Oil, lubricating the lathe

[Grant Allen 1Participant @grantallen1]

Hello

Can someone advise on and recommend what oils are suitable for lubricating the different parts of the lathe?

Brands and iso so I can look them up please.

[Grant Allen 1Participant @grantallen1]

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

I use any unused motor oil left over from oil changes on vehicles. 20W50 is my favourite. Been doing this on my old Drummond for about half a century now and so far no problems.

Motorcycle chain lube is my favorite for lubing change gears etc as it does not fling off.

Others like to use Myford's recommended ISO32 hydraulic for general lubrication and an ISO 68 purpose-made way oil on the ways.

Edited By Hopper on 10/05/2019 09:28:09

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

+1 for Hoppers answer, with the caveat that older plain motor-oils are much closer to what's wanted than many modern motor oils. Over the years the latter have been highly modified to suit hot engines, cold-starts, engine efficiency and pollution control. Unfortunately the additives and formulation aren't good for lathes. You might have to look for plain motor oil, none of my local garages stock it. Last time I restocked with lawn-mower oil from a garden centre, but bigger car-places usually have plain motor oils on the shelf, and the internet is your friend.

The other thing to watch out for is gear-oil containing an additive that attacks copper – not good for bronze or brass components, if that's what your lathe has! Any gear oil marked 'Extreme' or with an E in the number is suspect, unfortunately some ordinary types have the same issue. Copper unsuitability is usually mentioned on the label, and always on the data-sheet.

As machines go, small lathes aren't particularly demanding on lubricants. Any oil is better than no oil. Perhaps the biggest boob is people using grease when oil is needed: Myford famously used grease nipples as oiling points, and a fair few owners jumped to the wrong conclusion, blocked their oil-ways with grease, and damaged the bearings…

Dave

 

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 10/05/2019 10:19:33

[Mick B1Participant @mickb1]

You can buy single-grade SAE20 easily enough, and that's what some manufacturers recommend. I bought a litre about 2 weeks ago, and reckon it'll last me maybe 3 – 5 years.

[Kiwi BlokeParticipant @kiwibloke62605]

The reason why slideway oil (ISO 68 grade, eg Febis 68) is specified is because it's designed to minimize the 'stick-slip' phenomenon that will most likely occur with other oils, making accurate, fine adjustment of feeds a problem, particularly when gibs are adjusted to very little clearance (ie correctly). It is also 'sticky', so is good on the leadscrew, where it won't drip off so readily.

'Hydraulic' oils (eg Nuto 32) have good lubricating and anti-corrosion properties and are fine for plain headstock bearings. I believe that the detergents added to motor oils, to keep muck in suspension, allow water to be absorbed into the oil, which is not exactly a good anti-corrosion measure.

A bit of MS2 grease or 'assembly paste' works well on feedscrews, although beware of the ability of grease to carry swarf, etc. where it's not wanted.

[Rik ShawParticipant @rikshaw]

I buy any old motor oil from my benevolent boot on a Sunday morning as long as it is cheap.

Rik

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Leave the hydraulic oil in your JCB. If you have a gearhead lathe use ATF in the head but don't use thin oil for other lubrication like bearings of belt drive lathes. Car oil on the gears and apron. Slideway oil is slightly better fro the sliding bits but not essential. The changewheels don't need a clingy oil or grease as it hangs on to dust and swarf to make grinding paste – if it is being slung off there is too much by far. The only time you do need a lot of oil on the gears is to wash off the grease you had on before.

[Anonymous]

Oh dear, I use an ISO68 hydraulic oil in the geared headstock of my lathe; although that is as recommended by the manufacturer. I use an ISO68 slideway oil on the slideways, feedscrews and change gears. The change gears are totally enclosed so they're not going to get dusty. The quickchange gearbox uses an ISO220 straight oil.

It's interesting to note that the ISO68 slideway oil doesn't work too well on my repetition lathe; too much drag makes the slides difficult to operate. All by hand lever of course. Instead I use an ISO32 hydraulic oil.

Andrew

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

I use SAE 30 (4 stroke mower motor oil) for the roller bearing head stock of my 1326 BH Taiwanese lathe, and for general lubrication around the workshop, it is a little heavy on very cold days during the winter, I need to run the lathe 20/30 minutes in a low speed until the oil warms up, and that is with 1 1/2 hp.

Note the oil filler, it used to be a rubber bung, but is now a flip top cap from a toothpaste tube. Don't worry about the chuck, it's hanging on my home built hoist, of which the control pendant is visible above the headstock.

Ian S C

 

Edited By Ian S C on 10/05/2019 11:54:42

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