School me on push button oilers

[FulmenParticipant @fulmen]

A few of the ones on my lathe have lost their balls (I ‘m sure that’s a metaphor for something) and need to be replaced. Can I just buy the cheapest crap on ebay or do I need to pay for known quality?

And how do I remove the old ones? I’m thinking either tapping them or a tapered wood screw (redneck engineering).

I’ll also accept recommendations for cheap yet reliable  push button oilers.

[Bill PhinnParticipant @billphinn90025]

Forgive me for piggy-backing on to your thread, Fulmen, but I want to be schooled too.

My 125mm 3-jaw lathe chuck’s oiler sits proud of the chuck body. This is annoying when you want to put large material in the jaws and use the chuck body as a reference surface.

I’ve tried using a small hex socket to drive the oiler below the surface but it ain’t having none of it.

Answering Fulmen’s query may answer mine.

[DiogenesParticipant @diogenes]

Yes, they are depressingly crap, I haven’t the will to buy more crap to replace them with, so I’d like to hear if anyone has found anything better, too.

Bill, if you go in from the back you might get it out ‘whole’ and see if it has a flabby ridge at the head where they upset it to keep the ball in – if you can reduce this a bit it might go further in – I can’t exactly remember, but think the seat might well be just a 6mm through-hole – in any case you will see once you are in there – I had to attend to mine in just the way you describe, but with no problem..

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Removal entails brutality, but since they are now useless, that doesn’t matter.

Tapered woodscrew, lever out with a small screwdriver, wriggle out with a tap, even an Easyout!

Quality, they will probably all be much of a muchness.

When I needed a replacement, I went to WARCO, (Got 6, although have only used two, so far), but Arc Euro offer them.

Thery seem to be for 6mm holes, but come with two sizes of ball, (Judged by my machine) so you have a choice

HTH

Howard

[Bill Phinn]

On Bill Phinn Said:

My 125mm 3-jaw lathe chuck’s oiler sits proud of the chuck body

I think the type you have is DIN 3405 D1A (look it up on Google to see pictures). They are known as ‘Type D’ or ‘Form D’. The oiler sits in a counterbore. If the counterbore is not deep enough, the oiler will project.

Destructive removal, measure the hole, adjust if necessary and insert new one.

[Graham MeekParticipant @grahammeek88282]

I have used INA press in grease and oil points for years. They fit a standard H7 reamed hole. I have never had one fail and they can be sunk below the surface in a shallow counterbore if needed.

I will agree they are not the cheapest, but they do have longevity, fit and forget.

Regards

Gray,

[Bill PhinnParticipant @billphinn90025]

Thank you for the advice.

Below are two images of my oiler in situ. I’m not sure what type it is. It doesn’t look like it is DIN 3405 D1A. It seems a little too flat-faced for that.

[FulmenParticipant @fulmen]

So to sum things up it boils down to replacing old crap with new crap. Got it.

[Bill Phinn]

On Bill Phinn Said:

It doesn’t look like it is DIN 3405 D1A.

You are correct. It is not to that standard. Maybe it is specific to the chuck manufacturer. The DIN standard one would be the closest replacement. Dismantle the chuck and see if you can access the back of it. If you are lucky, you might be able to drive it out non-destructively with a close fitting punch. That would enable you to assess why it is proud of the chuck face.

 

[Fulmen]

On Fulmen Said:

So to sum things up it boils down to replacing old crap with new crap. Got it.

.maybe there is hope..

https://www.hle.co.uk/shop/grease-nipples-connectors-accessories/steel-concave-grease-nipples/steel-concave-straight-drive-in-grease-nipples/

I had a few hits for “drive in lubrication fittings” ..

 

[Chris MateParticipant @chrismate31303]

The one on my lathe topslide handwheel failed, I just made another one using a slightly larger ball, rest from a piece of brass I had, it still works like a charm, can’t remember exactly what I did, but it was not a big deal, I think I just googled and looked at different shapes, old one came out easy..

[FulmenParticipant @fulmen]

I did consider making them myself, but I didn’t have any suitable balls (pun optional). So I ordered some cheap ones from China, we’ll see how that decision turns out.

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

I have bought a variety on ebay, some metric and some inch sizes. The Tom Senior mill has three different inch sizes on one machine. They are not great quality, but cheap and easily replacable. You can get oilers with plain conical nozzles and a tiny vee cut across the tip lets the oil flow better.

As for oilers on lathe chucks, many don’t bother with them, bit of a gimmick, if you ask me.

[FulmenParticipant @fulmen]

So the oilers came surprisingly fast, and they fit well enough. Not a fan of the small balls (stop it), but at least it stops chips from getting in.

 

[Author]

Posts