what is everyone's maintenance procedures for your mills or lathes? how often do you find yourself cleaning, lubricating, and adjusting your machines?

I have very few hours on my Taig Mill so far so I have not really ran into this yet. However, my Seig 7x14 lathe seems to need constant attention to keep it running smoothly.

You should give your machines a brief cleaning after each use. It only takes me 10-15 minutes to vacuum off and wipe down my machines after use. If it was just a brief run I may not lubricate it on a longer run I will. The few minutes spent with this simple maintenance will pay off in the long run.

On the Taig mill I have found after the first 30 hours or so it is a good idea to check the adjustment of the gibs, lead-screw nuts, and the Z-axis. There seems to be a wearing in period.

I agree with Jeff...Especially if you use Coolant, I clean and Lube ways after each use just so it don't Gum up on me....Each use for me is usually a 5-8 hour Day

As a newby, it seems that cleaning is next to the machine godlyness. Even though my lathe is many years old the treatment is extremely important, so several times during and always after, the vacuum comes out and the old toothbrush gets the small spaces cleaned out of debris. I never did understand why my high school shop teacher was such a stickler on cleanliness -- after fifty years it really hits home. The smaller the space to work, the greater the necessity to clean, oil, treat, brush, rub and any other adjective you can think of.

I guess the fact that the appreciation of the quality of work, the time invested as well as the money spent makes the operation and preservation so important.

An old guy resurrecting old tricks

Lew Bishop

I brush out and vacuum up swarf anytime it gets in the way of the day's work, whether on the lathe or mill. I always clean up after each work session too, for two reasons; One, it prevents build up of little swarf bits in tiny places, and two, because the next time I go to start using the machines, (which is nearly every day), I have a nice clean inviting place to do what I enjoy so much.

For lubrication, I oil up the mill before each work session. Ways, dovetails, and screws. While I'm doing that, since I'm cranking the tables to the far end of their travel, I can do a quick inspection of the working bits to make sure there is no hidden swarf where it shouldn't be.

The lathe is so easy to take apart that I remove the carriage and cross slide after each use, wipe out the gibs and dovetails, and oil them up to be ready for the next day.

Dean

are you using way oil?

anyone use synthetic motor oil for way lubrication? this was suggested for the mini-lathes.

IMHO, using synthetic oil would be a waste of money. Small machine tools do not develop the same temperatures, pressures or keep the lubrication around long enough for synthetics to make any difference.

Using a good lubricant like a light way oil, or ATF, 30 wt motor oil, etc and keeping the machine clean are the important things.

I don't use way oil.
There seems to be a lot of discussion on the various boards about what to use on a Taig machine. I would guess that if Taig wanted us to use way oil, they would have said so.

What they do say is a little conflicting. On the lathe head stock, it plainly says to use 10 wt motor oil. In the "manual" it says use ATF. I guess the answer is to pick one and be happy that you are using what the manufacturer recommends.

I use 10wt oil.

Dean

I suspect that Taig is trying to recommend a lubricant that the average Joe is familiar with and can pick up locally. Most folks would have no idea where to go for way oil or what type to look for. ATF and 10wt (your right they do say 10wt not 30wt, but 10w-30 will work too) are both readily available anywhere and are sufficient lubricants for the job.

A light duty way oil would work well too, the heavy duty way oils are more viscous and would not be ideal.

Oh, I didn't mean to imply that you shouldn't use real way oil, Jeff. It won't hurt anything, and neither will almost any kind of automotive oil that is not too thick. Any oil that will suspend particles and will keep a film between running surfaces without being "sticky" should be good.

When my mill came, there was no makers tag on the head stock, like there is on the lathe, so I wrote to Taig and asked what they recommended for the mill. Daisy wrote back three letters. ATF. I don't know why they chose that, except maybe because it's fairly thin, so capillary action will pull it into tight places, and because it has a gob of detergent in it, which suspends particles very well. It smells funny to me though, so I just use 10wt oil on my mill too.

Dean

Yeah, I don't particularly enjoy the smell of ATF like i do motor oil!

I have been using Triflow. It is one of the few lubricants that doesn't solidify when exposed to radiation. Now, how that is relevant to this discussion, I have no idea, but I do find that it is easier to clean up with swarf contamination than motor oil.

Rick

Good to know, Rick, cause man!, I hate it when I'm running my small reactor in the shop and it solidifies my way oil!

Dean, machining in a rubber suit...
(an' pullin' yer chain)

Having heard different things on this. Is 3 and 1 Oil OK to use for the ways ?

Tony

It works OK but does not do as good a job as ATF or motor oil at keeping the contaminates suspended or keeping things clean.

Dean,

Was that reactor turned from 12L14 or 1018?

Rick

Just turned from common everyday unobtainium, Rick. It's for my space ship, you know. I'll be going home soon...

Dean

Isn't 3 in 1 oil pretty expensive? A quart of motor oil should last... I don't know... a long time and will cost like $4.

It's just something about the lightness of 3 in 1 I like, and it lacks the motor oil smell. I don;t think even 10 wt motor oil would be that light. As far as lubrication, motor oil is better I would think.
After all the talk about oils I have seen though, viscosity is not really mentioned. This is what I would like to know. What is the range of thick to thin that can be used and why?

I hate the smell of oil, after working in the trucking and equip business. as a mechanic for many moons I HATE it. Is there a low odor oil ? Oh yeah synthetic smells even worse.

Tony

Tony, if you want something other than 10 wt motor oil or ATF, try Zoom oil. Ace Hardware should have it. It comes in a small plastic squeeze bottle and has a retractable spout. It's a little heaver than 3 in 1, (which seems a bit light to me. It's made for small motor brass bearings).

Nyoil is another light synthetic, and I don't think it has any smell. It's kind of expensive. More than Mobil One, but again, a little lasts a long time on a machine the size of the Taig.

(edit) Forgot to add, I don't know what the useful range of oil weights is for the Taig. It's very simple though in that Taig recommends 10 wt. so I assume that is what they have found to be best.

Dean

Yes 'I'll check the Zoom out too. Also bar and chain oil. see if it stinks or not.

Tony

That bar and chain oil will make a mess! It's somewhat sticky so it doesn't sling off the chain so fast, and it makes clean up a real chore.

Ah scrap that idea, when I run out of 3in1 I;ll look into the Zoom

T