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South Bend lathe oil

stan martin

Aluminum
Joined
Dec 26, 2005
Location
calif
I have a old I would say late 40's 13 inch South Bend. I have plenty of way oil. `A friend gave me a qt of machine oil, for the spindle bearings and other bearings. I recently ran out of the machine oil. I got it from a friend. I don't want to ask him for more, would rather have my own supply. Where can I buy a quart or gallon of spindle oil? Or is there s better product with to days oils? Thanks stan
 
I use "hydraulic fluid" of the appropriate weight - choices are generally 32, 48, or 68 (or something like that. I buy it in 5-gallon buckets for maybe $35, figuring I'll use it up eventually, but you may be able to find a gallon at a Tractor Supply or even a local auto parts store. Maybe even on Amazon.

Basically "hydraulic fluid" is straight mineral oil, often with anti-wear additions, but no detergent as in automotive motor oil. If you are using an open-lube system (drip through), though, you may be fine using automotive motor oil.

IIRC, there are some lubricants that are not compatible with bronze, so if your lathe uses bronze bearings, be sure to investigate compatibility.
 
You can buy a gallon of Mobil velocite #10 from Mcmaster Carr for about $30 plus shipping.

There is a South Bend sub forum on this site if you want to watch some guys argue about what oil is best for your old lathe. Or have any less controversial questions. 😁

Oh, and your SouthBend uses big, old bronze spindle bearings. If I recall correctly it was some gear oil additives that posed a danger to bronze bearings. I think there are still some hypoid gear oils that can cause problems.

The Mobile Velocite oils are sold for SB lathes on evil-bay, so I figure $30 for a known product is good enough for me.
 
fc,
What you are thinking of is the HP additives in gear oil, typically the 90 weight stuff. No use for this on a SB, but if other machines need it, it can be had from NAPA. The gearbox on my bandsaw uses 90 wt.
 
I bought my SB new from SB in 1980. In the documents I received SB recommended their oil brand in 2 weights. The spindle required 150 Saybolt machine oil and the rest of the lathe used 350 Saybolt machine oil. In SAE terms, that would be a #10 and a #30 weight oil. ....NOT AUTOMOTIVE!!!!!!
 








 
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