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Way Oil

K

kjbllc

Aluminum
Joined
Jan 24, 2008
Location
delaware
I have used the search and also did a google on this, there seems to be a lot of different ideas. So just to be safe.
I have a SB 10-k
the lube chart gives
type A -100 sec. which I found out was #6 or #7 spindle oil.
Type B - the I was told the 150 -240 (240) was #30 weight
Type C -and the 250 to 500 I don't know.

I found the #6 spinle oil , I think that is vs0#10 , and I think the vacarra is the way oil
but I can't seem to get what the #30 weight is or the 250 to 500 sec.

I want to order them all together, for shipping, I looked at msc and enco, but it seemed a little confusing with there numbers and what I was given to look for.

I hate being so dumb on this but I just have never dealt with this stuff, and the jargon is strange to me. I don't want to move things around or start it up before I clean and put oil in and on it. I don't know the last time it was lubed, or used. thanks for any help on this.
 
My two cents:

I can't imagine using straight 30-weight oil in place of way oil -- it just won't stay in place for me. I like the tackiness of the formulated way oil. It coats the ways and dovetails nicely, and makes things glide like butter.

Also, I find the ISO 68 grade to be piss-thin for machine slides, and highly recommend the ISO 220.

Enco #505-1993 for the TruEdge brand

Enco #505-1989 for Vactra No. 4

Paula
 
My 3/4 cent: if you want to save some dough and not have to look too far for it, chainsaw bar lube from the hardware store is cheap by the gallon, is slick like STP and sticks to the ways like glue. I'm using it on my 10K with good results.

Blob
 
oldbrock

Hi Kevin, it's brockley1 I use chain saw oil too. If it sticks to a whirling chain saw it will stick to anything. Once a week I will clean the ways with WD 40 and wipe dry and relube with the chain oil. Super slick and a great way protector How's the fiddling?:cool: Peter
 
similar idea to chainsaw chain oil is bicycle oil like Phil's extra tenacious. The thing about bicycle oil is that it is designed for the oil phoebic so generally has reduced odor etc... just in case you are sharing the space. Nice thing about chainsaw oil is that it is available in several weights.
 
Isn'y way oil engineered to meet very high pressures though? Somewhere on this site the numbers are given. I don't think other lubes are going to perform as they should. Might not matter on these smaller machines though....

I opt for piece of mind. A lifetime jug of vactra isn't that much money (Phil's would be way more per quantity, and I think it stinks more than Vactra.. it's also dark green, so you can't see contamination as easily).


bb
 
i have an old 9A that i used engine oil on the ways, thought it was good enough. now that i have a better lathe with the SB13 i thought i would anti up and get some way oil, got the true edge ( iso 68 ) i think, WHAT A DIFFERENCE ! this stuff sticks to the ways so much better than oil. a gallon of the stuff is like $20. cheep insurance if you ask me. will only use way oil from now on.
 
The vacuoline 1409 sticks even better to the ways. It is the orginal formula for Vactra where they still had the tactifers. Modern VACTRA 2 is designed for square way machines.

A bucket of 5 gals of Vacuoline is $45 here. Use it for my lathe, mill, and tool grinder.
 
"Phil's would be way more per quantity"

I already have it and just about any neighbourhood will sell bike oil, in volume if you want. That's my problem, getting stuff in Canada. I have the spec spindle oil thanks to a guy who ponied up for a drum.
 
I'm using a nice sticky Penrite brand Limited Slip Diff oil on the slides on my SB9 and it seems to work very well on the old abused ways on my machine. Very smoothe movement of the slides and it seems to cling to gear teeth pretty well too.

For the spindle I'm using Houghton Hydraulic oil my boss gave me when we moved shop (lable from the old style steel 20L drum is gone but its good quality stuff) which transfers through the wicks quite efficiently and allows the spindle to run cool and smooth.
 
Hi There,

The chart is very pretty BUT all the South Bend Lathe literature I have seen
specifically warns against using motor or "crankcase" oils on their lathes. There are
lubrication charts that were produced by South Bend Lathe showing all the lubrication
points and proper oils to use. I am surprised that there isn't a copy of it on the web
somewhere.

I posted this a long time ago:

South bend Lathes use three types of oil. The lubrication chart refers to them as A, B and C. These oils were rated by the old Saybolt viscosity system (Saybolt Universal Seconds {SUS}). Most oils today are rated by SAE or ISO systems. This is how it breaks down:

A - 100 SUS @ 100 Deg. F - ISO 22,
B - 150 to 240 SUS @ 100 Deg. F - ISO 32 to 50 or SAE 10 to 20 (20 is the better choice),
C - 250 to 500 SUS @ 100 Deg. F - ISO 55 to 100 or SAE 20 to 30 (30 is the better choice).

South Bend Lathes recommends NOT using motor oils. They contain additives that can prove harmful to the machine over the long run. Use only high grade machine oils. I use Mobil Oils as follows:

A - Mobil Velocite Spindle Oil No. 10,
B - Mobil DTE Hydraulic Oil 25 or DTE Machine/Turbine Medium Heavy,
C - Mobil Vactra Way Oil No. 2.

Mobil machine oils can be ordered from McMaster-Carr or MSC or a number of other good supply houses. Of course, there are other equivalents made by other oil companies.

Good Luck!
-Blue Chips-
Webb
 
Personally, I never saw the economy in using the improper oil. The gas you burn to go pick up your NEXT lathe because you prematurely ran yours into the ground will be far greater than a few pennies saved here and there.

I bet this has been brought up 100 times on this board over the past 5 years, so a search does get pretty cluttered. In a way, we have too many choices! I know when I researced this topic the options were so bewildering they gave me a headache.

I use a Chevron turbine oil and a couple of grades of vectrax. They meet the specs of my machines and have done a good job of keeping things slippery.
 
Webb Wyman said:
...all the South Bend Lathe literature I have seen specifically warns against using motor or "crankcase" oils on their lathes... There are lubrication charts that were produced by South Bend Lathe showing the... proper oils to use... South Bend Lathes recommends NOT using motor oils.
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting the info, but the chart I think you are referring to does indeed specify the proper grade of machine oil, per SB recommendations. It very clearly advises using non-detergent engine oil "only if no other oil is available". I don't know about you, but I would much rather have a lathe where the previous owner used non-detergent engine oil, of the proper weight, at frequent intervals, rather than having used no oil at all.


Paula
 
I don't know about you, but I would much rather have a lathe where the previous owner used non-detergent engine oil, of the proper weight, at frequent intervals, rather than having used no oil at all.
Paula
Click to expand...

Hear! Hear! I think there's a tendency to get overwrought about which oil is the "proper" oil. Even though it's wise to use the recommended machine oils, any oil is way better than no oil. Even motor oil. :-)

Blob
 
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