New old school lathe, what lube do I use

[Shipdisturber]

Just purchased an older lathe that sat for some time unused so some stuff is rather dried out. What should I lube the bed, gears, worm gear and the rest of the moving parts with. I have another question about an attachment that came with the lathe that I have no clue as to what it does. Thanks in advance.

 

[Wizard69]

use way oil for the sliding parts. Mobile Vactra #2 might be a good start. Are info on the spindle might help wth suggestions there.

As for the attachment post a picture.

 

[Shipdisturber]

I checked the manufacturer plate and it says to use 10 and 20 weight hydralic oil. It's a Southbend lathe I purchased for $400 Canadian it's 52 inches long overall and 29 inches wide with a number of bits and tooling I have no idea how to use them. The lathe came with two metal trays full of bit's and pieces that in some cases are a mystery to me. The dirt I noticed on it is actually dust or dirt growth from misting oil in the air around the lathe, this of course would be from the lathe itself. The Southbend is replacing my Taig lathe which was basically tiny with an array of attachments, that I sold for $660 so I think I'm doing alright, I'll post pictures.

 

[Blogwitch]

With your lathe being rather oldish, you should disregard what it says on the machine with regards to lubrication, there are more reliable and better ones nowadays.

As already mentioned, way oil, ISO 68 for the ways and an ISO 32 weight hydraulic oil for all other general lubrication.

A litre (or quart) of each should last you at least a couple of years.

Hope this helps

John

 

[Hopper]

Nice old machine. Any engine oil will get you going. I use 20/50 left over after motobike oil changes. It works fine for headstock bearings and the ways. Been doing it for almost 50 years on my Dad's old Drummond lathe and so far the bearings and ways have not imploded and the machine still cuts to within less than a thou. There is about one thou of measurable wear on the bed ways. Not too bad in my book.

Once you get set up and running you can chase down the suggested hydraulic oil and the modern way oil that I hear is wonderful but have yet to try. It is only available in five gallon drums where I live and I am not going to live that many lifetimes to use it all up.

A good book you might want to buy is "How to Run a Lathe" by the South Bend company. Reprints are still available and it covers all you need to know to get started, and more.

There is a lot of good information on these old lathes in the South Bend section of the Practical Machinist website.

The big lump of cast iron accessory in your pic looks like a milling attachment that goes on in place of the topslide or near it and holds the job so you can mill it with a cutter held in the lathe chuck. Very handy if you have no mill.

The other accessory looks like some kind of circle cutter, maybe a gasket cutter for pipe flange gaskets?

Have fun!

 

[jef-lemmens]

http://www.lathes.co.uk/southbend/index.html

 

[Shipdisturber]

Thanks Hopper and Jef-lemmens! To give you guys a little heads up as to my experience with lathes so you know I'm not a total rookie. I myself am a Heavy Duty Mechanic for the last 36 years who has at times had to use a lathe to repair and even make the odd device. My Grandfather, Father when still living and oldest Son are Machinists by trade so I have been exposed to lathes since I was a tyke. Once I found out that item was a milling attachment it didn't take long to understand how it works. Don't get me wrong I appreciate all advice because even though I may have done something with success for a long period of time someone often comes up with a gem of advice that helps me alter what I do because it's a better way to do it.
Back to lube, I have some high pressure grease that says it's good for head stock bearings very sticky stuff but would likely prevent me from filling the oiler cups so I'm not sure about that. The gear set I'm thinking I should lube with gear oil and I'm thinking lube the ways with 20w hydralic oil how does this sound to you guys? All I really need manual wise is an exploded view of all the parts.

 

[Shipdisturber]

The serial number is 150222 so it was made around 1945 I think. I'm taking it apart for cleanup and so far the gearing looks pristine, hardly any wear.

 

[Hopper]

I have some high pressure grease that says it's good for head stock bearings very sticky stuff but would likely prevent me from filling the oiler cups so I'm not sure about that. The gear set I'm thinking I should lube with gear oil and I'm thinking lube the ways with 20w hydralic oil how does this sound to you guys?

EEK! Don't lube the headstock bearings with grease. It needs oil. These old beasts have plain bearings, either bronze or white metal and they need oil. Grease will not do the job and damage will result. The label on the grease would be refering to modern lathe headstocks with tapered roller bearings like truck wheel bearings.

20W Hydrualic oil is good for both headstock and ways to get started with. Maybe 10W for the headstock in cold weather. The manual should tell you exactly. Sure its available through the PRactical Machinist website SB section.

For the change gears running off the other end of the headstock spindle, the best lube is spray-can motorcycle chain lube, the no-mess, no-fling variety made for street bikes. Not the graphite stuff for dirty dirt bikes. Chain lube is way less messy than oil, which flings everywhere. Put it on and let it set overnight before use so it sets nice and clingy. Lube on these gears is not critical, they are cast iron so somewhat "self lubricating" and operate at low rpm transmitting a very light load. A bit of your 20W hydraulic oil will do if you dont mind the mess.

 

[Shipdisturber]

Thanks Hopper, chain lube I can do. I was using 10w hydralic fluid with red dye on my last little lathe, that seemed to work fine. How often should I apply chain lube to the gears?