Coolant Choice for a Hobbyist

Grits · Aug 30, 2006

Hello Everyone

I have a new (old) lathe with a flood coolant system. What coolant would ya'll recommend that functions well and does not go bad. It would be in my machine a long time before it wears out.

I am also thinking about putting a filter in the system to catch the very small stuff that gets through the screen. Any thoughts on that.

Thanks

Grits

willbird · Aug 30, 2006

Over the years of running production machines I have noticed that Cast Iron seems to foul coolant the worst.

I would think removing anything but coolant could not ever be a bad thing.

Bill

bluchip · Aug 30, 2006

None.

GisMo · Aug 30, 2006

Try high pressure air. When coolant goes bad, it stinks! Could you justify a more expensive synthetic coolant that won't stink? If so, check out Tru-Blue It smells great and doesnt go bad. I do about 1:8water

IMO, flood coolant is just messy. makes your chips/swarf harder to clean and push with a broom. All those wet oily chips will take its toll on your shop vac too. :/ Although sometimes I'm cutting with air and wish I had coolant. It's a give and take.

Is this a manual machine?

Forrest Addy · Aug 30, 2006

I advise home shop machinists to cut dry if at all possible. Flood coolant give you 30% more productivity at the cost of considerable splash unless you build a full splash containment on your machine.

Water coolant soon enough grows into science projects. Oil based coolant splash means constant floor maintenence if you want to avoid a skating rink. Both mean more laundry.

I suggest you get a gallon of soluable oil (ANY soluable oil, the difference between brands is mostly hype) for drilling and mix no more at a time than will fill a laundry squirt bottle. Use it when you need it and forget the flood coolant.

sreeb · Aug 30, 2006

Forrest, do you advise grinding dry also?

I have a 6x12, very infrequently used, manual surface grinder. I always find it difficult to get the results I expect and I suspect that thermal expansion of the work is a beg part of the problem.

Randy R · Aug 30, 2006

Maybe just get a bottle of Tapmatic, etc. and brush it on as needed with an acid brush.
Randy

Anchor · Aug 30, 2006

Any water soluable oil and a rain coat.

4GSR · Aug 30, 2006

I use spray mist on the mill when needed. On the lathe, I cut dry, unless I'm grooving, finish cut, parting off, or threading, then I use light cutting oil or Tapcool or Tapmajic. Also use these on the mill too!

Doozer · Aug 30, 2006

You can grind dry just fine, if you have the right wheel and technique for the work being done. With all conditions accounted for, the heat will be minimal, and not much will go into the work or the wheel.
Coolant is good for drilling or when reaming hard steel.
Coolant also can help out a less than optimal grinding wheel selection.

--Doozer

Motomoron · Aug 30, 2006

I usually use HSS inserts for turning or occasionally carbide. I rough out dry, and if I can get an adequite finish cut dry I will. I keep a little 4oz plastic squirt bottle of Tapmagic regular (not the green ecologically safe stuff that eats paint) by the lathe, as well as a can of WD-40 for aluminum. The odd times I work with pure aluminum alcohol is an excellent cutting fluid.

BadDog · Aug 30, 2006

I've come to the same conclusion Forrest explains.

I bought some cheap purple coolant from Enco (cheapest stuff they have, ready to go in the bottle, and free shipping). I think it’s glycerin based? Works fantastic for drilling and cleans easily.

And I’ve got small bottles with a variety of things I’ve picked up, including a Tap Matic, Tap Magic, and a couple of other formulas of different lubes and/or coolants I got in some $5 lots at auctions. I usually apply it with a flux brush from Harbor Freight, and I have one for each formula stuck on holes of my peg board wall with labels indicating their use below them. Just grab the brush that matches the bottle. If one does not seem to work right based on the work I’m doing, I switch to another and try that.

For a bit more volume than I get with a brush, I use a sort of capillary a bit smaller than a typical straw. Put in the bottle, stopper with finger, transfer to work surface or where ever I need it. If I really need to up the ante, I use a large syringe to pull up whatever concoction I need and flood the area, lasts for a bit and usually long enough for my needs.

That only leaves the chip removal aspect missing. I haven’t figured out what to do about that yet. Maybe get an air system to help in that area, but only on an “as needed” so I don’t thrash my air compressor to badly...

So far, this seems to work well for me.

