Getting Myford oiled up

Having got some new drip feed oilers sorted I was musing on the topic of keeping your lathe properly oiled.

I had acquired a pressure wanner type oil gun years ago whic is ok but only seemed useful on the layshaft bearings

I also came across this

https://www.haythornthwaite.com/184%20Myford%20Lubrication.pdf

which gave much info on the hidden oiler points

Some of these oiler points were fitted with conventional grease nipples which renders the pressure oiler useless and conventional grease guns (grease being a no-no) cant be used for oil without serious mods eslewherre on MEW

I also fail to understand how the all important beds and saddles can be conveniently oiled, other than splashing oil on the flats and thinking of England

Has anyone else given thought to how this careless situation can be addressed

Yes you can spend an hour or two stripping the machine down but is that really practical for routine use (not production)

I squinch at the thought of any grind dust getting entrained in the lub film, surely part of the lub process is to flush out dirt

Ideas pls

Not entirely sure what your problem is. The Wanner oil gun can be applied to the oil nipples around the machine and will successfully inject oil everywhere it needs to go. With the oilers on the saddle of my Super & two or three pumps is sufficient for oil to issue from underneath visibly onto the bedways which washes any tiny bits with it.

The seal between the gun and the nipple is not brilliant and this topic has been done to death on this forum but the oil does go where it's required and the only criticism is that it can generate some overflow. A quick wipe with a cloth sorts this and I have never objected to a little extra oil on surfaces anyway.

regards Martin

Simple answer to your 'problem' is that you worry too much!

A Myford isn't a £10 million jet engine where lubrication is a major part of the design because it's expected to do thousands of hours with as little work as practical. It's a simple, old-fashioned machine that is intended for light use. Oiling the cups and squirting oil on the slides is plenty good enough to give the machine a long and productive life, which yours has already had.

Over the years I have seen Myford's dripping in oil, so much so the swarf tray has become a lake.

The amount of oil needed is miniscule, the old adage of a little goes a long way is very true. Place a drop of oil on a steel plate and leave it, see how long it takes to evaporate.

The bedways on my Emco Maximat have no oiling points, the felt wipers pick up oil when the bedways are lubricated and redistribute the oil as the ways become dry.

As regards grinding dust. I cover my bedways with an old piece of Denim when using the Tool post grinder. The lighter side always goes towards the ways. When storing the Denim away I fold the lighter side innermost, that way it will always stay clean.

After all grinding work, (& I do a lot), the machine is given a good clean and re-oiled. The lathe is 35 years old this year. It was my source of income for a number of years, and the bedways are still pristine.

I am reminded of the playground wisdom of "more oil on the bicycle chain makes the bicycle go faster".

Regards

Gray,

A predictable response

Perhaps those wise owls will tell me how the Wanner oil gun is supposed to work here (it most certainly doesnt)

it bit blurred cos i struggled to hold camera and gun, but i think the scale is clear

and the gun does not make proper mating with the flat top nipple, unlike the press fit lay shaft nipples

note these nipples are the parallel shank type not the later hydraulic type with a bulbous nose typical for grease guns

I wondered if anyone had made an adapter between the Wanner and this type of nipple

I did get a spare grease gun head with a view to creating such a widget but I thought I might ask here first

BTW I did search this site first but didnt come up with any answers but converting a grease gun to become a pressure oiler is a project in itself.

I could of course replace these antique nipples with a Wanner friendly pair (my gun works well and doesnt squirt up my sleeve as reported)

It still begs the question why more oiling ports werent available for important surface. Upward squirting on feed screw nuts - really? Not easy to lube the compound slides faces

The idea of using grinding wheels near such a lathe - I couldnt live with that, though there are machines dedicated to grinding and they no doubt have ways to keeps surfaces clear of abrasives (outside my bailliewick)

I believe there are a couple of nipples in the back gear assy but I have never used that feature

I was hoping someone might have taken the saddle off perhaps when converting to wide bed

Cant see how you were supposed to lube the apron (I dont have power cross feed) but still it does belie the fact that the traverse wheel gets very floppy in its bearing as does the half nut clamp handle - lack of lube here?

