Van Norman Oils and Oil Sights

I have begun a basic restoration/clean up of my Van Norman No. 16 mill. I am not very experienced when it comes to different lubricants and what is best for different parts. I am under the impression Vactra no. 2 is good for all of the ways, but my machine has a system of very small copper tubes and grooves in the saddle that pump oil onto some of the table power feed gears, nut, and ways. Since Vactra no. 2 is a more viscous oil, will it be a good option for this, or should I get something thinner? The knee is supposed to be full of oil for the gears that control the different speeds for the table feed. Would non-detergent 30 weight oil work for this? There is also gears in the ram, would 30 weight work for this as well? There are also a lot of bearings in the machine. I know the spindle bearings are supposed to be greased, but what about all of the other bearings? What grease should I use for the bearings? I believe I am also supposed to use oil inside the cutter head. What oil should this be? What oil is recommended for the different bronze nuts? Are different oils or greases needed for different types of gears? There are several bevel gears and one worm gear.
There are several oil sights on the machine, and they are all broken. Is there a good place to find replacement oil sights? I checked McMaster, but they didn't have anything similar to mine. They are just small, press fit with a plastic window. I will take photos tomorrow if necessary.

Thanks,
-Matthew

I believe I purchased my replacement sight glass from Repair Parts, Inc., which was handling OEM parts for Van Norman mills. Repair Parts, Inc., appear to have been taken over by Merinc.com, so you might try them. The lubricants I use on my Model 12 are Dow Corning BR-2 Plus for the cutterhead spindle bearings, Tru-Edge ISO 1000 (SAE 250) heavy duty oil for the cutterhead gears, and HD Plus ISO 100 (SAE 30) for all other lubrication, including ways. Kim

ND 30wt is a little heavy for machine tool oil. Plain old hydraulic oil ISO32 is probably pretty close and likely cheaper than ND30wt. I have an old Sacony book that gives the exact specs, but none of the grades actually exist anymore, so you have to decihper. Post the lube question over on the USA Heavy Iron section of the forum where we VN geeks hang out. Somebody there has the actual modern oil specs. Biggest thing is a replacement for the "California Roll grease" that goes in the spindle bearings. A subject of much heated debate. Use too thin of a grease with too low a melting point and it'll sling all over the place.

As for the sight glass... don't spend a bunch of money. Go get a cheap plastic welding hood cover lens and cut your circle from that. Black RTV, sparingly, on both sides and you are done. Have several machines including at least four VNs with that on them and no troubles.

Ah, yes!!! I had completely forgotten about the "California Roll Grease" controversy. It's been 17 years since I was in Matthew's shoes, and what bliss it has been to have forgotten! Send me a PM and I'll email you my compendium of notes on VN lubrication extracted from the Web etc., including conversations with Chuck Schultz, the go-to guy at Repair Parts, Inc., and various lubricant manufacturers. I'll also send you the lubrication schedule I put together for my #12, if you are interested. I'm sure there have been volumes more written since on discussion forums. You can get lost in this, or you can just do it. Bear in mind that you are probably treating the machine with greater respect than it has had for several decades.