Oils/grease for mini lathe

Finally managed to find a reasonably priced and looked after mini lathe not too far from me,it’s a warco super mini lathe.I plan to do a partial strip,clean adjust and re grease/oil so it’s right enough from the first use.What types of grease and or oils do I need and for where please? Also been looking at getting geared up tooling wise,it came with a set of carbide tipped tools but unsure as to what does what at the minute,but I do know I need some centre drills,appears to be a billion different types on eBay/amazon etc so could someone help in regards to a good starter set for me to have a practice /set up play with?

any help or advice is always appreciated.

regards,Andy

It's a question that gets asked a lot, and as a result we end up duplicating our responses ad infinitum! Try the search function and it should give you all the information you need. I reckon on average the question gets asked about once a week.

The very best of luck and enjoy. I don't know if it would cover your lathe but the lathes.co.uk website is a mine of info for most models.

Really? I had actually done a search too and couldn’t see anything other than “which lathe?” Etc

I always google and use search first but couldn’t actually find a definitive answer really.I think the search terms are sometimes too generic in term perhaps..

Hope I’ve not committed a cardinal sin on here lol!

No problems, as you say the google search is more efficient than the search box on the side of the site.

I did find this in a Warco manual if its any help.

"Lubricate all slideways lightly before every use.

Lubricate the change gears and the leadscrew slightly with a lithium-based grease.

1. Carriage Lubricate Four oil ports with 20W machine oil once daily.

2. Cross Slide Lubricate two oil ports with 20W machine oil once daily.

3. Leadscrew Lubricate the left oil port and right oil port with 20W machine oil once daily."

Mostly the advice is avoid sets. They contain tools that you don't need.

Instead pick an insert type. CCMT060204 or DCMT070204 (the triangular TCMT? have their fans as well) and get the basic tool to suit it SCLCR1010H06 or SDJCR1010H07then buy other holders to suitother applications.

Another good insert type is scmt09t304 with this holder SSSCR1212H09. This can face and chamfer in one tool and can turn but not to a shoulder.

For the tools I use cheap Chinese ones and they are fine. The inserts are another story.

I'm sure others will jump in here.

David

Edited By David Colwill on 13/07/2022 22:31:08

For oils a SAE 10 , or ISO 32 hydraulic oil will do what want, supply ? Any hydraulic firm, 1L will last a long time, or a good motor factor. Good Luck, Noel.

Nah! I'm not sure a search would find what you want that easily, specially not the top right box which is naff. The one half way down the home page is better,

Mini-lathes aren't fussy about oil and grease. I used white lithium grease and ISO32 hydraulic oil on mine. 20/50 motor oil if the iso32 wasn't handy. May be worth putting Way Oil on the bed: it's sticky and resists being squeeged off by the saddle and tailstock. I have some but usually just splash whatever's to hand: the main thing is to have some lube. I normally apply oil at the beginning of each session and regrease the change gears when I swap them or remember! The hi-lo wheels inside the headstock don't need much attention and the headstock bearings are sealed,

Can I recommend NOT starting with a strip down. Get to know the machine reasonably well first by making several different things. Nothing like cutting metal as a way of finding real problems. Trouble with diving in at the deep end is it's hard to tell the difference between new faults introduced by your inexperienced good self from existing faults, normal limitations, and misunderstandings. Although not rocket science, there's more to reassembling and adjusting lathes than might be expected. Materials matter too and operator skill makes a big difference!

Dave

Agree with Dave re trying it first, before pulling it apart. If it only tells you that it was good before and lousy afterwards might help you realise if it is ‘operator error’ when you get trouble while turning.

I use Dextron 3 automatic transmission fluid on my lathe and mill as I had about 3litres left from topping up the transmission of a car I no longer own. Current use suggests I've about ten years supply....

The truth is that any thin oil will be good enough for the job, especially if you use it frequently.

Don't get too bogged down with specifics at the early stages. As Nicholas says - any thin machine oil used freqently will be fine. Get a few basic cutting tools and start cutting metal asap - you will soom learn what works for you best, and what types / shapes etc you need for the type of work you intend doing.

A BIG mistake ( I know because I made it when I started out) is buying all manor of this / that / the other thinking the more you have the better will be the jobs you trty to do. WRONG. I ended up with loads of tools / accessories etc that just sit gathering dust.

The benefit of modern on-line shopping is you can get hold of exactly what you actually need very quickly, so in the middle of a project if there is a specific tool needed you can usually get it in 24hrs! Years ago, you had to look it up in a catalogue, post off an order form and wait - often weeks (usually to be told it was out of stock anyway) so it made some sense to 'stock up' with what you thought necessary well in advance.

Have fun - get turning. Mike

Edited By Mike Hurley on 14/07/2022 10:40:36

Thanks for the great replies.

Good points raised in regards to trying the machine out first,that I shall do.Ive used Lathe’s before but not for a good few years now,and they were already set up to be honest.I have some books from the engineering series that says about making tools that are useful and good practice to begin with so I shall set about them I think.Thanks again all.

My Emco Compact 8 bench lathe is not too picky on oil. Almost any synthetic oil of medium viscosity works fine.

BUT when it comes to contact surfaces between zinc alloy and steel, Most of the greases I have tried did not work well. I could feel metal rubbing against each other after using it for a while. Finally I settled on a synthetic grease that came with my springer airgun upgrade kit. The seller has re-branded it so I do not know the original brand or type. It is designed to be used on the main spring of the airgun. It lubricates as well as dampens. The motion over those contact surfaces has been butterly smooth so far.