OBTW, to say that this topic has been done to death is a bit slick

https://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=123589

It has certainly taxed many other users.  Its like mentioning a Myford aberration that we dont talk about in the family

One member has mentioned simple collar with O rings - now thats a positive response

Edited By brian jones 11 on 09/08/2021 17:11:35

Brian I have a Wanner oil gun that came with my S7 and it as a different end which does fit over the nipples

H

Picture of a Wanner with the right end on the Myford Website

Hi Brian

This is the correct oil gun

and this is the end

and this is how it fits

so the predictable response is that you got correct information

regards Martin

Well guys tell me how that will work on the layshaft bearings which have a 1/4" press fit spring ball type that is flat and flush fitting, which my conical guns works ok.

Edited By brian jones 11 on 09/08/2021 19:07:09

If you read the link I posted you will see that that type of gun is for the 2 BA nipples, other types of oiling points will need other tools.

The answer is pretty obvious you need different ends to fit the different fittings.

Well thats pretty Myford for you then, an oil gun that works for one set of nipples but not for the rest. Why didnt they use the same nipples throughout? Some small boy apprentice's handiwork here

But I have a cunning plan and you can spot the answer from the photos I posted

And where on your link does it suggest where these other tools are available

The gun I have is for the original flush press fit nipples as I have shown. I cant remember where I sourced the gun 10 years ago but it was specific for this type of nipple and presumably what Myford would have supplied cos how else do you charge this type of nipple

OBTW I can tell you that the gun nozzle fits accurately into the nipple hole, making a tight metal seal.  See how the hole is larger than a grease nipple hole, which is why the oil gun cant work on these

Edited By brian jones 11 on 09/08/2021 19:30:43

My Super 7 has all the same oil nipples. the gun shown by someone above is what i have.

Steve.

The Myford oil gun is not a pleasant design to use. Still have it but laid it aside after using it ones and bought another new one at the local supplier. Niko.

Hi,When I got my ML7 ,I got an old oil gun from a steam rally for a couple of quid ,it did not fit the nipples on the ML7.

Then I used the ML7 to make a new end for the oil gun ,this fitted the nipples.

Job done easy, ML7 oiled.

Maurice

This is my Super 7 Layshaft. It has oil cups which get filled with a Reiling oil can.

Maybe someone would tell you what the original fittings were on an ML7 layshaft.

refards Martin

Lathes.co.uk show flat top oil nipples on their ML7 shown in the link.

**LINK**

Could it be that your fittings are non standard maybe?

regards Martin

As an aside, on my ML7, I find that a scrap of paper-towel placed over the nipple when lubricating, sends all the oil into the nipple and avoids any mess.

Like Martin has illuded too above could your ''original'' flush mount oilers be a previous owners ''upgrade'' I can not find another ML7 on the web with flush mount oilers there (apart from Steve Jordan on Youtube and he is a well known ML7 ''pimper outer''

My 1974 Super 7 has late type screw in fittings all round (apart form the 3 oil cups), my quite early ML7 has the early type of again, screw in nipples. Maybe try digging the flush mount oilers out, and seeing if there is the remnants of a thread in in there?

Does having 2 of the same gun with different ends push the boat out to far, they are after all 2 different types of bearings so really require 2 different grades of oil(slideway/linear, rotary), which might be what the person who possibly changed them out in the first place thought, Low and behold it could well of been that ''small boy apprentice'', using his ''little'' noggin.

I wish people would stop critiquing Myfords 70+ year old design choices. They were not designed for todays heavy handed users who want to produce everything at 4000 rpm in -10seconds. Its mostly a hobby, enjoy using your brain to improve the not so good bits, its what I do.