Oil Dropper

[Terrywerm]

Terry,

Yes, but in Lem's original post about the purpose of the dauber stored on top of the tailstock, he asked among other things whether it was for "the little bead holes". which I took to mean the spring-loaded ball oilers. Someone had already explained what the dauber was for. I just threw in how to oil the ball oilers.

I totally missed the part about the 'little bead holes', so my bad. Sorry Robert! Good thing you caught it and answered that part of it!

 

[wa5cab]

No problem. If I were being honest, I'd admit that I had completely forgotten what the original purpose of the dauber was.

 

[Mondo]

While we are on the subject of dead centers, here is a drawing showing how:

 

[LEM]

My old Montgomery Wards wood lathe only has a dead center. I have a can of oil by the lathe. Not sure if I will ever use the dauber but it is full of oil/grease now and I think my lathe is complete except for a taper attachment that I will probably never own. Thanks for all the replies.

 

[John Hasler]

My old Montgomery Wards wood lathe only has a dead center. I have a can of oil by the lathe. Not sure if I will ever use the dauber but it is full of oil/grease now and I think my lathe is complete except for a taper attachment that I will probably never own. Thanks for all the replies.

You want to use a high pressure lubricant for the dead center. You want some sort of grease so that you can daub it into the center-drilled hole and have it stay in, oozing out past the center a little at a time under the pressure of the center. White lead fills the bill. Anti-sieze works ok.

Besides, white lead is *traditional*.