Boxelder
Aluminum
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2012
- Location
- Atlanta Georgia USA
Hello all,
I PM'd johnoder with this barrage of questions, and he recommended I post it on the forum so that y'all can benefit from it as well. Good thinking on his part. Sometimes I think my little issues are so unique that nobody else could possibly ever have them, but that's selfish on my part. So, here's the body of the text in the aforementioned PM:
I'm trying to bring a shaper back to life, and I read your comments regarding oil, specifically mixing the Vactra and DTE 50/50. Are you still happy with this mix?
The Steptoe manual specifies "straight mineral oil with a viscosity of 200-300 seconds at 100 degrees F." This means both the DTE and Vactra ISO 68 fit the bill. Seeing how it's a pumped system, lubricating both the ways and the gears, and the Vactra's purpose in life is to stick to metal during an intermittent lubrication scenario, I'm very torn on this. The DTE would seem like a solid choice since it's going to be circulating under pressure.
What I'm really doing is trying to get out of buying 5 gallons of both the Vactra and the DTE. That's $200 out the door, when I might be able to just spend $100. But if it's the right thing for the machine, I'll do it. She's as close to a new machine as you're ever going to find.
Another question: It has an oil filter which I'm having trouble finding. Picture a metal cylinder 4" diameter by 8" long, with a ring in the center and three indentations on the circumference along the top. It mounts vertically on the side of the shaper, and has an inlet at the top and an outlet on the bottom. The threads on both are 5/8 x 18, NPT. The manual calls it "the Purolator" but this is unhelpful when searching for a new one online.
The final question: This machine sat outside for quite a while, and fortunately the sump caught all the water, and it didn't collect inside the main body. The gears are all pristine. I sucked out all the water and oil sludge, then used paper towels as best I could considering the opening is only about the size of a soup dish. Would you worry about a further cleaning, maybe using kerosene? Or can you recommend another solvent with good water-removing qualities which wouldn't later contaminate the new oil?
Thanks in advance for your time. You're a real wealth of knowledge, and I certainly appreciate you sharing it with us home gamers.
End quoted text.
As a final note, if anyone has the contact information for user BRSS, he supposedly went dumpster diving at the Western Machine Tool Works factory while it was being torn down and salvaged some of the serial number info and other important documentation. I'd desperately like to get hold of him and volunteer to take over the archiving of this data. I messaged PM forum administration, but they can't contact him per forum rules, which I completely understand. But if any of you might have a way to contact him, please please do so. His last PM post was in 2013, so I can only hope he's still contactable somehow.
I PM'd johnoder with this barrage of questions, and he recommended I post it on the forum so that y'all can benefit from it as well. Good thinking on his part. Sometimes I think my little issues are so unique that nobody else could possibly ever have them, but that's selfish on my part. So, here's the body of the text in the aforementioned PM:
I'm trying to bring a shaper back to life, and I read your comments regarding oil, specifically mixing the Vactra and DTE 50/50. Are you still happy with this mix?
The Steptoe manual specifies "straight mineral oil with a viscosity of 200-300 seconds at 100 degrees F." This means both the DTE and Vactra ISO 68 fit the bill. Seeing how it's a pumped system, lubricating both the ways and the gears, and the Vactra's purpose in life is to stick to metal during an intermittent lubrication scenario, I'm very torn on this. The DTE would seem like a solid choice since it's going to be circulating under pressure.
What I'm really doing is trying to get out of buying 5 gallons of both the Vactra and the DTE. That's $200 out the door, when I might be able to just spend $100. But if it's the right thing for the machine, I'll do it. She's as close to a new machine as you're ever going to find.
Another question: It has an oil filter which I'm having trouble finding. Picture a metal cylinder 4" diameter by 8" long, with a ring in the center and three indentations on the circumference along the top. It mounts vertically on the side of the shaper, and has an inlet at the top and an outlet on the bottom. The threads on both are 5/8 x 18, NPT. The manual calls it "the Purolator" but this is unhelpful when searching for a new one online.
The final question: This machine sat outside for quite a while, and fortunately the sump caught all the water, and it didn't collect inside the main body. The gears are all pristine. I sucked out all the water and oil sludge, then used paper towels as best I could considering the opening is only about the size of a soup dish. Would you worry about a further cleaning, maybe using kerosene? Or can you recommend another solvent with good water-removing qualities which wouldn't later contaminate the new oil?
Thanks in advance for your time. You're a real wealth of knowledge, and I certainly appreciate you sharing it with us home gamers.
End quoted text.
As a final note, if anyone has the contact information for user BRSS, he supposedly went dumpster diving at the Western Machine Tool Works factory while it was being torn down and salvaged some of the serial number info and other important documentation. I'd desperately like to get hold of him and volunteer to take over the archiving of this data. I messaged PM forum administration, but they can't contact him per forum rules, which I completely understand. But if any of you might have a way to contact him, please please do so. His last PM post was in 2013, so I can only hope he's still contactable somehow.