Warco Rotary Table – What Grease?

[J BENNETT 1Participant @jbennett1]

[J BENNETT 1Participant @jbennett1]

I have just stripped down my Warco 4" Rotary Table prior to converting it to stepper control. I bought the RT several years ago but have never used it. The grease is old and sticky and so I will give it all a through clean before reassembly. Does anyone know what type of grease is used in these?

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Probably chinese grease. Likely any grease would be better than that as long as it is not from your ovenware!

[Brian OldfordParticipant @brianoldford70365]

I'm unsure whether or not it is still available but, for similar purposes, I've used some of the Castrolease LM grease I've had for over a decade.

.

[John PParticipant @johnp77052]

Rocol Tufgear universal open gear grease is a sticky grease that retains it's position when applied ,RS sell it part no 388 8465 may be cheaper elsewhere .Good for changewheels etc very messy.

John

[John PParticipant @johnp77052]

Double posting.

John

Edited By John Pace on 25/02/2019 09:55:36

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Unless you intend taking a lot of deep heavy cuts (as you might roughing out traction engine wheels) a rotary table doesn't normally have a hard life. The type of grease isn't critical because it doesn't get hot or spin at high speed or need to be low stiction. A Lithium grease will cope better than the ordinary type with the high pressure caused by a driving a gear with a worm, so it's worth using it. Mainly because it's an inexpensive readily available multi-purpose grease I keep Castrol LM in my workshop.

If a cheap or small rotary table is going to be worked hard, best consider the tool disposable and replace as necessary. Putting fancy grease in it will only extend the life a little.

Dave

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

There is a sort of implication that not everyone has a tub of Castrol LM around as a matter of course. Possibly a reflection of how few people service their own cars nowadays.

[Tim ChambersParticipant @timchambers76147]

Posted by Bazyle on 25/02/2019 12:05:15:

There is a sort of implication that not everyone has a tub of Castrol LM around as a matter of course. Possibly a reflection of how few people service their own cars nowadays.

Yeah but how many grease nipples are there on a modern car?

[Nick WheelerParticipant @nickwheeler]

Posted by Bazyle on 25/02/2019 12:05:15:

There is a sort of implication that not everyone has a tub of Castrol LM around as a matter of course. Possibly a reflection of how few people service their own cars nowadays.

True, but a tub of something similar is about £5 at any car spares supplier. I've even seen it in B&Q, but it is more expensive.

[Graham StoppaniParticipant @grahamstoppani46499]

Excuse me hijacking this thread but I have a similar question. I've just acquired an unidentified second hand 8" rotary table and it has an oil sight glass at the side and a filler plug. Trawling the internet brings up a discussion about this on an American web site but no help on what type of oil.

Has anyone come across this and can they say what sort of oil to use? I would hazard a guess that maybe the same sort of hydraulic oil I use in my Myford bearings…

regards

Graham S

[Ex contributorParticipant @mgnbuk]

Has anyone come across this and can they say what sort of oil to use?

I refilled a 24" "Bessboro" RT at work with 68 viscosity slideway oil after the ,machine operator found out the hard way that a horizontal, oil filled, RT wasn't designed to be bolted to an angle plate and retain its oil. The stuff that leaked out was pretty non descript & I have been unable to find out any information about Bessboro RTs to determine the original recommendation, but the slideway oil has proven to be fine. In an 8" RT in all probability anything medium viscosity & oily would also be fine !

Nigel B

[Chris TriceParticipant @christrice43267]

I stripped and cleaned a 6" rotary table a couple of years ago. Re-lubricated it with straight forward Castrol LM grease and it's been fine. It has been known for me to blend a drop or two of oil into grease to reduce the viscosity a little with no ill effects.

[Graham StoppaniParticipant @grahamstoppani46499]

In an 8" RT in all probability anything medium viscosity & oily would also be fine !

Thanks Nigel B, that's what I was thinking. I'll top it up and take it for a spin!

regards

Graham S

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I found a 1/3 full tin of Golden Film grease the other day. I remember buying it from the local garage in Talybont in 1984 for bicycle maintenance.

Neil

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Golden Film! Morris of Shrewsbury! Takes me back to my time at Sentinel., (R-R Oil Engine Division ) The Motor Club had an arrangement with Daltons? of Belper., so I bought a 28lb keg of grease.

As you may well guess, sixty years on, the grease is still being used!

My Vertex HV6 gets shots of oil, from time to time, but as already said, rotational speeds are very low.

Howard

[JonParticipant @jon]

Always got a fobia using grease on machine tools. Stems from ex family business precision grinders and repairing various machine tools.
Some of these machines run slow such as centreless grinders (apart from spindles) due to being pumped with greases. Seen likewise on many a lathe and miller fitted with what looks like grease nipples, theyre not theyre oil nipples.

It only takes one foreign object to lodge on one surface to start the damage however fast or slow and grease is the worst thing for that short of grinding paste.

Any oil pretty much, usually have to rebuild my HV8 every 9 months now 20 years old. Each session equates 9 to 17 revolutions in 30 degree increments. Stepper too slow for me.

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