Show us your lathe!

All discussion about lathes including but not limited to: South Bend, Hardinge, Logan, Monarch, Clausing and other HSM lathes, including imports

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Thaulo
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Joined: Thu May 20, 2021 9:38 am

Re: Show us your lathe!

Post by Thaulo »

Thanks for the advise!
I was planning on giving here a good cleanup and oiling,
Is there a specific king of oil you can recomment fo an old lathe like this?
pete
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Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2009 6:04 am

Re: Show us your lathe!

Post by pete »

In North America our usual standard would be Vactra No. 2 way oil. But there's other manufacturer's. Where you are I'd use a specific search in your native language and for around your location. But using "way oil" in your language as the search terms would be best. Any oil is better than no oil, but there are additives in the proper way oil that make it worth the effort to obtain it. The cleaner you can keep your very important bed ways and dovetail slides the longer the accuracy it now has will last. I keep a cheap 2" wide paint brush with each one my machine tools, on the lathes it's used after almost every cutting pass to brush off any chips collecting on the lathe ways or slides that are exposed. Any time I'm machining rusty, cast iron or any other abrasive material I always cover the slides and bed surfaces to protect them. Abrasive particles mixed with the lubrication oil makes a lapping compound that will wear out even hardened surfaces.
John Hasler
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Re: Show us your lathe!

Post by John Hasler »

If you can't find proper way oil chainsaw bar oil has similar properties. While you are looking for the right stuff, though, oil it up with whatever you've got.
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rmac
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Re: Show us your lathe!

Post by rmac »

While we're at it, what about the other parts of the lathe besides the ways? Like the headstock bearings, and the carriage innards, and all the thread/feed select gears?

Also while we're at it, does it ever make sense to change the oil in the headstock? If so, is there typically a drain plug somewhere, or do you have to pump out the old oil somehow?

-- Russell Mac
pete
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Re: Show us your lathe!

Post by pete »

Depends on the age if it's got drip oilers to sleeve bearings or roller type bearings. Same for head stocks, gear boxes and the carriage apron. The older the machine is the less likely it is to have oil sumps. A lot of the older gear boxes are open at the bottom so daily gear oiling is required.Most modern lathes but not all usually include drain plugs. They may or may not be placed well for catching the drained oil though. Without a drain plug a turkey baster works in a pinch as long as it's not a multi gallon sump. Working in the mining industry taught me the importance of clean lubrication. It's never mentioned in the machine tool manuals, but I'm a big believer of pulling the slides apart at least bi yearly for a thorough cleaning, re-lube, feed nut and gib re adjustments. They wear a whole lot less and a tight smooth machine is just much nicer to operate and more accurate. Reading the Machine Tool Rebuilding book once was enough to get the idea that poor lubrication and cleaning is a real costly practice. And grease is almost never used on most machine tools. Oil helps flush the wear and contamination out. Grease just does the opposite. About my only broken rule for that is the knee screw on my mill, even way oil runs off it too easy so I use white lithium grease on it.
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neanderman
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Re: Show us your lathe!

Post by neanderman »

rmac wrote: Sat May 22, 2021 9:47 pm While we're at it, what about the other parts of the lathe besides the ways? Like the headstock bearings, and the carriage innards, and all the thread/feed select gears?

Also while we're at it, does it ever make sense to change the oil in the headstock? If so, is there typically a drain plug somewhere, or do you have to pump out the old oil somehow?

-- Russell Mac
My LeBlond has both a drain plug and a spring-hinged level gauge.

I drained it in the process of refubrushing it, and may repeat that once I get it running again.
Ed

LeBlond Dual Drive, 15x30
US-Burke Millrite MVI
Atlas 618
Files, snips and cold chisels

Proud denizen of the former "Machine Tool Capitol of the World"
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Harold_V
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Re: Show us your lathe!

Post by Harold_V »

Good to see you here, Ed. I'm in hopes you are doing well and moving on with life.

Take care, my friend.

H
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
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rmac
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Re: Show us your lathe!

Post by rmac »

The talk about way oil (for the ways, I presume) got me mostly wondering what kind of oil everybody uses for the rest of the lathe.

My 10 x 24 lathe of unknown vintage is branded "Select". Except for being smaller, it looks almost identical to BigDumbDinosaur's Jet 1236PS . Just like the Jet machine, it has roller bearings in the spindle and a couple of oil reservoirs in the headstock.

The closest thing I have to a manual is one I downloaded for the Grizzly G9249. That lathe is also bigger (and probably newer) than mine, but otherwise looks very similar. The Grizzly manual suggests applying "Multi-Purpose Gear Grease" to the gears in the headstock and the quick change box, and "ISO 68 SAE 20W Bearing and Gear Lubricant" everywhere else. It also says you can remove the oil reservoir sight glasses to drain the oil from the headstock, but it doesn't give a clue how they're supposed to come out. The turkey baster idea might be easier. There's no mention of way oil anywhere.

I'll have to admit that although I've been diligent in keeping everything lubricated, I've just been using whatever half-empty bottle of motor oil I happen to have on the shelf. Maybe it's time to start doing it right.

-- Russell Mac
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liveaboard
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Re: Show us your lathe!

Post by liveaboard »

I have 2 manuals for my mill; one is for the next model after mine, which is nearly identical.
The early one says use motor oil on the slides.
The later manual says to use way oil on the slides.

I don't know when way oil became available, but I suspect the 2 manuals from the 70's- 80's indicate the date for the DDR.
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Bill Shields
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Re: Show us your lathe!

Post by Bill Shields »

Slide oil should generally be sticky so it does not run off.

Any oil is better than none
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
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neanderman
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Re: Show us your lathe!

Post by neanderman »

Harold_V wrote: Sun May 23, 2021 1:26 am Good to see you here, Ed. I'm in hopes you are doing well and moving on with life.

Take care, my friend.

H
Thank you, Harold. Some days are easier than others. The warm weather (and the waning pandemic...) has made me want to get out more, which is good.

Ed
Ed

LeBlond Dual Drive, 15x30
US-Burke Millrite MVI
Atlas 618
Files, snips and cold chisels

Proud denizen of the former "Machine Tool Capitol of the World"
Thaulo
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Joined: Thu May 20, 2021 9:38 am

Re: Show us your lathe!

Post by Thaulo »

so a lubricant spray with teflon in it for the way's is a no-go?
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