Smoking spindle??? (oh my goodness)

[willio]

I am making my first major cuts today (major deadline coming up) and everything was going great until i saw some dark brown drips falling from the mill spindle accompanied by a burning smell. I shut off the machine and the spindle housing was very hot and smoking.

The part I am talking about is the shiny steel column that goes up and down the Z axis that the R-8 collet fits inside.

I imagine this has something to do with bearings or a lack of lubrication issue.

How does one check the Z axis lubrication level? I dont see any ports or drains or anything.

??????

[dgapilot]

The Z spindle runs on ball bearings that are lubricated with grease. There are a number of threads on here that talk about replacing the bearings and disassembling the quill. Just like wheel bearings, the tighter they are the hotter they will run. Search thru the postings and you will find all you need.