Lathe Drip Oiler

[BudRow]

I have an old (Circa 1918) Monarch lathe. It's a 14" swing X 32" between centers. The headstock has Brass bearings with a spring loaded oil caps. I want to put drip style oilers on it. These are the ones with a sight glass and an adjustable on/off toggle valve. What would be the normal drip rate per minute? Should there be felt under the oiler and above the journal? Thanx, Bud

[redneck1]

Provided the felts aren't crusty and hard the gitz style oilers you have now work just fine .
But I understood the wanting to change to drip oiler .

Keep the felts , as to how fast to drip , you don't need nearly as much as you think you do . a few fast drops initially to wet the felts then Maybe a drop every 8-10 seconds .

[john.k]

Its easy to tell if you re over oiling ...there will be a line on the wall behind the lathe ,and spots all over your face and clothes.

[DCP]

Its easy to tell if you re over oiling ...there will be a line on the wall behind the lathe ,and spots all over your face and clothes.:D:goodpost:

[country gent]

I have found them on line when needed. I think Grizzly has some also. Mcmaster Carr, Grainger or MSC also carry them. We used to use them as a coolant dipper on lathes and mills A piece of 1/8" tubing on the end we would make a stem 1/2" with the threads for the drip oilier and turned to 3/8'" and threaded hole for mounting the tubing ( tubing can be soldered in also) mounted on a magnetic stand on the carriage it followed with the tool.

The newer ones are made much cheaper.

[samari46]

You could get a regular sight glass and a shut off valve which can be adjusted for the flow. Think the smallest sight glass I have has quarter inch pipe threads. But check with McMaster Carr as I'm sure you can get some with 1/8 pipe threads. And some have small sight glasses at the bottom with valves. If the felts in the Gitz oilers are dried out or clogged with old gummy oil best to see if you can get new felts or new oilers. Frank

[Alstep]

I've got a drip oiler on my old lathe. Better too much oil rather than too little. About 6-10 drips per minute is plenty good.
Go to any antique tractor & engine show. Lots of oilers for sale. Also check out smokstak.com a site dedicated to old engines. They have a swap & sell just like we have here.

[akajun]

You have a wick Oiler and do not want to change to a drip Oiler
Wick oilers don’t tend to run dry in the middle of the day

[labradigger1]

Oil gits work fine. Drippers also work fine until you forget to shut the valves off.