Is cheaper hydraulic oil OK?

I like that we have a member who used to work for an oil company that chimed in on this thread and said they all purchase from each other as needed. A specification is just that, any product that meets it should function as required. Are some better? Perhaps. Will it really make a difference in your application? You get to decide that.

Buy a quality oil that meets the spec, change at a regular interval, keep it topped up. Make some chips. That is all....
 
Very informative thread as usual guys! Something touched on here I want to know a little more about..
I purchased some True Tap by CRC..great stuff. Thick, sticks to the work is the best for tapping and for some milling/turning. The problem, it has stained my ways, my vice, my chuck, anything it touches. I'm good about cleaning up after use, but that can be a few hours. I no longer use in on my mill or lathe, just hand tapping. What in God's name does this staining?
 
Staining is mentioned in this thread too:
www.hobby-machinist.com

Whats a good cutting oil?

Being a noob to machining and metal working in general, I'd like to ask what a good general purpose cutting oil would be. I was given a gallon of oil in an unmarked bottle when I bought my Atlas lathe(I think the p.o. "liberated" it from bulk from his work). It was a little dark and smelled like...
www.hobby-machinist.com www.hobby-machinist.com
 
Guns, does the container have a customer service number on it?
 
@Tozguy i looked at that thread, seems like they just talk about staining of brass & copper. This stuff stains cast iron @ what I’d assume to be tool steel of some sort (Kurt vice, Shars chuck) I’ll look when I get home for a phone number, I know it says nothing about wiping off after use or staining issues.
 
There is a phone number...it does say, at the very bottom to use CRC cleaner after use. Doesn't say why or give warning...
Anyway, works great, will destroy all that you love and leave you a broken man.
 

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Have also had some issues with tapping/cutting oil staining the ways, I clean my machines down when done for the day. Some tapping/cutting fluids like Anchor lube tends to be worse than others. I have found the unpainted surfaces on the lathes to be very reactive to fluids and moisture, so I always try to remember to not only clean them after use but also apply some way oil on these surfaces.

Recently I did my first oil change on my ERL-1340 and since the headstock takes a bit over 2 gallons, I rechecked the information as to the use of hydraulic oil vs. circulating oil/turbine oil. Almost all the oil cross reference charts and indications show an overlap of these two type of oils for use in machine applications, but there are some differences as to additive packages and properties. The Mobil DTE named series (light, medium, heavy..) are considered turbine oils, vs the DTE 20 numbered series which are classified as hydraulic oils (24, 25, 26...), both are indicated for various bearings and light to medium loaded straight cut gears, both have anti-wear hydraulic oil inhibits rust, corrosion and oxidation inhibitors. They have anti-foaming and anti-emulsifying agents, the latter may be a property that might be more different between the two types. Hydraulic systems typically would be exposed to lower moisture exposure as opposed to say steam turbine systems, the latter may be exposed to higher operating speeds. All these oils have high demulsibility which separates the oil from the water, and significant anti-foaming characteristics. Based on the properties, the named series may have better overall characteristics specific to turbine applications and higher levels of water exposure.

Looking over the properties of the two Mobil oils, they are very similar, the DTE 20 series has slightly lower temperature pour points for the same viscosity. The general recommendation I see is that for an application specific oil, use the one specified oil by the manufacturer. This is more critical in industrial settings were optimum performance and oil longevity equates to longer life/productivity. In a machine like a manual lathe both are suitable, regular oil changes are a more critical factor.

Mobil DTE ISO 32.jpg


At the end of the day I ended up replacing my headstock oil with ValCool ValLube AW Hydraulic Oil ISO 32 which was ~1/2 the price of the Mobil equivalent. With the amount of use my lathe gets I just didn't see the need to spend additional money otherwise. I had Mobil oil for the gearbox, and since my carriage also has a pump oiler for the ways I use Vacuoline 1409 in it. I did add a magnet to each of my drains. All the oil drained was crystal clear with no evidence of particles with its first oil change.


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ERL Magnet Drain Plug.jpg
 
Good God @mksj !!! I feel like a friggin slob. I should take a picture under the hood of my lathe and post it here. I mean, I keep the ways/compound/working area clean and lubed all the time, but the drip drip tray under the lathe and the gear change are are a mess! I gotta do better....
I guess really think cutting OIL, tapping OIL, gear OIL etc... I never think about hydro-dynamic flux capacitor interactivity er such... o_O
Everything has very specific purposes, sometimes there is undesirable consequences. i.e engine oil on a cars finish, no biggie, brake fluid on the same finish and big problems. I apologize for somewhat leading this thread off topic, though I think it all comes full circle to the original post. I have to wrap this up and say, it probably does matter...sometimes...depending. :crushed:
 
GunsOfNavarone said:
Good God @mksj !!! I feel like a friggin slob. I should take a picture under the hood of my lathe and post it here. I mean, I keep the ways/compound/working area clean and lubed all the time, but the drip drip tray under the lathe and the gear change are are a mess! I gotta do better....
I guess really think cutting OIL, tapping OIL, gear OIL etc... I never think about hydro-dynamic flux capacitor interactivity er such... o_O
Everything has very specific purposes, sometimes there is undesirable consequences. i.e engine oil on a cars finish, no biggie, brake fluid on the same finish and big problems. I apologize for somewhat leading this thread off topic, though I think it all comes full circle to the original post. I have to wrap this up and say, it probably does matter...sometimes...depending. :crushed:
Click to expand...
You and me both! :cool 2:
 
I scored some of the 'good' stuff in the pile of goodies that I got from my friend who was moving...
:grin:

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