Lathe Cleaning

[michael howarth 1Participant @michaelhowarth1]

I used to use paraffin to sluice down the lathe and swarf trays etc as and when necessary. I have now run out of paraffin and my local garage no longer stocks it. B&Q is not too far away and sells it at a not totally unreasonable £7+ for 4 litres but have I missed an alternative? What do others use?

Mick

[michael howarth 1Participant @michaelhowarth1]

What to use for cleaning down lathe

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

Maybe something like brake cleaner, I got half a dozen cans at $NZ 2 each on special a few months back, and have used it quite a bit for cleaning/degreasing around the workshop.

Ian S C

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

I don't know that I'd use paraffin, I'd be worried about rust (and fire).

I use a cutting fluid called Alusol from Castrol. It's available in small quantities on ebay and dilutes up to 20:1. I've not had any problems with rust and Alusol is suitable for all metals as well as aluminium.

Brian

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Sounds like a rather '50s kind of thing to do. Before soft loo roll and kitchen paper became cheap. While I'm not recommending it diesel is sort of like paraffin and sort of sticky and nothing like as volatile a petrol. Another possibility is used ATF if you have a car with that kind of gearbox diluted with white spirit.

[Swarf, Mostly!Participant @swarfmostly]

Hi there, Mick,

I use paraffin – I get it from my local garden centre. The Myford ML7 'total loss' lubrication system ensures that the lathe soon has enough of an oily film to preclude rusting.

Off topic: I buy my 32 grade lubricating oil (OK, I know it's really a hydraulic oil) in 4.5 litre flagons from my local agricultural engineers (not to be confused with the garden centre).

I recently started laying a piece of oil-absorbing paper mat in the swarf tray. (They were on offer from MSC) It's going to be an experiment of some considerable duration – I had to buy a pack of 100! The mat does absorb the oil but spiky swarf gets stuck to it before it's oily enough to be discarded.

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

[michael howarth 1Participant @michaelhowarth1]

Posted by Bazyle on 27/08/2017 13:24:51:

Sounds like a rather '50s kind of thing to do.

Nothing wrong with the fifties mate. Food on ration (fewer fat butts), National Service, no soft loo paper but plenty of paraffin and horse muck for the roses!

Mick

[Nick_GParticipant @nick_g]

.

Diesel is only a step away from paraffin.

Edit :- I see Bazyle already mentioned it.

Nick

Edited By Nick_G on 27/08/2017 16:09:54

[Phil WhitleyParticipant @philwhitley94135]

Paraffin is very close , if not identical to 28 sec heating oil or kerosene. If you buy at the garden centre or country store, you pay about £2-10p per litre inc Vat for paraffin, if you buy it as Kerosene for central heating, it is just under 40p per litre, virtually all heaters that use paraffin will run on Kerosene although it tends to be a little more smoky in wick type lamps. for cleaning purposes it is ideal, and the flammability risk is very low, it is even cheaper than farm diesel (pink) which is about 49p per litre, and does not have the dermatitis possibilities that pink diesel does have. I have used paraffin in the workshop as a basic cleaning agent for MANY years right up untill the time that the oil cartels hiked the price of paraffin and paraffin wax, Now if I need an oil based solvent, I use Kerosene. Otherwise I use a water based degreaser like engineklens or whatever the local Agri place has in stock. The one solvent/cleaner that is growing in popularity is anhydrous isopropyl alcohol, which is very good for electrical equipment as it dries without leaving a greasy residue, but it is highly inflammable!

Phil

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