Hello - I have a water cooled 4.5kw, 220V spindle from my JCUT 25 S machine that I feel has significant spindle bearing wear. I am not a very experienced machinist. The spindle used to turn quietly when spun by hand and when spinning down to a stop but now there is a clear constant noise the accompanies these movements. I have had the spindle for less than a year and use it with a relatively long tool to hog out hard and soft wood. At times the water pump that was supplied with the machine has turned off and the spindle has gotten very hot and I feel this is the most likely culprit.

What can I do here? Is my diagnosis correct and what does this mean for the spindle and continuing to use it as is? What would it take to fix this/replace the bearings? Difficult? Expensive?

Any info would likely make a world of difference for me as I am starting from close to zero experience.

Thanks

Dan