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Cincinnati Bickford Super service drill lubrication question

Biolog

Aluminum
Joined
Aug 8, 2018
I recently got my Cincinnati Bickford super service drill press out of mothballs and was planning on changing the oil in the upper and lower gearboxes. The drill was obtained, never run, and then was stored for 15 years in non climate controlled conditions. There is surface rust, peeling paint and it looks a little sad. The sight glass on the lower (feed) gearbox showed some sludge like material in the bottom of the case. When I removed the drain plug some water dripped out, then the sludge slowly began to drain (thick black goo). I would appreciate if anyone has a manual and can tell me the oil specs for these gearboxes. I don’t see too much on general searches. It is a big box column with an XY table, 28” swing, 7 1/2 HP. I do plan to flush the transmissions with fuel oil prior to the change. I am afraid there is moisture in both of them after the long sleep.
 
Thought I would add a couple of pics to perhaps jog a memory or two. Serial on the drill is 3L 635. Sorry about the quality of the images, borrowed a camera. The shop is also a mess as usual. As mentioned in the start post, the lower gear box is the one that I thought may have a heavier gear lube. The spindle gear box seems to be a much lower viscosity oil. That one went Vesuvius on me when I forgot to put the top cover on when starting the spindle. What a mess. P1080601.jpgP1080606.jpgP1080602.jpg
 
Thanks Mike! I think I came across this manual and completely missed the lubrication notes on the drawing! Must have been a senior moment. I am guessing that medium machine oil would be about an SAE20 weight non detergent oil? This one came out of a General Motors auction at the old wheel plant in Lansing MI. Wish they still had those, some great quality items to be had there. Thank you also for tracking the date from the serial #.
 
Thanks Mike! I think I came across this manual and completely missed the lubrication notes on the drawing! Must have been a senior moment. I am guessing that medium machine oil would be about an SAE20 weight non detergent oil? This one came out of a General Motors auction at the old wheel plant in Lansing MI. Wish they still had those, some great quality items to be had there. Thank you also for tracking the date from the serial #.

The preferred lubricant would be something from the Mobil DTE Named Series like DTE Medium (ISO-46) or DTE Heavy-Medium (ISO-68). I'd probably stick with the heavier ISO-68 unless someone comes up with a more specific reference from Cincinnati Bickford. A bucket of SAE20 non detergent would probably work. Anything clean is better than a filthy sump.
 
Sounds good. I have both of those, probably will go with the ISO-68 after flushing out the goo. Thanks.
 
I just bought a Cincinnati Bickford model # 5NE31. Does anyone have any info on what grade oil to add to the gear boxes?
 
Some of our older machines have the grade of oil stamped or located on a plaque near the fill hole. If this is the case it may have been painted over. Before I start scraping off paint does anyone know if the oil info is stamped near the fill hole?
 








 
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