Mist lube

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Hukshawn

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so, I've seen a bunch of videos of guys using the mister lube sprays. I like the idea. That it will cool and lube and blow the chips out of the way of the cutter, mill or lathe.
So I ordered a cheapy off eBay to see if I like it.
The question is, for those of you who use them, what lube do you put through them?
I am not too up to date on water based cutting lubes. I'm not too sure what's available around me either. I grabbed a water based cutting lube from busy bee a while ago, but I'm not sure how I like it. But I wonder if it can be diluted and misted.... the product is linked below.

http://www.busybeetools.com/products/cutting-fluid-16oz-relton.html

What's the white water soluble lube I see most pros using?
 
Lots of people like Kool Mist. I have used it, and it works very well. I am currently using Rustlick Synkool and it works very well also. Both are diluted with water before using.

A couple of years ago I was in need of some coolant and Enco had the Synkool on sale, so I thought I would try some. A gallon lasts me a long time, thus I am still using it. Not sure if I am going to stick with it or go back to Kool Mist when this gallon runs out. Time will tell.
 
What makes a good lube, in your opinion? What characteristics do you look for? What can make you prefer one over the other?
 
To be honest, Shawn, at this point I do not prefer one over the other, but there are some things that I look for. One needs to remember that in most cases for what we do, the lubricating quality may actually be secondary, while keeping the tool cool may be the primary function. Another thing that I look for is the tendency to create rust. I always wipe down the vise and the bed when I am done and I have not had any problems with rust. I also remove the vise on a regular basis and clean under it to make sure that problems are not starting there when I am not looking.
 
What lube depends on what you are cutting, and what you are cutting it with. Aluminum on a lathe probably wants something different than hardened tool steel on a surface grinder. Some lubes are more universal, some are more specialized. So far I have only used Kool Mist 77 (KM77) in my mister, because like Terry said, it takes a long time to use up a gallon in a hobby shop. The KM77 seems to work OK on everything I have tried it on, but specialized lubes might well be better for one product makers and for those who like to have a lot of nearly full gallon jugs laying around. Hopefully somebody with a lot more experience with misters will chime in here...

Edit: Some of the benefit of the mister is from the water, which cools the work and the tool. The other benefit is from the lubricant/surfactant/whatever else in the mix that helps the cutter get under the work surface.

Second edit: Some of the cooling also comes from the air, and it is possible to use the mister unit dry, which can give cooling to materials and cutters that prefer to work dry.
 
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Thanks guys.
I was a bit hasty when I bought thensprayer. Watched some YouTube videos of similar models. It seems you get what you pay for with these cheap Chinese models. It's ripe for some modification. So, that should be a fun project in of itself. Most guys build a pressure vessel to control the spray. It's a Venturi and needs a lot of air to operate... but for $8.... how can you lose??
I've seen some ideas and videos, and a few pro machines. I'm going to take ideas from all of them and see what I can come up with. Maybe machine a nice nozzle for it too.
And in the mean time, figure out where I can source some of these fluids.
 
So, I've already got this project in the works. I posted something in the projects area.
But, for those of you who have a mister, with the better models of misters, is the lube mixed with the air AT the tip? Or else you wind up with an air line fill of liquid? So a pipe with another pipette inside?
 
most misters atomize at the tip. unless you build the fog buster that Tarry did a nice write up on.
 
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