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