Lathe flood coolant - Soluble, Semi-synthetic, Synthetic?

[Dave_424]

Hi, I have a Colchester Chipmaster lathe that has flood coolant. I am going to be using flood coolant for my machining and wanted to ask you guys what type of coolant you recommend?

I machine a lot of aluminum, steel and stainless, but since I am at university, my machine will often sit for maybe two months without being used. I have seen that fully synthetic cutting fluid basically never goes rancid but can rust the lathe due to having no oil in it.

An air bubbler and also timed socket to run the pump for a couple of hours a day can be added to stop the coolant going off.

Let me know what you guys think

Thanks

Dave

 

[rodw]

Dave,

I bought a coolant tank recently and got some Hocut 797 BU with it.

http://www.machineryhouse.com.au/S090

I did a bit of research on this as I did not know if the supplier was selling a quality product or not. I found it was one of the better ones. There were lots of differing views online and I concluded there was no need to put a bubbler in it. The consensus was if you have to put an additive in it to choose another supplier as they should not be required. I am expecting it to last 12 months or so but may have to add some water from time to time as it evaporates. It will only get occasional use at my place too!

I've only run it up once so far (it has only been a couple of weeks) but it was when the weather was wet and miserable and I had no rust. The supplier said it won't rust so maybe he was right

 

[Dave_424]

Would something like this do the job?

http://www.premierlubricants.co.uk/premier-super-synth-4.html

I think the best route for me is to get a fully synthetic coolant and just wipe down and oil the lathe when not in use or when I know it's not being used for a long time (something I should do anyways)

Dave

 

[n4zou]

Hi, I have a Colchester Chipmaster lathe that has flood coolant. I am going to be using flood coolant for my machining and wanted to ask you guys what type of coolant you recommend?

I machine a lot of aluminum, steel and stainless, but since I am at university, my machine will often sit for maybe two months without being used. I have seen that fully synthetic cutting fluid basically never goes rancid but can rust the lathe due to having no oil in it.

An air bubbler and also timed socket to run the pump for a couple of hours a day can be added to stop the coolant going off.

Let me know what you guys think

Thanks

Dave

If a lathe or any machine tool is going to sit for months without use the ways should be protected with something other than a thin coating of oil. Needless to say cosmoline would be the best choice until you need to use the machine again. Instead of coating rust prone areas to prevent formation of rust with cosmoline I use Marine Grade waterproof grease. Buy a tub of it and a cheap 1" paint brush. Any automotive parts retailer will have Marine Grade Grease in stock and it costs a lot less than grease made for wheel bearings used with disc brakes. Apply it by just painting a thin coating on any surface you want to protect from rust and moisture. Application is easy as is removal by simply wiping it away with a cotton rag (old T-shirt). It will also mix well with way-oil so if you miss a few spots no harm is done. If water condenses on the grease due to rapid temperature changes it will just roll off or evaporate without washing away the grease.