Oil

Guys a lot of different options on oil think will go for fully sync and set oilers 2 drops per miniute for head stock and oil ways with same could use some new oil wick whare can I get it from thanks matt

Why spend more on EP gearbox oils, when cheaper hydraulic oils are much better for your machine, your hands, and much cheaper.

Also why use engine oil with its nasty detergents which is designed to keep contaminants in suspension to be filtered out by the car engine oil filter (which all of your lathes have.... right?), when what you really want in a lathe is contaminants to sink to the bottom.

Lube Finder sell a large range of oils in 1L bottles.

Edited By Graham Wharton on 16/05/2020 11:50:03

Looks like there can be issues with wick feeding modern oils too.

Industrial system suppliers seem to offer several types of wick and suggest that the type of wick be matched to to the oil and the supply rate needed. How important the distinction is for folk like us I know not but personally I'd not care to risk inadvertently choosing the worst possible combination.

Clive

OK, I admit it - I'm feeling grumpy, but I wasn't until I read this thread.

This discussion has surely been done to death several times already on this forum. There are two camps. One advocates expensive lubricants, designed for high-performance internal combustion engines, or high-duty transmissions, and also favours chain-bar oil 'because it's sticky'. In the latter case, why not use strawberry jam or honey? The other camp patiently repeats fact-based rational arguments. It's like Trump versus the scientists.

I'd imagine that the machine tool manufacturers and lubricant blenders know more about machine tool lubrication than anyone on this forum, so why not take their advice? The lubricants are entirely appropriate and are not expensive. There is no convincing argument to do otherwise.

You could probably get away with using anything vaguely oily in our little, lightly-stressed machines, and this is why the 'I've used old sump oil all me life and it's fine' type of argument gets rolled out tiresomely. However, if you have well-fitted, correctly adjusted slides, the advantage of proper slideway oils, which are designed to minimize the stick-slip phenomenon becomes apparent. A sometimes dramatic example of where this can be very important is in a shaper's ram. And the argument, previously made, against detergent oils is to be emphasized. So it's 'hydraulic' oil and 'way oil', as has been detailed previously. OK?

Edited By Kiwi Bloke on 16/05/2020 12:56:44

Well if we are talking scientific method I can only refer to my own empirical observations: 50 years of using engine oil on my lathe and it is still in perfect working order and very accurate.

The experiment continues. I'll let you know when the lathe fails or even starts to wear excessively due to lubrication failure. If I'm still alive. 

Edited By Hopper on 16/05/2020 23:26:38

Kiwi Bloke

understand fully BUT often it one of conveinience regarding oils n lube's........

I have at least 6 vehicles and many stationary engines on my plot.........

Have to keep enough XXap around to keep everything running.....

I just dont need more stock........

and after years of doing the AUTO product lubes......and have never had a problem........

2 big milling machines and 3 lathes at the moment plus tons of other gear.....

Almost 71 and still working 7x365......

I will still recomend Synthetic engine oil, Auto trans fluid and Chainsaw blade oil.........

over n out.........

Also why use engine oil with its nasty detergents which is designed to keep contaminants in suspension to be filtered out by the car engine oil filter

A mis-conception, I’m afraid. Detergent oils are used to keep the contaminant particles in suspension, but the vast majority of those particles are sub-micron and simply pass trough all but the most severe filtration systems.

Filters only remove much larger particles (likely only greater than 3-4 microns). The detergent oils will produce a colloidal suspension and as the particles are kept in suspension (cannot agglomerate into larger ‘clumps&rsquo they will remain in suspension for ever and a day.

Leave used non-detergent oils for several years and the solids will settle. Doesn’t happen with detergent oils, by design.

I generally use the appropriate oil for the job ( easy for me because I sell oils ) but agree that any oil on slideways will probably work. Yes the proper slideway oil will reduce stiction but I doubt you would be able to measure the difference on an ML7 tailstock.

Viscosity is more important, especially with bronze bearings fed by drip feed. My Jones and Shipman 540 uses a mix of oil and kerosene which is like water, chucking engine oil into this is not a good idea!

If running machines with bronze bearings be careful with the oil that you use and make sure that they don't run too hot.

I realise that this is obvious to most on here but point this out for the beginners who may stumble upon this thread.

So yes oil is oil but not always.

Regards.

David.

just to add ....chips cooked in BEEF dripping or oil when hot.........mmmmmmm

hahaha........

but normally cos of cholesterol usually olive oil......still naughty I know but living in S/ Europe

it's cheap as CHIPS........hahaha.......

G-Day.......

This!

+1.

Its not rocket science and it certainly aint expensive..