Another thread about lubrication

[DougA]

Hey guys I have some lube questions for you.

#1 Colchester Student lathe. Gear oil for both gearboxes is listed as Shell Telus 41. Local supplier only has 32 and 46 hydraulic oil. I have heard running heavier oil will increase leaks so is 32 my best bet?

#2 Oil points on Colchester. I have an oil can filled with waylube 68. When I try to put some in to oil points none seems to be going in so I end up squirting the waylube on the ways directly. Is this normal?

#3 Bridgeport vertical mill. Has the grease fittings. Again when I try and shoot some in with my oil can I don't seem to get anything in. I tried filling a cheap mini grease gun with waylube but it just made a mess. What do others do?

#4 Fourth and final. The spindle bearings on the Bridgeport. Manual calls for medium Vactra oil. My local supplier of spindle oil in 10, 15, 22, 32 ISO. Which would be correct?

I am fairly new to these heavier machines. Formerly I just had an Atlas 10" so any help would be great.

Doug

[MuellerNick]

If your supplier can't translate brand types to ISO, you should change him (or ask a manufacturer).

For the "grease" guns, I'm very happy with these Pressol oilers. I once shipped about 16 to England that then were distributed to HSMers.


Nick

[lazlo]

Shell Tellus 41 is now called Tellus 100: an ISO 100 weight hydraulic oil.

I thought Bridgeport indicates light spindle oil (ISO 32) for the spindle, and Medium weight for the power downfeed cup, but it's been awhile...

[Mcgyver]

Its a source of amazement that every machine tool made needs oiling yet proper oilers that fit a zerk seem so scarce. Hard to find in a typical catalogue. I have a quite large lever operated grease gun that was converted to oil....i didn't do the conversion so don't know what was involved. Its great in that it injects the oil with lots of pressure so it quickly goes throughout, but left lying around after use and all the oil leak out

with that gun and a push style oiler i keep the machines well lubed, its a long way away from ideal....i too am looking for a better solution

[EVguru]

#3 Bridgeport vertical mill. Has the grease fittings. Again when I try and shoot some in with my oil can I don't seem to get anything in. I tried filling a cheap mini grease gun with waylube but it just made a mess. What do others do?

When was the last time the machine was stripped down to make sure the oil passages are clear?

[DougA]

I will check on the Telus 100. I have a push type grease gun somewhere. I will have to dig it out to see if it works better then the mini pistol grip I bought. Not sure on when the machine was torn down last. Once I have a proper oiler I will see how it works then consider a tear down.

[metalmagpie]

Its a source of amazement that every machine tool made needs oiling yet proper oilers that fit a zerk seem so scarce. Hard to find in a typical catalogue. I have a quite large lever operated grease gun that was converted to oil....i didn't do the conversion so don't know what was involved. Its great in that it injects the oil with lots of pressure so it quickly goes throughout, but left lying around after use and all the oil leak out

with that gun and a push style oiler i keep the machines well lubed, its a long way away from ideal....i too am looking for a better solution

I made my BP way oil gun a long time ago, never leaked a drop. It is a truly trivial bit of shop fiddling. Here's the how-to: http://www.metalwebnews.com/howto/oi...unconvert.html

metalmagpie

[HSS]

John Stevenson would be the one to ask about Bridgeport oiling. Bridgeport is one of his main talking points.

[DougA]

I made my BP way oil gun a long time ago, never leaked a drop. It is a truly trivial bit of shop fiddling. Here's the how-to: http://www.metalwebnews.com/howto/oi...unconvert.html

metalmagpie

I like it. I will have to try something like that.

Doug

[Lew Hartswick]

Provided someone hasn't put grease in those fittings before, replace
the straight ones with 45 deg ones and orientate in an "up" direction,
then just use a regular grease gun and keep it vertical with the
handle up. That is what I did at school last year. I store it in a gallon
can with the top cut off very little leakage.
...lew...

[Mcgyver]

I made my BP way oil gun a long time ago, never leaked a drop. It is a truly trivial bit of shop fiddling. Here's the how-to: http://www.metalwebnews.com/howto/oi...unconvert.html

metalmagpie

thanks. I haven't any excuses now do I

[BadDog]

That design works quite well, I've been using it since I got my Bpt several years ago. But mine has a leak that I've not yet solved. I got the body/tube to remain oil tight, but it leaks around the pump head. I went with a cheap-o mini grease gun (small cartridge, about 1.25 x 8?) for around $10, but probably best to go with at least a mig quality brand. It must be used inverted (pump on bottom), and by storing with pump on top, it only seeps just enough (from drain back) to be messy.

I also have a couple of "needle point" adapter intended for use on "flush fittings", and by choosing a suitable type, they work adequately on most ball port fittings. However, works MUCH better if you convert to true (nominally) "flush" fittings, and they stick up only a tiny bit more than the ball ports. One of these days I should probably finish my conversions and tidy up the whole mess, but... oooh... something shiny and new... now what was I thinking about... oh, never mind, this is more interesting...