Cutting fluid

[ericc]

I have found that skimmed fat works great. A little salt doesn't seem to cause the kind of corrosion that you get when you do not oil your tools in a damp environment. Best to have everything dripping like an active oil rig. Be careful of those rags, though. The shop manager at the local makerspace is very casual about any oil soaked rags, as long as it's WD-40, spindle oil, way oil or cutting oil. Any organic based oil soaked rags like lard or linseed oil have to be disposed of in an oily waste can. In a shared space, I am a little leery about piles of oily rags. In my personal shop, I have oily waste cans with tight fitting lids and all oil soaked rags go into these cans, regardless of type. I once did an experiment with linseed oil, canola oil and bacon grease soaked rags placed in open cans outside. They didn't even get warm. I think there has to be some air, but not too much, to cause a problem.