oil

[matthew shayParticipant @matthewshay62229]

hi what oil can I use on my cutting tools when using my lathe please

[matthew shayParticipant @matthewshay62229]

[matthew shayParticipant @matthewshay62229]

also anyone know a good beginner book to buy

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Hi Matthew.

I use cutting fluid from Machine Mart in a 1litre bottle for turning, milling , tapping, drilling… and as I apply it by brush it lasts ages.

Model Engineering A Foundation Course is on offer and is the book that started me off.

Neil

[matthew shayParticipant @matthewshay62229]

great going there today is brush better than a oil can

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

Hi Mat

Try,,, The Compact Lathe… Stan Bray

Lathework – a complete course… #34 in the workshop practice series

Basic Lathework – # 45 ……………..//…………………………

As for oil … for steels…any light duty oil, neat cutting oil, soluble oil mix, even veg' oil if it comes down to it, for aluminium… WD40, kerosene/ light oil mix, Brass / CI… dry. I'm sure many other members will have their own version of lubrication materials…

George.

[IanTParticipant @iant]

Hi Matthew,

Recommend your first book to be "The Amateurs Lathe" by Sparey

Neat cutting oil applied sparingly with a brush on mild steel – nothing required on brass or cast iron at the speeds you should be using. Some advocate various things with aluminium but I find it cuts very well dry.

As always a sharp (e.g. HSS) tool – with the correct clearances for the material – will make all the difference to your results.

Regards,

IanT

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

Brush is better; it applies it to the job rather than squirt it off target, unless you've got a soluble oil pumped / gravity system that can be varied from drip to full flow.

George

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

"The Amateurs Lathe" by Sparey

Gets my vote and costs pennies from Amazon etc

[Nigel McBurney 1Participant @nigelmcburney1]

Soluble oil mixed at 20 to 1 ration with water,is the best all round lubricant,apply with a cheap paint brush,neat cutting oil is effective but horrible to use and gums up everything. during my early years at work sol oil was called slurry,and the slurry pot and brush was always used on the drills ,small lathes and small mills and i have done it ever since, when my job involved visiting many machine shops on contract work the favourite on the turret mills was the old style fairy liquid bottles as a lot of operators did not like a flood of pumped slurry hitting the spindle/cutter and getting soaked.Soon after the cnc mills were enclosed and flooded with coolant ,still a soluble oil, but often incorporating special additives.

[Chris Evans 6Participant @chrisevans6]

I use neat undiluted soluable oil applied by a small acid brush, just the odd dab is all that is required. The same soluable oil diluted is applied via a washing up liquid bottle for drilling and sometimes turning aluminium. If aluminium starts to stick to the tool I use a mix of paraffin with a few drops of machine oil in it, once again applied by brush.

[Raymond AndersonParticipant @raymondanderson34407]

Castrol, either HYSOL EPS if you are only doing Ferrous metals or, the more "versatile" HYSOL MB50 which is also suited to Aluminium and it alloys. They are really for flood coolant but, see no reason why they couldn't be used by brush/bottle.

[JAParticipant @ja]

Matthew

Sparey is the first book to buy, others follow.

I use Morris's CORA B neat cutting oil for machining aluminiums, steels and bronzes applied by brush or, more recently, pump. Brass and cast iron are machined dry. I am sure other similar priced neat cutting oils are just as good as CORA B. I just order mine from Morris over the internet along with oil for the bikes etc.

JA

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I wouldn't recommend soluble oil for a beginner. You need a delivery system, a good splash shield and a sump and unless you will use the lathe on an almost daily basis you will may get corrosion issues. Plus use of soluble oil can be a cause of a number of health issues.

Neil

[BC ProfParticipant @bcprof]

Using the Small Lathe by L C Mason gets my vote .

Brian C

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Another vote here for LH Sparey's "The Amateur's Lathe" as first basic primer book. Most of the books mentioned are not expensive so buy a few different ones and find what suits your style.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Soluable oil is fine for a beginner, I started with it and still use it, just mix a small amount up in a pot and apply by brush. No need to limit its use to a pumped system and as you only mix a little at a time it does not go off.

Another vote for Spareys book but you may have a job getting whale oil that he mentions

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by JasonB on 31/03/2016 13:18:03:

Soluable oil is fine for a beginner, I started with it and still use it, just mix a small amount up in a pot and apply by brush. No need to limit its use to a pumped system and as you only mix a little at a time it does not go off.

Another vote for Spareys book but you may have a job getting whale oil that he mentions

That approach is fine, not really different from using a neat cutting oil.The problems come from overspray of flood coolant and coolant going bad in the system.

Neil

[matthew shayParticipant @matthewshay62229]

I got lathe cutting oil from machine mart do I need to mix it with water if yes what please

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

If its this one then read what it says on the lable under method of use

[Raymond AndersonParticipant @raymondanderson34407]

Neil, Re flood coolant overspray, thats one of the reasons there is a guard, if no guard then its easy enough to make one. Also, I've never had the Monday morning smell from the coolant [ at least not from Castrol ] other brands might differ, I don't know about that. And if bothered by the Monday morning smell there are tablets that can be added that give off a nice Mint scent.

Cheers.

Ps, Maybe I should have put this in the Port Talbot thread. so apologies for sticking it in here.but here goes,,,, Castrol are a world class British company , becoming something of a rarity these days

[Nigel McBurney 1Participant @nigelmcburney1]

Went into local Halfords the other day,not a Castrol product in sight, got to find a new source,

[HollowpointParticipant @hollowpoint]

I would also recommend "the amateurs Lathe" book. Also you might find the link below useful. It's a series of videos put together by MIT for begginers. I found it useful when I started out. The lathe specific stuff starts around video 8 I think.

**LINK**

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by matthew shay on 31/03/2016 16:45:44:

I got lathe cutting oil from machine mart do I need to mix it with water if yes what please

If it doesn't say soluble oil, use it neat.

Neil

[Raymond AndersonParticipant @raymondanderson34407]

Nigel, As i'm a confirmed CASTROL fan [ both me lathes, and both me milling machines use Castrol in the gear boxes, and slideways ] and all me coolant needs are met by Castrol . I'm like you, if I couldn't get it locally then I would get it somewhere else. Although I presume you are referring to some type of car/motorbike oil since you mention Halfords. As I don't drive and have never needed car/motorbike oil you can be sure of one thng,, if I did, all the lubricant needs would be Castrol.

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