Coolant Drain In Chip Pan?

T. J.

T. J.

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I would like some opinions. I have a 10"Logan bench lathe. I am currently making a set of legs similar to the ones Logan sold as an accessory and will be mounting them soon, along with a Logan chip pan that I got off of EBay. My question is, should I add some sort of drain to the pan before I mount it (while it would be easy to do )? I was thinking along the lines of drilling a hole and welding in a pipe nipple or union. I do not currently use coolant, only cutting oil, so I'm not familiar with the plumbing for the various coolant systems.

Is this a good idea? If so, where should I put the drain? How big should it be?

Thanks,
T. J.
 
If you try running coolant on your 10" Logan, you might soon find it to be more trouble than it is worth, unless you have plans for lots of high power work that you need to keep cool. On a hobby lathe, it is sometimes better to stop and smell the cutting oil while things cool down. I have a built in coolant system in my 13x40 lathe, and it is still new, never been used, no plans to at this time. Water based flood coolant is a PITA because it splatters all over, stains and rusts machinery, and eventually starts stinking. If you really need the cooling, you might compromise with a mist coolant rig, or just a air nozzle. Still, probably not a bad idea to add the sump plug anyway, just in case. You should arrange things so the drain is at a definitely lower area of the pan or you will end up with small ponds full of swarf.
 
If it were mine I'd press the chip pan down in the middle . That way if your leveling the LATHE it will naturally drain and not have to be helped. Welding in a nipple is a good way . I'd also use a piece of pipe say 3" on top with some drain holes around it to keep chips and items from clogging it up. Even a ball valve under to have just in case .
Like the others have said the water soluble oils get really rank in the sump . If you ever had to clean them you would never use one , believe me I've done them several times . I quit a job once so I didn't have to clean them ever. Two years in a shop with a full shop of turret LATHES . Guess who had to clean them YUPP ME.
 
An alternative to welding is to use a evaporative cooler drain such as this.
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And one of these to keep the chips from clogging the drain.

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Total cost about $5.00 at Home Depot.

Tom S.
 
Thanks guys. I like the idea of the evaporative cooler drain. It avoids potential warping due to welding. Also, it could be easily added later with everything assembled if it became necessary. I think that's the route I'll take. I love this forum :grin:
 
I used TomS' approach (post no.4) mounted in a central recess that allows the chip pan to drain completely. Ditto the comments about not using water based coolants. There is enough way oil and cutting oil that accumulates to justify having a drain feature.
 
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