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Bumble Fingers courts disaster!

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John Hill:
It is all back together and ready for testing but first I need to put new oil in.  No oil left from the initial oil change so off to buy some more,  oh dear!  The 'hydraulic' shop has closed!  So I try to buy some from various oil company outlets but it appears they have all retreated to their national depots in some far away place leaving no stock except motor oils and no knowledge either.  I ask for the oil and they tell me it will be here tomorrow, or the day after.

After some  :scratch: I go to an engineering workshop where I ask if I can buy some oil for my lathe.  'No problem' he assured me as he passed me a half full 20 litre can,  'This is lathe oil', he assured me.  So I looked at the label and sure enough it is ISO46 hydraulic oil, recommended for several applications including lightloaded spur gear gearboxes.  Cant get better than that! :thumbup:

bogstandard:
John,

I use a product called Tellus 32, but almost any fairly thin hydraulic oil will do. Yours will be spot on.

Many of the lathe manufacturers don't actually specify an oil for their gearboxes, so people are using slideway oil instead, because that is what they have got in stock, and that is way too thick and sticky for a lathe gearbox, but OK for external gears as it tends to 'cling', whereas a thin oil will wash any wear shavings from out of the teeth and allow them to settle in the bottom of the gearbox, so causing no more wear, and they will be flushed out when you do your regular oil change. The first couple of oil changes are usually full of debris as the new gears get bedded into each other, but after that, it comes out rather clean


--- Quote ---the half nuts had a nasty collection of greasy gunge and metal particals ready to grind away at the feed screw
--- End quote ---

Remember me telling you to put the shaft into neutral. Well the same knob works for both lead and power shaft. So you should only ever select them to turn when you really require them. So if they are not turning, bits of swarf and gunge can't be wearing anything away.

John

John Hill:
John
We used to see Tellus oils around here but I not sure where the retail outlet would be.  I can buy just about anything I like from the oil companies just by phone call and waiting a day for delivery but their minimums are 20 litres, it is getting so I am seriously thinking of buying a lifetimes supply and be done with it!

Meanwhile I am not getting to excited about oil for the ways etc and have been using whatever is on hand, right now I think the oil in the can is 'cream seperator oil' which must be really old! Some decent slideway oil is on the list to acquire especially as the little shaper really needs it as what-have-you oils only stays on the ram slides for a couple of minutes!

The first oil change for the apron box was likely wasted as it had a really thick layer of congealed dragon fat (or something) which of course did not come out in the first oil change.  During this latest cleanout I washed it pretty thoroughly with kerosene and got all that out before putting the new oil in.  

I never run the quick change gearbox unless I am using it, I just set the fwd/rev lever to the mid position.  Not only does that stop the quick change gearbox from turning but it also stops the change gears.  The point I was making about the half nuts is that when they are used they will scoop up whatever there may be in the thread and there is no easy way to clean them.  Lesson, always thoroughly clean the lead screw before use because on these lathes it is rather difficult to clean the half nuts!  

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