lathe oil level?

[Pete.]

Typically the headstock gear for this class of lathe will be splash-fed from the layshaft gear. There isn't normally a huge amount of oil in the headstock, certainly not up to the spindle.
All depends what method is used for lubricating the spindle bearings. On both of my Denfords the spindle bearings run in grease and the gears are splash-fed. On the Bantam I had there was a channel cast into the headstock casting and the layshaft gear would fling oil up onto and then it would run via the channel down a hole into the bearing. The better machines have oil pumps.

Look around the front spindle bearing. If there's a grease nipple my guess is that your bearings should be (sparsely) greased and the headstock have about 2-3 inches of oil in it.

 

[dobbslc]

There's definitely no grease nipples on it.

 

[Pete.]

What model lathe is it? Must be a manual online someplace.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Maybe a case of the old saying "All the gear but no idea"

Beat me to it.

 

[dobbslc]

What model lathe is it? Must be a manual online someplace.

It's a Chester Centurion lathe, I have the manual for it but it doesn't have any info about oil type or level in it!
I've emailed Chester but the reply was look in the manual! No use at all.
However today I went to the model engineers exhibition at Ally Pally and Chester had a Centurion lathe on their stand so I saw that where mine has a broken oil pressure switch the new one has a sight glass! So at least I now know how much to put in it.
Makes you wonder why they couldn't have looked a one of their machines and told me the correct info. Maybe it's because I bought mine second hand.......