Winfield · Aug 30, 2006

I use an alternative to messy flood coolant or potentially hazardous mist coolant in a vortex cold air gun. The vortex cold air guns work by harnessing Maxwell’s Demon. Information on DIY vortex cold air guns and Maxwell’s demon can be found here: http://www.visi.com/~darus/hilsch/ I bought a commercial vortex cold air gun, a Vortec model 610 http://www.vortec.com/cold_air_guns.php Vortex cold air guns are provide very clean and environmental safe alternative to mist or flood cooling and clear away chips as well. But the caveat is that Maxwell’s Demon has a huge appetite for large volumes of compressed air. My model requires 15 SCFPM @ 100 psi. I bought a 2-stage compressor with 80 gallon tank from Lowes and it is just adequate to satisfy the Maxwell’s Demon’s ravenous appetite. http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i163/miltons_stuff/AirCompressor.jpg The compressed air must also be dry and clean. I use a 5 micron filter http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i163/miltons_stuff/5micronfilter.jpg But there is no messy coolant, chips are dry, and no hazardous mist in the air to breathe. http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i163/miltons_stuff/minus7degC.jpg

LD · Aug 30, 2006

I'm not fond of flood coolant in a home shop environment, which I assume is the basic question.

. It's messy.
. Seldom is the production advantage realized.
. The tool does not see the speeds and feeds that make flood coolant necessary
. If it sits in a coolant tank for long it will grow things, or at least the surface will soak up anything else you do, say a little wood work.
. It smells
. Did I say it was messy

Having said that. Good for you. If you have capability, you should want to exercise that feature. Can you set the flow to no more than a drip? Do that

Find a coolant that is not organic and will not look like that turkey sandwich in foil in the 'fridge you were going to eat last Thanksgiving.

Don't put more in the sump than is necessary.

Try it out. See if you like it. You may enjoy this feature if you have a large project making piles of chips with a carbide insert.

But buy some 4 oz. plastic bottles and fill them with some Rapid Tap or Tap Magic or Cool Tool II and try a drop on the surface now and then. Get some cheap acid brushes and brush the fluid over tha tool contact area.

Keep in mind, the flood coolant is to keep the tool cool, flush the chip away and maintain a constant temperature on the work, as well as lubrication for big cuts. If you need that - do it.

The bottle and brush is to give you a better finish.

bronto48 · Aug 30, 2006

Here I have been cutting mostly dry (aluminum, cast iron, brass) on my lathe for several decades and been ashamed to admit it for fear of being found out to be the lazy fool I am.

Then Forrest recommends it. Will miracles never cease?

Like they say, even a blind hog eventually finds an acorn.

I am a home machinist, not production oriented, so for that you can get away with dry cutting.

For turning or drilling steel (and stainless), I use old fashioned high sulfur cutting oil, dribbled on from an oil can or brush. Bought a gallon from MSC or Enco. Lasts forever. Usually it is not enough of a mess in the chip pan that a few paper towels cannot cope with it.

Plus, the old time machinist I apprenticed under once told me that having a teaspoon of cutting oil first thing in the morning would make me live forever.

Tapping/threading of anything gets cutting oil (Tap Magic for aluminum). Drilling anything gets cutting oil or Tap Magic. For parting-off I use cutting oil.

Milling gets cutting oil.

My philosophy is: it is easier to sharpen a single point tool than anything else in your collection.

wesg · Aug 30, 2006

Dark cutting oil on the lathe, but I've found a very tiny dribble from the coolant hose (I think it's Blaser ... and a bunch of hydraulic fluid

) will improve the finish tremendously. It's a *must* when using a follow rest. But unless you keep the flow and RPM within reason you're going to have a mess to clean up.

macona · Sep 14, 2006

I am looking at a bottle of Mobilmet Gamma for general turning? Any other recommendations?

Newman109 · Sep 14, 2006

I just keep a apray bottle of dilute soluble oil at each machine. I use it sparingly so that it doesn't get all oily and caked up. I notice when it drys out, that there is no rust where it was on the machine and also the chips are dry and can be swept up and/or vacuumed up.

Oh, to prevent algae and other life forms from growing, I add an ounce or so of Lysol or other similar agent.

This works for the light work that I am doing.

jkilroy · Sep 14, 2006

Aluminum gets WD40 from a spray bottle, works great. Iron is cut dry in all cases. Various steels, it depends on what I am doing. Stuff like tapping and drilling I use el-cheap-o Ridgid dark cutting oil. I use the waxy stick stuff on the band saw. Most of the time I'm cutting dry.

adama · Sep 14, 2006

with my basic 2axis cnc on my bridgeport flood realy helps on long profiling cuts using hss. if possible will use coated carbide run dry, but them chips are hot.
on the band saw (vertical wood cutting) i have found that a fine "ish" 4-6 teeth in the cut thickness at a time blade lubricated with a quick dab of candle wax works great and does not clog the teeth up. far cheeper than the special wax sticks andalways to hand.

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