Oil Cups – or their lids

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Has anyone got a good design for making flip-top oil cups that doesn't involve folding up sheet metal. A sprung lid is desirable, but not essential.

All the ideas I have are too clunky for a 9mm diameter cup.

Neil

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

Sorry Neil, but my design is too big, I use the flip top caps from tooth paste tubes on my lathe, the holes for filling the oil sumps on my lathe are 10 mm diameter, and had little rubber plugs, with oil written on top.

Ian S C

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Neil,

Ian beat me to it with the toothpaste tube cap … The one on 100ml Aquafresh is very neat, but maybe a little oversize.

Assuming this is for the Mega Adept … How about a centralised one-shot oiling system instead ?

MichaelG.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 18/12/2014 10:50:22

[DMBParticipant @dmb]

Neil,
My Super7 has some nice spring lid oilers on the countershaft. Might be a bit expensive though.
John

[Gray62Participant @gray62]

Neil, Arc-Euro sell a couple of flip top oilers in 6mm and 8mm

About 2/3rds down on this page

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Nice link but Metric

I have one to make a new lid for. The lid has curved down edges of course but instead of a bent hinge bit it is rivetted to a block about <1/8 cube. The spring bears against the side of the square to give a nice indexing feel. The rivet which is a square cut down part of the block hammered over and filed flush was its undoing as forcing back levers it off probably far too easily. I will also solder the replacement.

I suppose this small one could machine the lid plus block from solid.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

At less than a quid each it would not be hard to re thread or even solder on a new bottom or just make a simple adaptor to go into the lathes old imperial threaded hole.

Come to think of it as the head has been chopped about so much anyway you may as well just rethread the head.

I have made a few oil boxes with hinged lids but not sprung, easy enough to do with a 1/32" hinge pin.  You just file the back of the lid down at 45degrees and solder a piece of 3/32" tube to it to make one half of the hinge knuckle.Do they even have to be flip top, would screw in tops do?

Or I could give you a copy of this drawing that could be scaled down a bit

Edited By JasonB on 18/12/2014 13:31:21

Edited By JasonB on 18/12/2014 13:35:45

[Keith LongParticipant @keithlong89920]

Neil – you might find what you're after at this **LINK** – don't be too surprised at the words that come up in the URL!!

Keith

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

My oil holes are threaded 4BA and 3BA (they were both meant to be 4BA, so I don't know what went wrong?) keith's link go down to 2BA but look clunky.

Jason's square boxes look good, but it's fitting such hinges to round cups that's vexing me. I can't use screw lids, because I will lose them! I suppose I will have to file something out of brass rod and risk soldering it on.

Neil

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Try this Neil

Turn a basic cup shape 9mm OD, use a 1/4" ball nose cutter to form the recess but make it off centre, mill away some of the top to leave the centre of a hinge nuckle on the thickest edge.

Take a bit of brass the thickness of what you machined of the top (2.4mm in this case) drill right through 0.8mm for the hinge pin, notch to fit the cup, then shape the top as desired

Make a pin 0.8mm dia squash one end slightly then push it into place so that when the squashed end enters last it will hold tight in one of the outer nuckles

Thats your homework for tonight, will expect it ready to be marked in the morning

Edited By JasonB on 18/12/2014 16:07:47

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

> use a 1/4" ball nose cutter to form the recess but make it off centre

Thanks Jason, that's the idea I was looking for! Might take a bit longer though

Neil

My first trial of plain cups has demonstrated that a number 50 hole in the stem is too large…

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

You can always poke a bit of natural wool into the hole if the oil is draining too fast. I drew it with a 1/16" hole but 1.2mm or even 1.0mm would do

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I figured my milling/filing wasn't up to making a neat enough hinge, so I made some 50-thou shank brass rivets (my 1/32" copper ones were too small!) and went for a swing top. the bottom of the lid has a round register that sits in the cup and the rivet was peened with an aluminium spacer so the lid can lift a little for opening. Just need to rivet the second one to finish.

The back gear spindle and pulley cluster both ave simple oil holes, sealed by 4BA grub screws, but they are made with an internal reservoir between the bushes.

Neil

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

I was going to suggest just a little cap to slide either over or in the top, but your pivoted cover looks quite neat.

Ian S C

[Ian L2Participant @ianl2]

Nothing to do with the Thread but the ingenuity of you guys is mind boggling

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