Oil wears out at temperature by oxidation, and over time as the shorter more frisky molecules evaporate leaving the bigger ones behind, blended oils tend to become thicker and waxier.

Your machine is relatively youthful, my lathe is a 1921 or 22 Drummond B (early pre-cursor to the one that later became myford but belt driven and open gear train) but the counter shaft and pulley wheel for the flat belting is older though it has at some point been re-bored for ball races. Sadly in an odd imperial size.   The motor is an unrelated 1908 induction job with a centrifugally switched reluctance delay starter winding, and goes with a fair crack of the switch and a blue flash worthy of a dodgem car when up to speed, and it is time to disengage the starter. I do  suspect 50Hz may not have been the design frequency. The rope drive passes through two holes in a 1960s desk as the motor is beneath and the lathe above. The inrush limiter is an early 2000s attempt by me to stop it firing a B32 on start up.

Not a sintered bearing to be seen on that machine, all plain.

Welding up a decent guard for it all is on the list of things to do, as it does occasionally fire off the flat belting or the rope if things get a bit hard going, which is a touch un-nerving.

It is not exactly a classy installation, but it keeps proving itself very useful, and is easily repaired.

Oil wears out at temperature by oxidation, and over time as the shorter more frisky molecules evaporate leaving the bigger ones behind, blended oils tend to become thicker and waxier.

Your machine is relatively youthful, my lathe is a 1921 or 22 Drummond B (early pre-cursor to the one that later became myford but belt driven and open gear train) but the counter shaft and pulley wheel for the flat belting is older though it has at some point been re-bored for ball races. Sadly in an odd imperial size.   The motor is an unrelated 1908 induction job with a centrifugally switched reluctance delay starter winding, and goes with a fair crack of the switch and a blue flash worthy of a dodgem car when up to speed, and it is time to disengage the starter. I do  suspect 50Hz may not have been the design frequency. The rope drive passes through two holes in a 1960s desk as the motor is beneath and the lathe above. The inrush limiter is an early 2000s attempt by me to stop it firing a B32 on start up.

Not a sintered bearing to be seen on that machine, all plain.

Welding up a decent guard for it all is on the list of things to do, as it does occasionally fire off the flat belting or the rope if things get a bit hard going, which is a touch un-nerving.

It is not exactly a classy installation, but it keeps proving itself very useful, and is easily repaired.