife and stored so I can replace them later.  No doubt I'll have to adjust the shims, but better to start with a known setup.  The tops of the bearings have the same big hole, which is filled with wicking.  The wicks are completely packed off with solidified oil and dirt, so they are going to need some cleaning.

Left-hand bottom bearing;




Right-hand bottom bearing;



;;; eof