I just acquired a few machines, one of which is a S.A. Woods f99 16" jointer. I finished reassembly yesterday, except for the motor, its locked up. The cutter head runs on Babbitt bearings and I was wondering if anyone here has experience with them, i.e. lubrication. the head seems snug enough, though when itook the caps off and removed the shaft, there seemed to be grooves in the bottom of the bearing. I thought these might be for lubrication purposes but I'm not positive. The research I've done so far leads me to believe the bearing should be "solid/fully formed" around the shaft. Maybe I need to get the bearings re-poured? Any insight?
Thanks