Need machine oil reservoir (oiler) and oil advice (Keller power Hacksaw)

A while back I ran into a 1980's vintage Keller 3D power hacksaw. The good news is it was barely used. While I probably did not need a power hack saw, I was unlikely to find another late vintage one with low wear. So I picked it up. The not-so-good news it that is was a bit abused by the original owner. Half the gib adjustment screws where sheared off. Fortunately they came out with not too much effort.



The one thing it is missing is the main oiler. The catalog photo below shows what a standard one looks like (click on image to make larger).



It looks like the oiler was attached using a 1/8 NPT or similar sized thread. Do you have any recommendations for an oiler? Since it is on the moving part of the saw, I presume it needs to be nominally sealed? Also, for this type usage, would an oiler with a shut-off valve be advised?



Also, does anyone have any oil recommendations? As you can see, it was the one thing rubbed out on the data plate and I do not see any references to oil type in the posted manuals on the vintagemachinery.com. I presume if nothing else I should be using 30 weight non-detergent motor oil or Vactra 2 oil. Though Mobile Vacuoline 1409 (aka old Vactra 2 with added tackifiers) may be the best as it may cling better. I do wish I could find a place to buy gallon quantities of Mobile Vacuoline 1409.



The one thing that does amuse me is that the auto power shutoff arm will try to shear of the oil cup if you open it up too far. I think a few minutes with a grinder will hopefully fix that issue. While the saw it built like a tank I can see a few shortcuts that were taken to try to keep the costs down at that late date.



Thanks for your advise.

Couldn't you use a common drip oiler? They have a needle valve to adjust the flow (drops per minute). They are common to hit and miss engines, industrial equipment, etc.. McMaster Carr has them. I'm sure you can find them elsewhere for less money.

I would second the use of a drip oiler like this:

McMaster-Carr

I have a similar age Racine power hacksaw that uses a Gits style oiler. McMaster sells several Gits style ones. They even have some with an internal wick for longer more controlled lubrication.

McMaster-Carr

As for oil mine uses 20W or 30W for both lubrication and the hydraulic down feed system. I've had mine in the shop several years and use 20W detergent oil.

My Keller saw uses one of these: Style CT Polycarbonate Body | GITS Manufacturing I believe it is original. Gits also makes a wick-feed version.

projectnut said:

I would second the use of a drip oiler like this:

McMaster-Carr

I have a similar age Racine power hacksaw that uses a Gits style oiler. McMaster sells several Gits style ones. They even have some with an internal wick for longer more controlled lubrication.

McMaster-Carr

As for oil mine uses 20W or 30W for both lubrication and the hydraulic down feed system. I've had mine in the shop several years and use 20W detergent oil.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the information. I looking at a Trico KG gravity oiler (37011) which is similar to the Gits oilers. The one thing I was worried about was the warning in the KG manual not to use in areas of extreme vibration. On the Keller hacksaw when running at max speed (150 strokes/minute), the max acceleration of the saw blade is 18.1 ft/sec or 0.56G. I was not sure if this constituted "extreme vibration", but since it works fine on your Racine power hacksaw it is probably fine on mine.

Thinking about how simple the rest of the saw is and how low profile the factory oiler was, it makes me wonder if they just used a reservoir with no flow control at all, like the Gits CT oiler as shown below.

I have a 3D just like your's except without the guards.
It was missing the bar oiler too so I bought a drip oiler
from McMaster Carr for it. You want metered oiling and
I use the Way Oil from my mill and lathe. It's a bit slow
going but I can do other things while it cuts.
Larry S
Fort Wayne, IN

My saw is a 66W2, which is a 2 speed wet saw. The speeds are 100 and 140 strokes per minute. 99.9% of the time I use it at the 100 strokes per minute speed. At the higher speed it throws coolant all over the shop unless the flow is turned down so low it barely lubricates the cut.

I have what I believe is a #5 Keller that has a hydraulic lift mechanism on the return stroke. Think it's much newer than your saw because of that lifting mechanism. The oiler on the frame is nothing more fancy than flip top model and the oil just goes directly on the guide bar. Have been using it like that since I got it about 10 years ago without any issues, haven't had to adjust the gib strips yet. Did I forget to say the tag says #20 weight oil for everything except the lifting mechanism, demands #20 weight Non Detergent oil only there.
I really like having that machine available, not too fast but does the job without any elbow grease on my end. Right after I bought that I ordered about 10 of one pitch and 10 of a finer pitch solid high speed blades from Starrett and still have plenty left without ever having coolant in the machine and a fair amount of cutting.
Dan

It looks like the Gits CT series oiler (part number 01052) was standard with no flow control from Jeff_G's saw and what is shown in the catalog picture.

Most of the oilers with needle valves were a lot taller than Git CT. I did find someone on Ebay selling a Trico KL series part number 30320 gravity feed oiler that was only a bit taller than the Gits CT series. Both have 1 ounce capacity. I believe the 30320 is discontinued but the KG series has an equivalent. Or use the 2 ounce KL series version (30322). In concept I really like the Trico's separate controls for the metering and ON/OFF. The flood oil valve setting is also nice to get things lubricated after a long time shut off (pictures below). We will see how it works in reality.

Since SAE 20W = ISO 68 and Vactra 2 is ISO 68, I will use Vactra 2 in it.

Thanks again everyone for your help. Now to clean it up and put it back together.

Well I received the Trico KL series part number 30320 gravity feed oiler and it appears to work just fine on the saw. I like the compactness of the 1oz capacity oiler and the on/off toggle valve.