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Lubrication for Cutting

buffumjr

buffumjr

Aluminum
Joined
Aug 7, 2011
Location
Florida
I machine and drill primarily 6061 aluminum and "mild" or hot rolled steel. Up to now, I have been using Tap Magic Pro Tap as a cutting/tapping/drilling fluid. This does fine for steel, but fails on cutting aluminum.

There are a bewildering array of choices on McMaster and MSC. What are some good ideas for milling/tapping aluminum? What about the pastes and gels?
 
I've always used A9 for aluminum. Works great for tapping and sticks better than the Tap Magic for aluminum, also smells better IMO.
 
buffumjr said:
I machine and drill primarily 6061 aluminum and "mild" or hot rolled steel. Up to now, I have been using Tap Magic Pro Tap as a cutting/tapping/drilling fluid. This does fine for steel, but fails on cutting aluminum.

There are a bewildering array of choices on McMaster and MSC. What are some good ideas for milling/tapping aluminum? What about the pastes and gels?
Click to expand...
.
usually if you want to keep machine clean and rust free often just a plain mineral oil like air tool oil works moderately well. the residue is relatively easy to clean, not sticky and it helps prevent rust. nothing worse that a gooey sticky machine with tar like residue on it. basically i would look for something thats easy to clean off, eventually you will need to clean the machine
.
sure there are honey like tapping floods that even when coolant is going directly on will stay put. of course they need to be wiped off and are harder to clean off as thats what they are designed to do.
 
For milling aluminum I use Rustlik WS-5050 @ 16:1, applied as a coarse spray from a mist cooler. It has terrific heat dissipating qualities and I never get welded chips, etc. For tapping alu, I use Harvey's dark pipe threading oil.
 
Gordon Heaton said:
For milling aluminum I use Rustlik WS-5050 @ 16:1, applied as a coarse spray from a mist cooler. It has terrific heat dissipating qualities and I never get welded chips, etc. For tapping alu, I use Harvey's dark pipe threading oil.
Click to expand...

Wow! Pricey stuff. 5 gallon pails. Great if I was a job shop. Oooh. A 12 oz bottle! That's more my speed. But, it's not WS-5050, it's RTD, "for use with steel, ferrous metals, or titanium".

I've had WD-40 suggested before for aluminum. It worked for 1/4" milling, but failed for 1/8" milling. For 1/8", I found the best tactic was to drill a series of carefully done 7/64 holes, then clean with 1/8" mill in shallow passes with lots of lube. Even then, I'd have to stop numerous times to clean the end mill. Grrr.

If suggesting a lube, please give the brand and model name, so I can find it. CAMasochism, what is the brand name of A9? Kallam, what is the brand name of Dark sulfured thread cutting oil? Was it Oatey?

I'd use kerosene, but I'm concerned about its long lasting smell. I'll try mineral spirits. Got that in stock in quantity. I'll try an 1/8" bit on some 6061.
 
buffumjr said:
Wow! Pricey stuff. 5 gallon pails. Great if I was a job shop. Oooh. A 12 oz bottle! That's more my speed. But, it's not WS-5050, it's RTD, "for use with steel, ferrous metals, or titanium".

I've had WD-40 suggested before for aluminum. It worked for 1/4" milling, but failed for 1/8" milling. For 1/8", I found the best tactic was to drill a series of carefully done 7/64 holes, then clean with 1/8" mill in shallow passes with lots of lube. Even then, I'd have to stop numerous times to clean the end mill. Grrr.

If suggesting a lube, please give the brand and model name, so I can find it. CAMasochism, what is the brand name of A9? Kallam, what is the brand name of Dark sulfured thread cutting oil? Was it Oatey?

I'd use kerosene, but I'm concerned about its long lasting smell. I'll try mineral spirits. Got that in stock in quantity. I'll try an 1/8" bit on some 6061.
Click to expand...

You can try to find some buttercutt...man does that stuff smell good.
 
buffumjr said:
Wow! Pricey stuff. 5 gallon pails. . .
Click to expand...

MSC sells gallons of WS-5050 for $31 my cost, retail is $52.25. When diluted 16:1 with water you get 17 gallons of coolant for a little over $3/gal (retail). It is good for all steels too. I do tap with it sometimes, but use a higher concentration for that. The dark sulfured oil I use (Harvey's) comes from my local plumbing wholesaler and costs about $22gal.
 
Gordon Heaton said:
MSC sells gallons of WS-5050 for $31 my cost, retail is $52.25. When diluted 16:1 with water you get 17 gallons of coolant for a little over $3/gal (retail). It is good for all steels too. I do tap with it sometimes, but use a higher concentration for that. The dark sulfured oil I use (Harvey's) comes from my local plumbing wholesaler and costs about $22gal.
Click to expand...

A gallon of cutting fluid would be a three years' supply. I'll try the A9 and the mineral spirits, first.
 
Tap Magic Aluminum works great, and smells like cinnamon! You're correct the standard TM stuff isn't as good on aluminum.

Moly-Dee makes tapping stainless an enjoyable experience. Like a fat kid sliding across a sea of warm butter.

Kerosene or any napthatic oil works well to cut aluminum.

WD-40 works well. The problem with WD-40 is that it's WD-40, and someone will grab the can and use it as a lubricant on a tool.
 
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