coolant/cutting oils??

[jim]

what do most people use when cutting metal??

i've never bothered with anything, but bought some ROCOL cutting fluid the other day, i'm a convert!!!!

i turn a lot of stainless, never usually have any bother, but this stuff was tough!!

brushed some ROCOL on and it cut like butter

not sure if Mrs ocharlie liked the smell on me clothes though

[bogstandard]

what do most people use when cutting metal??

I normally use one of my machines

But you are correct about using a cutting fluid, it can save a lot of heartache at times and give really superior finishes.

I use a special cutting oil that my friend gets me, mixed with water about 30 to 1. It is a very expensive type, and doesn't go sour or racid like normal cutting fluids, no matter how long it has been sat in the tank.

Rocol does have a bit of a smell to it, but you get used to it after about 50 years, so I am told, I have only got another 10 years to go since I started using it.  It is one of the best high pressure cutting fluids or paste you can get as far as I am concerned, and worth every penny, if you have to pay for it.

Bogs

[Darren]

I realise there are proper cutting fluids, and I have no doubt they are far superior to anything I have tried......one day I'll get a proper coolant tank set up and try some for myself.
But I want a DRO first so for now I use white spirit or a turps substitute for alloys. Engine oils thinned for steels both from a squirty bottle left over from the kitchen.

I use spirits over WD40 as it's much cheaper and I can't detect any difference in the finish. I'm still waiting for it to suddenly warm my workshop but so far it has not done so no matter how much I seem to get it smoking........

Some swear by paraffin/kerosene for alloy and diesel fuel for steels, but again I have not tried either.  

[arnoldb]

I also wanted to suggest the spirit, but was scared of getting  no end.  Seeing as Darren brought it up 

A regular drop or two of spirit from a "mustard" bottle with a tiny hole in the spout does wonders for machining Aluminium.

Then I have a squirt-gun filled with the same type of synthetic oil & water mix Bogs mentioned for steel.  A nice direct squirt on the work every-so-often works well.  Normally this cutting oil is sold in large quantities only, but the one engineering firm here re bottles into 1 liter bottles.  Still on my first liter bottle, and had it for 2 years now.

Lastly, I have a tin with a sweet-smelling cutting liquid that's made in South Africa; don't know what it is - but pretty darn expensive and will put you on a trip if you smell too much of it  .  This I use for tapping, reaming, drilling deep holes, and sometimes for finishing cuts on steel & brass.  Funny liquid this... I can make a dry finishing cut that's 1/2 thou oversize.  If I try to re-cut, nothing comes off.  Squirt of this cutting fluid on there, and it takes that 1/2 thou cut off perfectly.

[NickG]

I've used paraffin on aluminium alloy before and it works really well, not sure why I stopped using it! Maybe I need  It would keep cutting tools in better condition and give even better surface finish.

I used to have a bottle of cutting oil for steel, I used to brush it on neat but not sure where it's gone. Makes you stink but I quite like the smell!

There isn't anything to use on brass is there?

Sorry following is a bit  but still related.

Setting my suds pump up is one of the things I need to do. It's 3 phase on the harrison but I have a single phase pump from a boxford that I was intending to replace it with. I'm reluctant because it makes everything a bit messy and harder to deal with swarf rather than just vacuum.

I also have a set up I could use for the mill, can't quite remember what it came off but my dad brought it back from work as they were chucking it out. It's a funny set up, it's got a hoover (make not vacuum cleaner!) 1/3 or 1/4 hp motor with a cam on the end which drives an SU petrol pump! The weird thing is it's all mounted on this casting that's specifically designed to take the motor and petrol pump...wonder if some company came up with the idea and started selling them off? Will take some pics of the thing and post in another thread. Got a little galvanised tank with it and a nozzle too. I'd need to make a drip tray for the mill then though I guess!  Oh no,

Nick

[bogstandard]

Just to add a bit to what I said the other day.

I too used to mix my own ali fluid up, from white spirits with a bit of light oil, also I use WD40 as an alternative. At one time it was kerosene (paraffin) that was always recommended.

You can use almost anything to keep the tool cool and lubricated, even plain water, and over the years all sorts of home brewed concoctions have been available.

It is in fact a product that is under continual research and development, all geared towards getting the best life out of tooling and superior finishes on materials.

You only have to have a quick search and you get all sorts of results.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutting_fluid

http://www.mfg.mtu.edu/testbeds/cfest/fluid.html#cfapp_name

http://www.iwrc.org/downloads/pdf/cuttingFluid03.pdf


But one thing you have to remember, we are doing it for ourselves, not for production. So what suits you will be just fine. Maybe just fine tuning a little on your technique, and what you use, will get you to exactly the place you want to be.

Bogs