Chuck Lubrication

I have just about every size chuck to fit the spindles of my lathes except the 24" Hendey. (Hardly change the 20" 4 jaw on the machine) However I have quite a few different size chucks that will fit the D1-6 spindles of the 12", 14" Hendeys, 14" L&S and 16" P&W lathes. I have been lucky getting quite a few chucks from HGR that were in excellent shape and a few that seemed to be new very cheap! Latest is a 10" 4 jaw by Skinner that seems to be solid steel being as heavy as it is! It too is in great shape no back plate the pins are mounted directly on the chuck though only 4 due to the jaw screw retainer that prevents 6 from being used. Has seen little use but I had to clean what seemed to be old oil covering.
I have it mounted and used WD-40 after removing all the oils. I'm wondering what is the best oil to lube the jaws and screw plus the jaws and scroll of the 3 and 6 jaw chucks. I also have a number of independent/universal combination 3 and 4 jaw chucks. I'm no lover of WD-40 but buy it by the gallon for use as a cutting lubricant requested by my customer.
Looking for something that will allow long storage periods due to the number of chucks I have.

Others here have vastly more experience than I at nearly everything, but I'll mention something that I find seems to work well on things where I need some degree of lubrication and/or corrosion protection to "stick around": take some good quality hydraulic oil (contains corrosion inhibitors) and warm it in order to dissolve a modest quantity of either parrafin, beeswax, or lanolin. Once it cools down, it's going to be thicker due to the heavier material that's now dissolved in the mix. Then "cut it" with something like kerosene or mineral spirits, so that it flows freely. The thin component helps it flow over and permeate into things, but as the lighter hydrocarbons evaporate the thicker components persist and the wax component in particular keeps it from shedding off from surfaces (and the wax component kind of 'holds' the mid-viscosity component to surfaces)

Some say use the break in lube used on automotive camshafts. I have used it and am satisfied with it.

I did a experiment on my lathe chuck was getting some part coated with tungsten disulfide and had my chuck parts coated to, this is a dry lubricant that is impinged into the metal developed for the space program to work in space( vacuum) and it doesn’t attract grit like oil.
Had it on for about a year chuck operates very smoothly just take it apart and clean it and its good for awile again.


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grease on the pinion side of the scroll and way oil on the jaws/ scroll. Just stand to one side first time you start up the lathe with the freshly oiled chuck on it or wrap the chuck in a plastic bag. It'll sling oil a fair distance

This is one place I can't stand having anything that chips can stick to. Maybe graphite dusted sparingly.

DTE light or medium, same as any other general lubrication job. Then put on safety glasses, take a step to the right and let 'er rip.

I've had good luck with DTE, Vactra and Kano Kroil for protection of bare steel in a high humidity environment. Any 'real' oil will do, honestly.

Oddly enough I've had issues with Fluid Film despite it being touted as a corrosion inhibitor. It doesn't seem to play nice with red metals despite the label claiming it will.

How you store your chucks will make a big difference too. Keeping them elevated at least a foot or two above bare concrete will be a big help. Ever notice how old equipment always tends to develop rust lines creeping up to about 2-6 inches high? Air near concrete tends to be cooler and closer to it's dew point than air in the center of a room.

Keeping the shop dry and heated works for me. I also have a small window ac unit in summer [it can get to 90+ percent humidity here] and it really helps take the water out while keeping comfortable. I don't oil bare metal surfaces and don't have any rust. Fight the source of the problem instead of the effects I say.

I have been storing the most used chucks on the floor near the lathe on 2X10 board 12" long with strips to prevent roll-off. Boards have been soaked with my concoction of water soluble synthetic coolant and oil. It don't mix easy but put in a bottle and shaken well they will mix. Those that I don't use often are on a steel shelf. Those too large for the shelf I purchased a few tooling carts that I started to modify to store chucks, the large chucks are on it about 1 foot above the concrete.
Some chucks have grease fitting to lubricate the scroll, been using that high pressure water proof grease.
I'd like the "Dry" type lubricant especially in the screw or scroll area so that it don't have chips especially cast iron (do very little) or Aluminum Bronze stick and hard to clean.