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Flood coolant

TravisMartin

Aluminum
Joined
Feb 9, 2008
Location
Lubbock, Texas
My Series 60 is equipped with a coolant separator and pump in the chip pan and I reckon I'd like to use it. I'd like to hear what the pros and cons of the different coolants are from some of you who have experience with them. I won't be running any production, and probably won't get anywhere close to the lathe's capacity, so I'm more interested in tool life and ease of cleanup than anything else.

I especially don't want to use anything that will tend to rust or harm the lathe or taper attachment.

Suggestions, please?

Travis
 
Flood coolant of any kind and ease of cleanup are at cross purposes to each other. I've worked in and run prototype R&D shops (no production) where no flood coolant was used except in the grinding/lapping rooms. The machines ranged from jewelers lathes to 20 foot VBM and 40 foot planers. Where tool lubrication was useful it was applied locally.

Flood coolant has its place but its cost, maintaining both the coolant and coolant system, cleaning up after it, complying with EPA regulations, etc. must be weighed against the advantages of coolant: higher speeds, more metal per minute removed, more stable workpiece temperature, etc.

Water based soluble oils are a total PITA on a lightly used non production machine. Sump duty as an apprentice hammered that home pronto. It was a Mike Rowe of "Dirty Jobs" endeavor, it's amazing what can grow in that stuff. It'll sneak into places and make rust too.

It must be remembered these machines were built for industry working production back in the heyday of manual machines and American manufacturing. Monarch put coolant systems on them because they were being used in production, flood coolant made them more productive. They had relatively short projected lifespans on the floor. We're dealing with relics and many of us are just messing around with them, not making money doing it.

Sorry for being so long winded, consider your choices carefully. Having a lathe equipped with a coolant system isn't a good reason to use it.

For a lot of lathe work tooling costs are minimal, how much do you want to spend (time and money) to save peanuts?
 
Very well put Dave!
I seldom use flood coolant on most of my lathes. If I have a job with some particular titanium alloys and other metals that generate a lot of heat I may have to.
I most always use the straight screw machine cutting oil in my Hardinge chucker because it is so under powered, for example, cut off operations are greatly improved using flood coolant and really in general operations its needed. The Hardinge is well designed for flood coolant as it sheds it nicely back into the pan.
The regular engine lathes become a mess with considerable clean up time.
It is profitable for me to use it when needed.
An inexpensive test to see if you really want deal with flood coolant is use a bucket of cheap hydraulic oil, it may smoke a little more, but, you will for sure see the need for good air flow for your shop, no matter what you use, you are going to be wearing it and breathing it.
 
I knew I could count on you guys...

That's the kind of information I was looking for. Truth is, I was getting ready to use it only because it's there; I'm a hobbyist so there's just no reason to make the mess.

Thanks!

Travis
 
I use a Trico Micro-Drop system ( http://www.tricocorp.com/products/product.aspx?c=5&p=31 ) on my mill & lathe, even though both are setup for flood coolant. It dispenses a small amount of lubricant at the tip of a tube in the center of an air stream, the lube breaks up and is propelled by the air to the work or tool. No mist, just little drops of lube. I might use a couple ounces of lube in a 40 hour week if I worked 40 hour weeks. The lube is good for anything I've milled or turned, and the air blast is good for removing chips and preventing chip scrubbing.

There are other makers: Accu-Lube: http://itwfpg.com/acculube/applicators/spidercool.html and "New-Lube" from these guys: http://www.swiftcarb.com/
 








 
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