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Cheap and simple to manufacture, the "split-on-one-side" type of small-lathe headstock bearing was widely used on a number of small British and American lathes during the 20th century. Kept well lubricated, they were surprisingly reliable - the danger coming from removing the wooden or red-fibre strip from between the two halves and over-tightening resulting in a cracked casting.
Welding usually proves unsuccessful for, even pre-heated in a muffle furnace, welded with the right rod and allowed to cool down very slowly, distortion of the whole casting results. Machining the glass-hard weld is also a problem…
The only sensible solutions are to either find another lathe of the same type and use it for spares - or machine off the casting level with the lower face of the split and make up a bolt-on big-end type con-rod cap. The photographs below, contributed by a reader, make the process clear.
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