The background
I recently got a shelix head put back into a 12" Fay and Egan jointer that I have been trying to get into service. To do the shelix mod I also had the babbit that was still supporting one side of the head replaced with a bushing to match the drive side. When I got it back from the machinist (this was kind of a back door/under the table deal otherwise I'd ask him but that option really isn't available) he said the fit is a bit snug but it woudl wear in.
I was surprised by how snug it was, I installed a new baldor 5 hp 3 phase motor on it and it turned over a few times before it blew a 30 amp breaker the first time I started it up. So I checked the motor with no belts on it that seemed to work just fine. Then I reinstalled the belts and lossened the cap bolts holding the split bushings a tad until the head spins a bit more freely.
When I fired it up again the thing hums right along so I let it run for about 10 minutes and then checked it. This time the bushings seemed quite warm, no smoke coming out but they were hot to the touch. There seems to be plenty of grease and there was no odor so I'm pretty sure they didn't overheat.
The Question
Is it alright to run the thing with slightly loose bolts holding the caps on the split bushings (4 bolts each side) or should I install a thin piece of brass shim material between the top and bottom caps there is already a shim piece there but if it were a couple thou wider could I tighten the bolts and not worr about the head flying out (wouldn't that be exciting). Or will it just break in and I can slowly tighten the bolts as the shaft seats in the bearing.
One way or another I've got to start using it because the 6" powermatic that I traded for this beast is going to its new home.
Thanks
Brendan