Lubricants for Lathes

[Graham Parker]

Dear all – not directly scott related, but I’m sure there’s a few of you out there who will of have some good suggestions – does anyone know of a good source of supply for machine oils?

I’ve just bought a Southbend Lathe and want to replace the oils etc before pressing it into service. So far the only places I’ve found selling appropriate oils want to sell me 25litres of each – which would probably last me untill the next century.

So if anyone knows of somewhere that would sell such oils in 1 litre / 5 litre quantities it would be really helpful.

Thanks

Graham

[Deleted User]

For the headstock oil cups I’d suggest Shell Tellus 27, for the bed-ways etc. a straight mineral oil will do. Engine oil is not the best but any lubricant is better than none. Also attend to the felt wipes on the saddle to limit the ingress of small particles.

Sources of supply are another matter, if you have any manufacturing in your area try seeking out skips/bins with swarf in ’em, that in turn should lead you to the people who actually make things, if you explain what you are about and grab their interest you are “in”!
If there is a university nearby that hasn’t gone all PC, (in more ways than one), or “arty” you will find that many departments have workshops. If they do any sort of engineering you have a very good chance. Try to see the Chief Technician.
Finally there are the local secondary schools, a few still have craft rooms and the Boxford was a popular choice of lathe. Ask for the teacher who does “resistant materials” or the technician.

After all, with reasonable care a ¼ pint will probably see us all out!

[Deleted User]

Just had another thought:- Try some of the model engineering suppliers, Chronos springs to mind also Warco, buy a copy of Model Engineer and have a look in the adverts.

[Deleted User]

Try a search ‘lathe oil’ on Ebay – in particular item 200075199817 –
may help

Best wishes

Roy Fisher

[Deleted User]

If Myford recommend Nuto H32 for their lathes it is not to be ignored but it is my understanding that it is primarily intended for hydraulic systems. I have not had a lot to do with Myford lathes for a long time and I do not recall it being one on the list but they do make nice little hydraulically operated cylindrical grinders. . .
Is the eBay vendor, knowing Myfords make popular lathes, being, er. . . “a little economical”?

Another, maybe better, alternative is Castrol Magna BD68 this is a lubricating oil made for the purpose in question.
Radio Spares do 5 litre tins for £12.09 + VAT. RS part no. 692-659.

Radio Spares have never been the cheapest I know but they are quick and dead reliable and for the above price it will get delivered to your door.

Just in case the Castrol part number is 6240-7057

[Graham Parker]

Many thanks to you both for you most useful suggestions

[Deleted User]

Graham
My Dad has used a 2nd World War Southbend for years. I asked him what
he uses for lubrication, he is still using some “light machine oil” that he bought in bulk years ago. I use a Myford and get my lubricating oil supplies from the factory. But then the Myford Retail Counter is not too far from where I work.
For anything that you need to know about the Southbend, or any other lathe for that matter, I recently found a site which you can find under “lathes.co.uk” (put that into Google).
There is a huge amount of information on there, and they managed to supply Dad with a new flat drive belt for his Southbend last autumn.
Good Luck with the lathe, don’t know how people manage without them!

Malcolm

[Graham Parker]

Thanks Malcolm.

I agree – Lathes.co.uk is probably one of the best sites on the web, it really is fantastic for machine tool stuff. Indeed, it was only after reading the info on there, that I even began to consider a Southbend, before that, I was only looking at Myfords, Boxfors, etc.

If anyone reading this hasn’t looked at this site, I really would recomend it.

Cheers

G

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