Soluble Coolant Oil

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FLtenwheeler
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Re: Soluble Coolant Oil

Post by FLtenwheeler »

Thanks Russ. I will take a look at Rustlick 5050. One thing I see it is available in a one gallon bottle.

I have been looking at semi synthetic fluids due to the fact that they are less prone to smelling. Smallest is a 5 gallon pail.

I have seen Castrol Hysol MB 50 mentioned. It will work with all the metals I machine.

I am getting away from 1018 and started using 1144 for most parts. I am using 4041 for the steam locomotive axles and crank pins.

Tim
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GlennW
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Re: Soluble Coolant Oil

Post by GlennW »

I've been using Castrol Hysol MB-50 for years without any of the issues mentioned in this thread.

A lot seem to end up buying the cheapest coolant they can find, which is understandable for a home shop, and then find out that it's cheap for a reason.
Glenn

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FLtenwheeler
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Re: Soluble Coolant Oil

Post by FLtenwheeler »

GlennW wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 6:15 pm I've been using Castrol Hysol MB-50 for years without any of the issues mentioned in this thread.

A lot seem to end up buying the cheapest coolant they can find, which is understandable for a home shop, and then find out that it's cheap for a reason.
I wish I could purchase it in a 1 gallon bottle to try in my home shop. My son has also started to do machine work at his house. So he might start using too.

Tim
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Bill Shields
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Re: Soluble Coolant Oil

Post by Bill Shields »

FWIW:

Note that many machine tool manufacturers recommend against using soluble coolant.
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
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BadDog
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Re: Soluble Coolant Oil

Post by BadDog »

I think it may also be worth mentioning that Glenn not only uses his shop more or less all day every day, but also has both a good understanding of required maintenance and a willingness/motivation to follow through on it. I expect he also has professional grade systems for coolant management (tramp oil, evaporation/waste/PH/etc management, etc). That's a very different environment from a typical home shop like mine where the lathe may not be used for a month at a time, and may go a long way to account for his lack of problems. I wouldn't be hesitant to suggest that Glenn may well use his lathe more on some days (maybe 2) than I will use mine in a typical year out of the last 5.
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GlennW
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Re: Soluble Coolant Oil

Post by GlennW »

One of the characteristics of the Castrol Hysol (it's semi synthetic) is it's long sump life. I've let my CNC mill sit unused for a year and had no rancidity issues and did nothing to the coolant, and it has one of the smallest sumps in the shop. My O.D. grinder is the same, but it had a large sump, so it lasts for years.

I switched to Mobilmet cutting oil for my lathe, as I use my share of 304 stainless and do a lit of threading on that and other steels, but for turning aluminum, the Castrol was king for size control (cooling) and finish.

Eventually (years) the Castrol will break down and look sort of like curdled milk and it's done when that happens, but still no rancid odor
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BadDog
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Re: Soluble Coolant Oil

Post by BadDog »

Not what I expected, I've never heard of it lasting so long without maintenance effort, and I've encountered a few that were quite unpleasant. The sump on my lathe was emptied when I got it, but oh boy, it was not a fun project to finish cleaning out. Still not on my short list, but good to know. With that price, I'm too cheap anyway.
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FLtenwheeler
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Re: Soluble Coolant Oil

Post by FLtenwheeler »

Thanks all of the information. I purchased a new Graymills 3 gallon sump off of eBay cheap. I hope it is large enough for my Rockwell 14" lathe. The 1144 cuts great without oil using Iscar PP series carbide cuts. But I think the 4041 would benefit from the coolant. I take deep enough cuts that the machine talks to me.

I figured that the 3 gallon tank would be easy enough to dump and refill. I will need to clean the pan on the lathe to remove the oil that it has collected.

Tim
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Russ Hanscom
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Re: Soluble Coolant Oil

Post by Russ Hanscom »

The Graymills sump system that I got did not have a bottom drain, which was a major oversight (I think). I added a bottom drain so the same batch of fluid can be used in the mill or in the lathe which has its own sump and pump. If I know the system is not going to be used for an extended period, I drain the fluid and store it in a closed 5 gal pail.
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Re: Soluble Coolant Oil

Post by RSG »

Tim,

I've been using the cheapest soluble oil for a long time but that's about to change. I only use it about 6 months of the year so it sits in the sump the rest of the year and will go rancid as mentioned but I add a coolant deodorizer from MMC which helps a lot. I recently bought some new stuff from my local tool and cutter supply but have yet to use it, from what others I know around here have said spending more on it pays off in the long run.

For what it's worth I thought I would post a pic of how my lathe setup looks when I'm turning with coolant. I've developed a set of .030" lexan shields that hold on with magnets. It works very well containing the coolant to the inside of the lathe and the nice thing about it is the shields even stop the coolant from getting on the ways and up under the carriage. I turn mostly Aluminum and usually pucks in the 5" dia range and simply would not turn them without coolant for holding measurements.

Image

Oh, and I always wear one of these and gloves. I can see a very fine mist coming up from the lathe when turning with coolant which cant be good for the lungs!

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Re: Soluble Coolant Oil

Post by Harold_V »

FLtenwheeler wrote: Tue Apr 30, 2019 4:45 am I think the 4041 would benefit
In the interest of ensuring proper information, is it safe to assume that the alloy of which you speak is chrome-moly? If so, it is designated as 4140. The sequence is important, as it designates the family to which all alloys are related, along with the carbon content (in this case, 0.40%).

H
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