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Royal Live Centre Bearing Replacement

Susquatch

Susquatch

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My Royal Versa-turn precision (half a tenth) live center has a brinelled bearing in it so I need to take it and Rep ace the bearings. Here is a blowup I saw on Royal's Website.

Versa-Turn-LC-feature-diagram.jpg


I'm thinking I'll drill a hole through the shank so I have something to pull it apart with.
 
thestelster said:
A Royal Versa-Turn 4MT sells for $1,765.73 at KBC!!

ROYAL PRODUCTS,4MT VERSA-TURN ROYAL LIVE CENTER,1-533-10835,KBC Tools & Machinery

ROYAL PRODUCTS,4MT VERSA-TURN ROYAL LIVE CENTER,1-533-10835,KBC Tools & Machinery
www.kbctools.ca www.kbctools.ca

I'm pretty sure that the factory doesn't drill holes in the unit during servicing. We will figure out how to disassemble it.
Click to expand...

The factory claims it isn't serviceable.

They likely pressed it together.

Mine is MT3. I bought it used.

I'm all ears about any suggestions for taking it apart.
 
thestelster said:
Here's a YouTube video on it.
Click to expand...

Seems he just used a dead blow hammer to tap the head off. I'm leery of that. I'll try it, but with an abundance of caution and gentility.

As you suggested in our txt exchange, I'll heat the head, and cool the shank first.

If that doesn't work I might make a fixture to hold the head while I drop the assembly. The inertia of the shank should pull it apart. Sort of like a Lyman Bullet Puller.

If all else fails, I'll drill and tap the shank so I can pull it apart against a shoulder for the head.
 
Just thinking out loud...if you stick the unit in the freezer overnight, once you take it out, it's going to start to condensate and might make it difficult for you to hold onto it.?
 
Temperature differential may have even been how it was assembled but that doesn't necessarily mean the process is reversible. A freeze would give the assembly a contraction head start & you have the mass of the center arbor working for you holding low temp at the core for a bit, but not for very long. Feezer's are only typically about -18C so you aren't getting a lot of temperature differential compared to the elevated temperature / variation of a torch or heat gun, say 200C just as a number. Ideally we want heat applied near instantly to the whole OD to expand the case, but not transmit into the 3 bearings very quickly. Thats the challenge. Otherwise bearings expand at the same rate as the case = no net temp differential gain = same degree of interference fit. Temp might also cook the races/seals depending on what they used. A heat gun has the advantage of a setting temp but disadvantage of lower heat output. A torch has more output but more user variation. Worth a try but do a dry run so everything is in position. Too bad the end of arbor taper wasn't threaded so you could at least one end is retained.
 

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thestelster said:
Just thinking out loud...if you stick the unit in the freezer overnight, once you take it out, it's going to start to condensate and might make it difficult for you to hold onto it.?
Click to expand...

PeterT said:
A freeze would give the assembly a contraction head start & you have the mass of the center arbor working for you holding low temp at the core for a bit, but not for very long.
Click to expand...

I would not plan to freeze the assembly. Rather, I would apply liquid freon, or liquid propane, or this fast freeze stuff I have to find electronic intermittents, to the shank after heating the head. The head will not be heated anywhere near the ignition temperature. Just hot to the touch. I'm guessing that it will fall out right about then.
 
Susquatch said:
I would not plan to freeze the assembly. Rather, I would apply liquid freon, or liquid propane, or this fast freeze stuff I have to find electronic intermittents, to the shank after heating the head. The head will not be heated anywhere near the ignition temperature. Just hot to the touch. I'm guessing that it will fall out right about then.
Click to expand...
Ah, much better plan. A 'chilling' idea
 
Wife went to town. Time for the old tom cat to play.

My Royal Live Center is apart.

The deadblow didn't touch it.

I put it into the appropriate size black pipe and dropped it 2 inches - same idea as a Lyman bullet Puller. Nothing. The pipe below is just leaning on my vise for the photo op.

20250102_164451.jpg

Heated the head with a hot air gun then cooled the MT3 arbour with some cold water, and tried again. It moved. A dozen more drops in a row and it was out.

20250102_164551.jpg

20250102_164544.jpg

I confess that I'm shocked that there is no thrust bearing.

Now I need to pull the bearings and see if I can find replacements.
 
Last edited:
Time to remove the bearings.

I'm sure glad they stayed on the anvil. I would have had to make a custom collet to get them out of the head.

As it is, the normal methods didn't work. Had to use my 5 ton bearing splitter removing one at a time. The center didn't fit the bearing center either so I used my lathe to turn and part a grade 8 screw to fit.

20250109_103741.jpg

Bearings are off.

20250109_105635.jpg

ID of the bearing is. 472 (11.96mm) measured with a precision pin. Corresponding Shaft is 11.99.

OD is 1.258 (31.97mm)

Thickness of all three bearings is almost the same at 9.94, 9.95 & 9.96 not sure why they vary but I don't think it's important.

There are no markings on the two unshielded bearings.The shield on the inner most bearing says: TJB F 6201-RZ Go figure.

Only the innermost bearing is shielded. No idea why. I'd have shielded the outermost one.

Now to source replacement bearings.
 
I google, the TJB F 6201-RZ and it looks to be readily available.
Interesting they didn't use a thrust bearing and instead used this deep groove bearing type. I will keep that type of bearing in mind if ever the application arise.
 
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