Bandsaw coolant, what works for you?

8ntsane

8ntsane

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I have a 7x12 offshore bandsaw as many of us do. I havnt used the coolant system in a yr or so. I used to put ATF in the tank, as I tryed a water based stuff once, and didnt like the brown all over the saw. So last time I cleaned it up, emptyed the tank, and have not used it since.

The ATF may not have been ideal, but atleast it never turned the surface of bare metal brown, kept things quite clean really. So what are you using, whats working for you?

Has to be more than that water based stuff from the store that works, and cheaper too.
 
I don't have one but we have two at work one cuts up to 8 " pipe, the othe up to 6" pipe will look but water based comes out a pale blue color when mixed or a Dark blue when just straight.

I guess the reason why they won't let anybody cut no more we all just threw the full strength stuff in as in a hurry and as I have been told like $150.00 or more a 5 Gallon pail.

3 to 4 pails a month.

So they put one guy in charge.:lmao:

Back to the question I will look tomorrow.

Jeff
 
It's water-based, but I use Monroe Astro-Cut on my 7x12 bandsaw, and it works pretty well. Because I don't cut every day, and the circulating tank would evaporate, I use it in a spray bottle (1 gal former weed-killer jug with a hand sprayer which is attached by a hose) and that provides good cooling and lubricity without spraying all over the place and causing any kind of rust. It does like to attack the Tiawanese paint on the saw, but other than that, I've been very happy with it. It doesn't leave any oily residue to interfere with welding, as oil-based or simi-synthetic soluables seem to do.
 
Same problems for 20 plus years on the small saws. Occasional use means evaporation. Mixing Cool Mist with tap water which is chlorinated causes corrosion. I went to distilled water and cool mist. The cooling systems are most of the maintenance on my saw. Can't get away from evaporation, maybe I can clear the corrosion bar for shop use.

Post any water based coolants if cost similiar or storage improved.
 
I guess I am just cheap. I get a 5 gallon pail of the red R&O hydraulic fluid from Tractor Supply and use it till it is full of sludge and turn it in at the recyler. I think the last bucket I got was 18.00 and it lasted about 5 years. I put a baffle on top to catch the major chips and recirculate from the middle of the bucket. I drop a magnet or two in when I open the pail and call it good. Brillo pads in the baffle will get most of the chips and can be replaced in less than a second. Takes me longer to find the box of new ones than it does to change it out. Has worked for me for a long time with no problems.
Bob
 
Sounds more practical than cheap to me, Bob.

Water based coolants are cleaner in a multi-use area I guess. Trying to avoid the worst of the oil cleanup. Oil won't evaporate for sure. Most shops I've seen running their bandsaws all day use an oil based product.

The answer might be as simple as the problem: You want clean, stay water based and maintain it.
 
We have this Concoction called Braid Juice we use on the braids of slotcars to improve Contact and clean the carbon off the Braids (pick ups). I use to make this stuff by the Gallon, and sell it for $4.00 for 3 oz :) it basically 3 quarts TYPE F ATF, 1 can of Hobbes Gun oil, and a Dash of Naptha to thin it out. Now mid you I'm a Miniature Machinist, My Big Machine is a Unimat DB, but I use the heck out of it for cutting oil / coolent. And it's Cheap, I've also found that if I strain the ATF out a tranny it works just as well for a cutting oil
 
I use a flood of TrimSol in my saw. It has a sump with recirculating pump. I use it enough to stay fresh. That's the larger saw The little abused 4 x 6 gets run dry, only.
 
I can see that many different approaches here.
Allso see that Im not alone with the ATF, though Rickard has a home brew mix he uses.

I havnt tried Bob,s method yet with the R.O hydraulic oil, and I think I just might give that a go.
I do think the tip Bob mentioned about the steel wool to grab the chips is a great Idea, and will be doing that for sure. Duh, why didnt I think of that?

I just dont want to go back to that water based coolant again, I hate the brown stains, the stink.
Atleast with ATF it smells the same all the time, and hydraulic oil smells the same without change.
I need to keep the stink levels down, as the shop is connected to the house, and the other half is used to certain smells, but the waterbased coolant I had used at one time was getting comments like, what the hell died in the garage?
 
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