From las8323@rs175174.ks.boeing.com Fri Jan 04 07:27:18 2002
Subject:Re: A related? Leslie Question

Bruce,

> I guess my only point is: My Leslie is, as best as I can tell, a 1969 or 1970
model 251. It had all of the original parts in it when I bought it, including the
old-style (Jensen V21) rotor bearing. The bearing is immaculate, even after all
those years, and the rubber gasket has never been replaced. I bought it in 1996,
and have used nothing but Hammond oil since. The Leslie had a maintenance log
with it, and since the "prevailing wisdom" is Hammond oil, I suspect that the
Leslie has had nothing but Hammond oil lubrication since ~1970, yet the bearing
plate is in great shape. (I had the Leslie apart for maintenance about six months
ago.) I know of other owners who have used Leslie oil for years. So, there must
be more to the story than quickly appears.
>
> Regards,
>
> -BW

I've no doubt that your leslie bearing is immaculate:-) Did you by chance use a
micrometer? (uuh... and a telescoping hole gage, too) Mine and 2 of my friends'
units were, I suspect, from well before '70 and out of round by over .015" -- not
readily visible. They were, admittedly, pretty dirty looking (to me), too. But
plenty oily, yup. Why would it matter? For some reason, the one fellow felt the
need to grab his motor one night and found it very hot to the touch, indicating,
of course, a substantial load. Leslie motors are very expensive and no small
hassle to rebuild or replace so he got worried and brought it to me. The rotor
would rattle if grabbed and shook. So would mine (a little) but the other guy's
seems in pretty good shape.

They and I, too, were devout HammondLube users. And our Leslies "worked" just
fine and might have worked to this very day, who knows? But somebody out there is
replacing motors, gaskets, and bearings for *some* reason.

Two new expensive horn bearings, a general cleanout and some different lube and
now everyone runs smooth and cool for the last 10 years or so. And I've done the
same job on about 6 other units with similar ailments and results. Exception?
Rule? Insufficient data. But every field of endeavor other than Leslies use a
heavier lube for such an application. So, I agree, there's clearly "more to the
story than quickly appears".

But I'm not gonna let that stand in the way of a good rant :-)

Larry