Cutting oil grooves

[hobgobbln]

I'm getting ready to tear apart my little mills and tuneup/cleanup everything. I'd like to add some oil groves and ports to the sliding surfaces while I'm at it. Neither of my mills are big enough to cut the grooves in the other one so I'll have to grind them with a dremel.

Does the size of the grooves matter? I can't see how it would make a difference but since I'm making a permanent change to the machines I wanted to ask first.

Thanks,
Griz

[Rich_Carlstedt]

No, Groove size is not important.. As long as the oil can flow.
Be sure you do not have a sharp edge on the groove where it meets the ways..
Knock it off with a small radius using a stone or file.. This will prevent the oil from being "sheared off"
Also do not let the grooves reach the edges where the oil will shortcut and bleed out . You want at least 3/8" .
You could lay two steel bars parallel and take the material out between them , which will make the job look good and prevent accidental bleeding cuts .

Rich

[hobgobbln]

Do you mean keep the grooves 3/8" from the edge of the ways?

Any tips on how to get the oil into the dovetails? I was thinking about grinding the grooves and, with the edge of a file, just making a super shallow scratch from the oil groove to the dovetail. Just enough to catch your fingernail. On one side I can add an extra port just for the dovetail but the other side has the gib. I guess I could drill a hole in the gib but I doubt any oil would end up where it needed to go.

Griz

[Carm]

Yes, keep the grooves away from the edge.
If you have room for a hole on the sliding side of the gib, do that.
Make sure to protect the access from everything except oil.

[wrmiller19]

When I did the oiling system on my bench mill, I used a Foredom grinder with a 1/8" carbide burr on the dovetails. On the gib side, I drilled through the gib and created channels along the length of the gib so that after wear/adjustment when the two holes no longer align, the oil has a path to the sliding surface of the gib. Crazy as it sounds, it works quite well.

[hobgobbln]

The problem is, my gibs are set screw adjusted not tapered. That leaves a gap behind the gib which to me will be where the oil ends up. When I get it all apart I'll see what I can dream up.

Thanks for the tips.
Griz

[Russ Hanscom]

I had a machine with the setcrew type gibs equipped with oil holes. The holes were counterbored a very short distance into the gib and the body then a very short piece of tubing was inserted to bridge the gap between gib and body. Most of the oil made the whole journey.

It worked but a bit tricky to assemble.