Whacheon HL460 drain plug thread

[GregSY]

Looking at the headstock drain plug(s) on the HL460 lathe....they are a straight cut thread and I measure the OD at .818" and 14TPI. This appears to be a 1/2" BSPP thread....so my question is....is it reasonable that a Japanese/Korean lathe would use BSPP threads? The closest metric thread is M21 x 1.50 but that is not as close a match as the BSPP. Thanks.

 

[dalmatiangirl61]

I don't have an answer, but the coolant tank on my YAM lathe has an open port, nothing from the hardware store fits it.

 

[BillE]

Disclaimer, I wouldn't trust my word! However, other than north america, BSPT/BSPP is used in most of the remaining parts of the civilized world for stuff like this....my euro thing is riddled with Pommy standard for oil drains and fills.

 

[GregSY]

Thanks, I think I will order some BSPP plugs and see if they fit. I have the original plugs but I hesitate to modify them...they look expensive. I want to drill/tap them so I can install a drain cock of some sort. Right now....when you pull them 20 liters of oil comes gushing out and there's no good & convenient way to catch it without it soaking parts of the lathe I don't want oily.

 

[zamboni2354]

I have an older 17g x 40 whacheon. I just used npt ball valves from lowes...I didn't even think about that they could be some harder to find thread. Luckily they threaded in fine. I'll have to check the plugs next time I'm out in the shop.

Jeff

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[GregSY]

Yes, that is pretty much my situation....only on my lathe, they also run the electrical conduit right in the casting trough where the oil would run....so I don't want to soak the wires in oil.

I'm curios what threads you put in there that would be found in a hardware store....NPT? I am sure mine are straight cut, whatever they are.

 

[guythatbrews]

Right now....when you pull them 20 liters of oil comes gushing out and there's no good & convenient way to catch it without it soaking parts of the lathe I don't want oily.

One of my big pet peeves! We are of the same mind. I only make that mess once. Before refill stick a valve in there! I put a plug in the valve to prevent accidents.

I can't understand why any manufacturer does this. It only saves a very small amount. I guess the valves look clunky sometimes, but not as clunky as a big mess of oil.

And yeah, lots of bspp/bspt plugs out there. I keep some fittings in stock so I don't have to say bad words when I need one in a hurry.

 

[zamboni2354]

Yes, that is pretty much my situation....only on my lathe, they also run the electrical conduit right in the casting trough where the oil would run....so I don't want to soak the wires in oil.

I'm curios what threads you put in there that would be found in a hardware store....NPT? I am sure mine are straight cut, whatever they are.

I searched lowes site for my local lowes for valves with the garden hose thread on the outlet made by American valve. All with male threads on the inlet were npt. I found my plugs and they are straight like yours, so I'm not any help... what I used wasn't correct...but it worked for me.

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[GregSY]

Thanks everyone...here is my final outcome. I bought some very nice German-made steel 1/2 BSPP plugs from McMaster ($5 each) and drilled/tapped them for 1/4" NPT. Then I used some Chinese valves from Amazon....it seems in today's world you can buy cheap ones or really expensive ones but nothing in the middle. Then, I also bought from McMaster some 1/4" NPT plugs and a 4" pipe and elbow. The pipe/elbow is threaded into whichever valve I want to drain through....I didn't want to permanently install the pipe as it would stick out into the aisle and catch my knee 6 times a day.

Now I can easily and cleanly drain the oil. The real bonus is all this is I added some red dye to the oil so I can finally see the oil level. Before, the Mobil DTE 24 was the exact same color as the sight glass and extremely difficult to read. The dye is kinda hard to find but I located a seller on ebay who sells Toro dye (three .7 ounce jars for $33....expensive but worth it). I used one jar for 5 gallons of oil.

 

[wesg]

NPT ball valves fit my Graziano perfectly. Didn't even occur to me they might be some other standard.