Cutting oil

[Gordon]

What do others use for cutting oil for drilling, reaming and milling? I have Tap Magic, WD 40, 30W automotive oil and 3 in 1 oil. I generally use the Tap Magic but using any oil seems to make the chips stick to the drill etc. WD 40 works best for band sawing aluminum.

 

[Dalee]

Hi,

Tapmatic will work fine. I've found it can stain some tool steels like S-7 and S-5. I use a high sulfur dark thread cutting oil myself. Simply because it's cheaper and available at the hardware store. Motor oils don't have the additives for machining, just like cutting oils aren't suitable for engines.

WD-40 is pretty much everyone's go to for aluminum I think. There are specialty coolants for aluminum though. Tapmatic makes one I believe.

Unless you are using a flood or pressurized coolant system to wash or blow, the chips will stick to everything. This can be a real problem sometimes. Like milling a slot or pocket.

Dalee

 

[Gordon]

Cost is not really a problem on the Tapmagic. I have two pint cans left from when I owned a fabricating business and I did serious tapping. The two pints will last me the rest of my life. I frequently use an air jet when milling slots or pockets. At the moment my problem is drill .020 holes .700 deep and I need all the advantage that I can get.

 

[GregW]

I use Oatey cutting oil for drilling, reaming and tapping. Blaser swisslube coolant concentrate for general milling. I also found alcohol works well for tapping aluminum.

 

[GLCarlson]

What do others use for cutting oil for drilling, reaming and milling? I have Tap Magic, WD 40, 30W automotive oil and 3 in 1 oil. I generally use the Tap Magic but using any oil seems to make the chips stick to the drill etc. WD 40 works best for band sawing aluminum.

Best advice I ever got was to buy a can of Crisco for reaming (I do recommend a discreet silence if asked what you're planning to use it for! Or a very detailed answer...) . Fill the flutes solid. Amazingly good results vs cutting oil and the like. Apparently what happens is that the solid fat both lubricates and "floats" the reamer as if it were a solid rod. Fantastic results with hand (ie, longer taper) reamers, they just seem to glide into the hole.

I suppose any solid fat would work, generics included, but after a couple decades I'm still using that first can, so cost isn't really an issue. Might be worth trying beeswax, or something like Johnson paste wax (which is carnauba, beeswax, and kerosene). Paste wax is the best thing ever for saw tables, mill tables, etc. (There is a minor issue with lacquer/paint after cutting on a waxed surface, easily avoided by cleaning first).

For tapping and drilling in Al, I use Relton A-9. If you can find the green can, it won't stink of cinnamon, and it does work extremely well.

Like sulfochlorinated cutting oil, this is getting hard to find. I buy in gallons now, when I find these. Like detergents, the old chemistry works a lot better than the stuff the EPA is forcing into the market.

 

[goldstar31]

If Crisco is more or less the good old fashioned Lard oil, that would be my second choice!

I use refined lard oil which was what surprisingly the fluid on which the History of Engineering was founded.

Regards

Norman Atkinson

 

[Gordon]

I have heard of using Crisco before but have not tried it. Off to the grocery store.

 

[mcostello]

Bacon fat works also.

 

[jgedde]

What do others use for cutting oil for drilling, reaming and milling? I have Tap Magic, WD 40, 30W automotive oil and 3 in 1 oil. I generally use the Tap Magic but using any oil seems to make the chips stick to the drill etc. WD 40 works best for band sawing aluminum.

This is one of those questions nobody can agree on. Like what color should a car be? That said, the three best things I have ever used are Alumtap, Boelube and Tap Magic Gold (not the Pro Tap which is awful stuff).

[EDITED] I forgot another favorite: Mistic Metal Mover

John

 

[Gordon]

Bacon fat works also.

Coming in from the shop smelling like bacon fat would be the equivalent of coming in with lipstick on my collar. Hard to explain to my wife.

 

[Herbiev]

I use Trefolex. Bought 24 tins at a clearance sale 35 years ago for 50 cents a tin.

 

[Cogsy]

Yep, trefolex for me too, though I try only to use it for manual tools (taps, hacksaw, etc) as it is supposedly nasty if made too hot and gets airborne. WD40 for lathe/mill work on Ali.

 

[Foozer]

Boelube - after 20 years of handling MEK, Boelube's 'bout the only that won't eat the skin off the fingers these days . . .

 

[jgedde]

I have heard of using Crisco before but have not tried it. Off to the grocery store.

Crisco works great for grinding!

 

[Dalee]

Hi,

Lots of good choices mentioned here.

A word of caution about organics used for cutting lube. They are a haven for bacteria that can cause everything from bad odors to nasty infections in the tiny open wounds machinists often don't notice. Use them if you want, just be aware.

Dale

 

[michael-au]

I have seen were people use fog busters instead of flooding, what would you use in the fog buster as a lube?

I was thinking of making a fog buster

Michael

 

[goldstar31]

Hi,



A word of caution about organics used for cutting lube. They are a haven for bacteria that can cause everything from bad odors to nasty infections in the tiny open wounds machinists often don't notice. Use them if you want, just be aware.

Dale

I seem to recall that lard oil was the basis of soap and cold cream and hand creams.


Sort of the saponification of fatty acids:hDe:

 

[mcostello]

Better smelling of bacon than strange perfume-unless Your getting both odors at the same place!Rof}

 

[P.J]

Denatured alcohol works wonders for aluminium. Dirt cheap and works every bit as well as WD40. As a bonus it doesn't leave any residue on the workpiece, if anything it comes out cleaner than it got in.

 

[SmithDoor]

I have try also ever oil and or grease
My self today in my home shop most work is machine dry or with just vacuum.
This works well to keep my wife happy
I found WD 40 (oil and kerosene) for brass and Aluminum works great. Steel Thread cutting oil is great (sulfur, oil, lard and kerosene ) works the best. Cast iron dry with vacuum
When working some else shop I use soluble oil and water (I do not use this in my shop as it will gum ever thing and take time clean mic and tools).

Dave