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A new method to apply cutting fluid

compatibilizer

Plastic
Joined
Sep 14, 2019
Hello everyone, just wanted to let you know about this method I found to apply cutting fluid, good to use all around but especially useful in lathe parting operations.

It involves using a water brush, the kind which has its own reservoir, a well known example is Pentel Aquash
https://www.amazon.com/Pentel-Aquash-1-Pack-Carded-FRHMHBP/dp/B01FUMOKYE

My problem was not being able to make the cutting fluid reach the root of the cut while parting. Squirt bottles usually leave the cut dry due to centrifugal force pushing oil out along the side walls. Flood coolant works only if you crank up the flow and it gets really messy. Mist coolant is unable to cool inside deep grooves effectively. And please don't tell me to use a syringe because I keep stabbing myself with it, even with the tips blunted.

The only solution I found was using a paintbrush, dipping into oil and shoving inside the groove. It works but you need to wait and dip quite a few times, which prevents achieving a constant feed. Then I came across this paintbrush which has a squeezable reservoir in the back. Just bought and filled it with oil, works perfect. Shove the tip into the groove and slowly squeeze to dispense oil. It doesn't leak when its set aside.

Give it a shot, you won't regret. Don't forget to remove the sealing cap inside on first use.

Let me know if you find one with even longer bristles, that would be useful.

Happy chippin'!
 
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That looks like a neat idea! I've used acid brushes for years but--especially when parting off--when the
cut reaches a certain depth it's difficult to get oil to the bottom of the cut.

How does the tip stand up over time? Those are quite expensive compared to the acid brushes but I
guess, considering how much parting off I do, that reserving one of those only for parting they'd last
quite a while...
 

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On that same note, for years I have been using one of those squeeze bottle oilers with the hypodermic tip. You can really get the lube right in where you need it on a cutoff. They are very cheap and last practically forever.
 
For parting off, one can use a squeeze bottle that can squirt oil into the depths. But this occupies a hand that may be needed elsewhere.

But I use soluble oil (WS-5050) flood/drip coolant a lot, so I got a 3-gallon coolant pump, and built a bendable copper tubing nozzle that squirts the coolant directly into the deepening groove. This makes all the difference in the world. If I forget to turn the flow on, I can hear forces rising; these quiet when I turn the flow on.

National 3 Gallon Coolant Pump - NW55CP3 - Penn Tool Co., Inc

For the drill press, Little Giant VMC-1 (cost about $150):
VMC-1 | Specialty Pumps | Industrial | Little Giant | Franklin Electric

These pumps are used all the time.
 
I've used a simple squeeze bottle with a cheap acid brush jammed on the end - the oil goes through the handle and runs down the bristles:

brushbottle01.jpg


To get right down into small pareting groove, I have another bottle with a heavy gauge hypodermic needle:

needlebottle.jpg
 
There's even no need to get brushes with hollow handles, I normally use round Fitch brushed (like these Industrial Fitch Paint Brushes - Round ) but have also used ordinary 1/2 or 3/4'' paintbrushes.

Simply saw the handle sow to a couple of inches, put brush in lathe chuck and drill though the handle and set to the bristle 3/32'' ish works for me.
 
That is why I love this forum, really useful practical information for all the machinists out there. Last week I was looking for a way to organize all the end mills and drill bits accumulated in the tools drawer over the years. There were some very nice looking storage solutions in the forum, but most of them were really involved, I ended up using plastic test tubes for the task.

You can find them in all sizes up to 1-1/4" and they are transparent so you can see what's inside. Some have color caps making them perfect for grouping, some of the caps are also air tight keeping rust at bay. They also come with their own stands and they are dirt cheap, so I found it to be the perfect solution for drill bit and end mill storage.
 
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I was not aware of the water brush, it actually looks ideal for use on my 8mm collet lathe, very little room.
Frank Fords "acid brush CF application system" looks perfect for larger machines. Both great tips!
 
It actually is a particularly troublesome issue Marty, to the extent that modern parting tools have integrated high pressure coolant lines

turning_jetcut_groove_1.jpg
 








 
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