Coolant for occasional use

I have just bought a new (second-hand) milling machine, a Wabeco F1200, which has the coolant pump and tray fitted. I have never used coolant on my lathe and I tend to avoid using any kind of bottled cutting fluid as it creates unpleasant fumes which linger for a long time in my cellar-based workshop with no windows or ventilation.

I have used larger machines with coolant pumps in large rooms and have not noticed any fumes being created (presumably because the work is kept cool enough that no evaporation occurs). I have, however, noticed the improvement in cutting performance and tool life and so it would be desirable for me to have it to use on my machine, especially since I do so much work in aluminium and stainless.

So my question is: Is it possible to have coolant that will not create unpleasant fumes when being used and is it possible to have a coolant that can be used only occasionally without going off or causing trouble for the pump?

I use soluble cutting oils, as they are better at cooling than straight oils. For some years I used Biokool14 from Hallett Oils. In any particular machine it might not get used for weeks, or months. I never noticed any fumes or nasty smells. I have recently changed to Castrol Hysol XF. So far so good in terms of sump life and no pong, but it's only been a couple of months.

Regards,

Andrew

Thank you for your reply Andrew. I'll look in to getting some of the Biokool14, it sounds ideal and will most likely suit me better than lubricant from a squeezy bottle.

Synthetics seem to be the way to go for long, pong free, life. I dumped the reccommended quantity of Rocol UltraCut at 30+ to 1 dilution in my Smart & Brown 1024 coolant tank shortly after buying the machine around 6 years ago. I've topped it up every few months but not changed it in the intervening period. Mostly water evaporation loss I think so top up dilution is much higher. Don't use flood coolant much as I don't like the mess.

Picked up a couple of Bjur spraymist systems last year which suit me better as being much less messy but have yet to get them reliable at the very low dose Bjur literature suggests.

Clive

Can I recommend Morris Oils straight cutting oil.

It's main advantages are:- It lubricates the machine ways, It does not evaporate, mould does not form under surfaces in sliding contact. My last point may or may not matter to yourself, I have found, it does not cause me to itch when it gets on my hands.

Steve

You can recommend anything to me! Do you mean the 'Cora B Neat Cutting Oil'? That's all I could find on their website. Is this stuff still intended to be used with a coolant pump?

To be honest, I find that, the more I look into this, the more bewlidered I become by it all. Another factor to consider is that I don't want anything to stain or possibly allow rust to from on the machine. Am I right in thinking that this is likely with anything that needs to be diluted in water?

From my limited experience:

Neat oil doesn't give much cooling unless you have a high flow rate. You do tend to get fumes, especially with low flow rates.

Soluble oils give better cooling and no (well less) fuming. They will work at lower flow rates but all those I have tried will cause staining if left for a few days under a slide. In the open they don't stain and certainly don't cause rust.

Sorry, I can't recommend a make as I just take a litre bottle along to a local engineering works and fill it from their supply

Russell.

Edited By Russell Eberhardt on 24/08/2014 11:46:07

As a great believer in Castrol products I use Castrol HYSOL Excel water soluble coolant. Never any foul smells

and lasts for ages.. Its also very good at lubricating the ways. and never leaves stains on any of the materials i've used.

There are small tablets that can be dropped into the sump if any odours do form .They are made by ARANAKI and give off the smell of Mint., but like I stated i've never needed them.

Raymond.

Take care when breathing in mineral oil mists, you can get serious lung problems from a few hours exposure.

I have spent a lifetime on and around milling machines and never found the need for coolant mist.

I have been involved at my current place of work installing and monitoring a 'minimum oil lubrication' system which works very well on aluminium. However, the coolant is quite specialist and vegetable oil based, maybe this is an avenue you could explore.

Hope this is of some interest, Roy.

Not wishing to highjack the thread but does anyone use spraymist cooling ?

I have become very wary of what I get on my hands and in my lungs whilst working these days since I used to get terrible dermatitis from using paraffin as a cutting fluid and since I learned how harmful, amongst other things, that hardwood dust can be (I used to merrily breathe clouds of of it from sanding turnings). What I tend to do when machining on the lathe is only use perfectly (honed) sharp tools dry rather than suffer the fumes from squeezy-bottle type lubricant. I noticed that I sometimes get a runny nose even whilst working dry which seems to be caused by tiny airborne swarf from light finishing cuts on aluminium.

The Castrol Hysol Excel sounds perfect, at least for the machine, if not my health? Is there anywhere it can be bought in smaller quantities (I can't afford to spend over £100 on coolant!).

My local tool shop sold me some soluble oil loose some years ago. didn't know its name, but it was a cheap make. It went off really quickly and stank. Replaced it with a named make and all is well even after 2 years.

Best to find a friend and share a good product. Someone else in your local club might be in the same situation.