Lathe oil

[abunaitoo]

Old Craftsman 12x36.
Changed the belts, cleaned all the rock hard grease oil off of it.
What kind of oil do you use in the cups????
Recommended oil is 20wt non-detergent.
Another place suggested turbine oil.
Can't find it here.

[Southern Son]

Guy who sold me my lathe said hydraulic oil. Mine is a Chinese lathe and I bought it new. When I bought it I had heard some horror stories of the gear boxes being filled with left over sand from the casting process, so I swapped out the oil as soon as I got it. Got some sand but not much, but replaced the oil with hydraulic oil. I have not had any grief.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

I don't know about hydraulic oil. Some may be a good lubricant, but it doesn't really have to be, so some may not. I don't think you can go wrong with car gear oil, which comes without additives you don't need in this application.

[akajun]

iso 68 tractor gearbox oil ie hydraulic/circulating oil, will do you just fine.
on the ways use vactra #2.

[DougGuy]

iso 68 tractor gearbox oil ie hydraulic/circulating oil, will do you just fine.
on the ways use vactra #2.

This guy sells lathe oils in small containers and will mix and match for you. I got 16oz of Type C medium/heavy oil for gears and general purpose around my lathe, and 16oz. of the Vactra way oil which works really well for ways and cross slides.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/SOUTH-BEND-L...IFouf5_rHXxr3g

You could also ask him about 8oz. bottles which is what I use, I like the small tips and caps. A single 8 oz bottle of each oil would last you a few years.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ABC-Lite-INT...MAAOSwkZhWS7IP

[fg-machine]

If you order before August when enco becomes Msc And tare advantage of the free shipping on orders over $49
And any other offers going on you can get a gallon of circulating and way oil delivered to your door for under $30
plus its great excuse to get a goody or two to make it up to the free shipping price

[M-Tecs]

I've always used Mobil Velocite http://pds.mobil.com/USA-English/Lub..._Numbered.aspx

[abunaitoo]

I've always used Mobil Velocite http://pds.mobil.com/USA-English/Lub..._Numbered.aspx

What number do you use????

[John Taylor]

WAY oil. I use it on the lathe and mill. It's sort of like chain saw bar oil.

[Frank46]

My Jet lathe takes mobil 2190 T ( for turbine) medium. Local mobil dealer only had it in 5 gallon pails so it looks like I have enough to last. The 2190 comes in light, medium and heavy. It was all we used for steam turbine driven pumps and the steam turbines were all old when I started working the tank farm in '67. They were still there in '96 when I retired and for all I know they are still there. We used the 2190 light. Same stuff we used on my ship which was a post WWII aircraft carrier. Check the enco website for listings on 2190 and the same dealer sold me a pail of way oil. I saved the really big jugs of hand cleaner and flushed them out good and that is what I use to top off the headstock gears. Frank

[labradigger1]

Do a search on "practical machinist website", lots of info there

[EDG]

just look up the oils used for most machine tools that are sold by Mobil.
When you find that you don't want to buy it by the gallon just get a quart of 20wt non-detergent because you are not going to use that machine 22 hours a day like an industrial machine.

[bangerjim]

20 weight straight weightND oil! Period. Mabe a little SPT in it too? I do. What I have used on all my machine tools for the past 45 years. For ways, I use that + rub on Mystick #2 grease....get it at WalMArt....slickest bestest grease you can find for anything!

Hydraulic oil can be aggressive and is NOT a good lube.

[dkf]

Just buy a gallon of Mobil Vactra 2 oil, it is a 20wt oil. You can use it on the ways and all the lubrication points on the lathe. All my lathes and mills get Vactra 2, the headstocks get DTE Heavy/Medium unless they spec something different.

[Newboy]

If you just want pure oil, with no additives, get a quart of vacuum pump oil from an auto supply, or GRAINGER. Also, it will not thicken over time.

[crazybushman]

i use what the local machine shop does on their lathes , hydraulic 48 ( 46 ? ) oil , same stuff i use in the head stock too . i buy it from the local hydraulic place ( they say theyre not meant to sell small lots but they do to me ) for 10 dollars a gallon or so , you should be able to get it cheaper than that in the US . just chipped my damn lathe ways last week , the foot part on the tailstock wasnt aligned when i tighten it up and it chipped a fingernail size piece from each side of the inside of the ways , i cant stand looking at it so il fill the cracks with some epoxy later . its like that cringing moment when you here someone drop a crescent or chuck wrench on the ways

[W.R.Buchanan]

Been doin' this for a while guys... The absolute best Machine Lubricating Oil is Amsoil 20-50 "Racing Oil." I have ran all my machines and air compressors on this stuff for over 30 years now. It has a some what sticky consistency which allows it to stay on the job real well, unlike most oils that run off or dry out. This stuff stays on guide ways and lubricates spindle bearings better than anything I've ever seen. Used Mobil Vactra Oil for a while, the Amsoil is far superior! It works on guns too.

Also,,, and I can't stress this enough, if you run this stuff in your Air Compressor Pump it will coat the inside of the tank and will stop rust thru. Most of you have drained and Air Comp tank more than once. You ALWAYS get rusty water out of it don't you.

If you use the Amsoil 20-50 "Racing Oil" in the pump this will stop happening quickly. You will get what looks like white soapy water with some of the Red Oil mixed in,,, out of it .

I have posted this HOT TIP several times here, and I wouldn't do it again if it wasn't the absolute best stuff out there.

I use this stuff for everything that gets lubricated in my shop and it is by far the best machine lubricating oil there is by a factor of 10!

Once again "Amsoil 20-50 Racing Oil." Accept no substitutes!

You can get it from any local Amsoil Dealer (they are everywhere) and 1 or 2 quarts will last you for the rest of your lives.

I am not a dealer but this outfit does make and sell the good stuff.

Randy

[seagiant]

Hi,
Randy I followed your lead on this and now use Amsoil in everything.....

Even the "Beast"!!!

[W.R.Buchanan]

Greg: now you did get the 20-50 "Racing Oil," Right? It is red like tranny fluid.

Randy

[Char-Gar]

On my lathe I use;

Mobile Velocite Oil No. 10 Spindle for all lubrication points and Mobil Vactra No 2 Way Oil on the ways.