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LANCE/ZUBAL lathe lube info wanted?

Wally318

Aluminum
Joined
Oct 11, 2016
Hi all.
We have a Lance lathe-made in Spain, where I work.
It looks like the model is called Zubal.
It's in very nice shape for its age. Had a very
easy life.
I just noticed that the headstock oil is very low.
I've been looking at a very dark shadow on the sight glass
for some time.
The last time I had the headstock cover off, the oil was abit on the low side. But oil seemed to be getting splashed in all the right places.
One thing I do remember though is that the oil seemed to be ATF oil
\and reddish in colour.
I think its time to drain out the old oil give it a bit of a clean
and start with some fresh oil. Onyone know what oil is recommended
for this lathe? We don't have the manual.
 
Peter thanks for the extra info.
None of the pdf's have any info on oil/grease type recommendations.
 
Wally318,

Page 14 has a little info, it says to use "Campsa A5 or A7 or C4 or C7".

Campsa was the Spanish state oil company, now mostly part of Repsol (Wikipedia).

Perhaps you could ask your favourite oil company's technical advisors for a cross reference for these specifications, also mention the era the lathe was made.

Please note, page 14 mentions "greasing spots" but this surely refers to the grease-type fittings, not the lubricant. Use oil only. I am not certain about the headstock reference to greasing though.

Actually, it is no big deal getting oil for your lathe, you don't really need to know the original specs in my opinion. You can get modern slideway oil for the ways (ISO 68 viscosity I think?) I use Shell Tonna 68 but I think Mobil Vactra No.2 is similar?? Please check the Mobil reference, others here know more about this.

For the other parts, I think hydraulic oil will do e.g. ISO grade 46. My lathe (1960's) uses Shell Tellus 46 or Mobil DTE Oil Medium for the headstock, feed box and apron.

There are others on the forum who know more about oils, maybe ask a lube question in the "General" section of the forum.

Edit: I re-read your post and see it is specifically asking about headstock oil, so apologies for the other waffle I have posted. For some reason I thought it was just a manual you wanted. Not enough sleep is my excuse :o
 
Last edited:
Peter, thanks for the input.
Sorry I didn't get back sooner.
I did the oil change on Thurs.
Re: way oil-agreed way oil and oil for ball oil
ports is fairly basic, can be done with whatever are
current standards. Headstock can be a bit more specific.
But some generic standards can still apply.
A high speed spindle on a CNC mill will need thinner oil
to deal with 12,000 rpm.
A lathe spindle with 1500 rpm can/should be a bit thicker.
My colchester chipmaster with a 3000 rpm top speed and
Gamet bearings calls for something a bit thinner ISO 15 oil.
Your recommend of ISO 46 oil seemed reasonable.
On the home machinist forum I got similar answers
as well as Mobile DTE med and light.
After a bit of reading I decided to go with Tellus 32,
we had that in the shop. Well suited to the job at hand
not too thin, not too thick. Thanks.
 








 
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