Oilers

[john brown 17Participant @johnbrown17]

I am just about fed up with the myford oilers,the the old ones leaked out over night and the new ones are not a lot better an they were not cheap,l have a couple of wick type ones that were on an old atlas ,yes they drip all the time but can get a couple of days from them ,any thoughts on this please ,or make a better type ?

john

[john brown 17Participant @johnbrown17]

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Presumably this was not leaking from the actual oilers, but through the bearings? Solution is to only part-fill and add oil more often? Alternatively empty them at the end of the day or fit a stopcock between reservoir and bearing (not a fool-proof option).

Feed rate may be partly proportional to the bearing clearance, so your bearings may need adjusting, if that is possible, or replacing. Too much oil is better (to a degree) than none at all.

[DiogenesIIParticipant @diogenesii]

Yes. I too got fed-up with drip feed oilers and decided, that as a very bottom line, all I really needed was something that would hold enough oil to last for a "cuts" worth of time – I'm not too concerned about the "inconvenience" of having to check the level and top-up if necessary during the course of a day in the workshop, and neither do I have a problem with memory, so I bought a couple of these;

https://www.stationaryengineparts.com/Nickel-Plated-Oil-Cup-5-8-x-1-8-BSP.html

The reason I didn't buy a larger size was that these fit, and can be easily opened and filled, in the (constrained) space above the back bearing, which is limited by the belt guards. They are probably better than one would expect at that price.. If you have "old," better quality ones, by all means fit them ..the thread size is 1/8BSP .. you could always fit them on a "stand-pipe" to clear the guards if they are larger. Leave time for the oil to reach the bearings before starting if they are "dry".

I never fill them right up – one soon acquires a mental gauge of when to refill, and I found that regular checking and adding a squirt just becomes part of the rhythm of operating the machine, like oiling the ways, the handwheels, and the changewheel studs is, just at a higher frequency. I feel like I waste less oil than I did before, no more lying awake at night thinking of that expensive Nuto running down the front of the headstock and off across the chip-tray under cover of darkness..

It's worked fine for me, it sounds like it might for you, I daresay it isn't right for everyone.

[Enough!Participant @enough]

Posted by DiogenesII on 19/11/2019 15:19:44:

It's worked fine for me, it sounds like it might for you, I daresay it isn't right for everyone.

+1.

A similar solution works for me. Mine are a bit smaller than yours (standard brass oil cups) so I do fill them when I start and they generally last me unless the session is a long one – in which case I top them up.

[john brown 17Participant @johnbrown17]

Well thank you for that info,yes enough is enough with the dam things,l thought buying new ones would work out ok ,but not so,so the plan now is to make up a extending tube with the 1/8" bsp thread ,put longer wicks in the oilers and use them ,but will put a hole in the tube so l can give the bearings a fresh shot of oil before l start work ,the wicks should then work ok ,they never gave any problems on the atlas and when that moved to another home the bearings were still good.

john

[Enough!Participant @enough]

If you really want to jump in with both feet as it were John, you could consider a one-shot lubrication system along the lines of that described for the ML7 in MEW-161.

I believe Arc has components for these.

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

If the drip feed oilers leak away over night, the need is not seating and sealing.

If you can rectify this in some way. Brutal, force the needle into the seat! Hopefully the needle and the seat are concentric?

I am wary of suggesting lapping the needle into the seat, in case you do not manage to wash away all the abrasive afterwards.

You could try modifying the oiler body so that the needle seats onto a small O ring to give a perfect seal when you screw down the the needle (or relax the toggle to seat the needle ).

HTH

Howard

[Paul LousickParticipant @paullousick59116]

Use the oilers that are used on steam engines. These are fitted with a shut-off valve and have an adjustable oil feed rate. The small glass window in the base is used to observe the rate at which the oil drips thru the oiler.

Available with 1/8" and 1/4" BSP thread.

Paul.

**LINK**

MYFORD SIZE OILERS 2 X SOLID BRASS DRIP FEED OILERS 1/8" BSP FITTING rdgtools

[john brown 17Participant @johnbrown17]

Paul that is the type of oiler that is giving all the problems ,will give them one more try with howards tip but after that its bin time ,and back to a wick type.

john

[Paul LousickParticipant @paullousick59116]

John, They should shut off completely. But there are some cheap clones about. Good luck making a repair.

Paul

[Nigel McBurney 1Participant @nigelmcburney1]

I have restored a lot of stationary engine oilers,Usual problem is that the needle is worn or the needle seat is damaged, the glass in the oiler also needs sealing. some modern oilers are rubbish,made from steel and brass plated. First of all test the oiler on the bench, lightly nip it by the hexagon in a bench vice,pour some oil in the oiler and seep if it drips when the needle is dropped in the closed position by the lever,then raise the lever and watch the drips they should drop repeatedly. If the needle leaks in the off position then remove the needle set up in the lathe ans turn a new taper just take off a few thou.Then tackle the seating in the brass body,the should not be tapered ie made with a dill ,a taper seating in a taper will leak,the seating should be flat ie made with a slot drill so that the needle seats on a sharp edge, very similar to ball seatings in steam fittings. Do not machine too much off as thes can prevent the needle from seating it will just be suspended above the seat. Now when testing the oiler for leaks,if the drips can be controlled and the oil is spreading over the vice ,the cause is the joint between the glass and brass flange, some oilers are fitted with plastic/fibre sealing washers which fail to seal, as they can be too hard,washers cut from 1.5 mm cork sheet work much better sometimes they need a small amount of sealant,a good oiler should maintain its oil for a long time.

[Nigel McBurney 1Participant @nigelmcburney1]

I have restored a lot of stationary engine oilers,Usual problem is that the needle is worn or the needle seat is damaged, the glass in the oiler also needs sealing. some modern oilers are rubbish,made from steel and brass plated. First of all test the oiler on the bench, lightly nip it by the hexagon in a bench vice,pour some oil in the oiler and seep if it drips when the needle is dropped in the closed position by the lever,then raise the lever and watch the drips they should drop repeatedly. If the needle leaks in the off position then remove the needle set up in the lathe ans turn a new taper just take off a few thou.Then tackle the seating in the brass body,the should not be tapered ie made with a dill ,a taper seating in a taper will leak,the seating should be flat ie made with a slot drill so that the needle seats on a sharp edge, very similar to ball seatings in steam fittings. Do not machine too much off as thes can prevent the needle from seating it will just be suspended above the seat. Now when testing the oiler for leaks,if the drips can be controlled and the oil is spreading over the vice ,the cause is the joint between the glass and brass flange, some oilers are fitted with plastic/fibre sealing washers which fail to seal, as they can be too hard,washers cut from 1.5 mm cork sheet work much better sometimes they need a small amount of sealant,a good oiler should maintain its oil for a long time.

[john brown 17Participant @johnbrown17]

Well with luck l have sorted them out,striped them apart ,and junked the washers and have made new rubber ones,as for the needle a good clean with wire wool an a small tap to seat it and its has been fine for hours now so time will tell,would l buy them again nooooooooo .

john

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