Of Machine Oilers And Oil

Sorry, but "detergent oils hold contaminants in suspension so that a filter in the system can remove them. In a system with no filter...the contaminants in suspension eventually become a microscopic lapping compound...wearing down the surfaces the oil is supposed to be protecting" and "Lubrication is probably the one thing that will keep your machine humming along for a lifetime. The type of oil you use in the machine is very important. Use a 30W non-detergent oil. We are often asked about using automobile oil which we don't recommend because it has detergents which suspend debris in the oil. The non-detergent oil allows particles to settle to the bottom of the oil reservoir. You don't want your gears bathed with oil and debris, just oil will be fine. "

Just about every lathe manual I have reviewed where splash lubrication is used specifies non-detergent oil. Detergent oils are for pressurized systems with a filter.
 
I was actually able to buy the correct oil suggested for my lathe at a cheaper price then engine oil at my local auto parts store. I do suggest you know your oil before going in since likely the people won't know anything about it. One of the oils I had to buy in a 5 gallon bucket which was twice the amount I needed but it is also the same oil that is used in jacks & I had several that needed serviced.
 
For what it's worth, for those who prefere a non-detergent gear oil, synthetics are readily available. I'm not sure about all manufacturers, but I do know (because I use them) AMSOIL does make several different kinds of 100% synthetic gear lubes for transmissions, transaxles and differentials. You get to choose or contact the company for their advice regarding your particular application. It's almost uncanny how much quieter a gear train is with synthetic oil.
 
Rangemaster1 said:
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I really get tired of trying to get a sufficient amount of oil into the little spring loaded oilers on my machines. My oiler is an older pump type that works perfectly until I try to use it on the oil hole caps. The Plews oiler has very small groves in the tip which are supposed to allow the oil past the ball. Not so much. I end up wiping up more oil than I get into the machine.

One day I was using a small needle oiler on some other parts and stuck it into the oil cap and bingo, oil went where I wanted and I wiped up very little. The light came on over my head. Why not insert a needle into the end of my pump oiler?

I found that a # 19 syringe needle fit the end of the oiler almost perfectly. I cut the pointy end off with my belt sander so I wouldn't inject myself with lubricant. Then I removed most of the plastic from the other end with a wire stripper to avoid damaging the needle and trimmed it to fit into the oiler tip. Screwed the tip back on with the needle in it and now lubing the machines is easy with little waste.

The Plews oilers are all over eBay and cheap. The older ones are best ( USA made ).

Now regarding the oil. When it comes lubrication, most of us have our preferences. Manufacturers usually suggest a particular kind of lubricant for the various parts of their machines. That, however, is merely a recommendation and certainly not cast in stone, often paid for by the company making the lube.

Quite a few years ago, and after a lot of research, I began using synthetic lubricants in all my vehicles. The reasons were many, but primarily to squeeze as many MPG’s out of them as I could. Also because of the longer drain intervals.

One day I needed to lube the ways on my lathe but had no more way oil so I used some synthetic engine oil I had. Everything moved easier. When I would wipe swarf off the ways, the oil tended to stay put unless I wiped real hard, and even then it was still there. I now use only synthetic engine oil for all my equipment.

Why not? It has a very high lubricity factor. It clings tenaciously to metal. It has exceptional shear strength. It's a designer oil made for the most extreme conditions. It prevenst rust. It doesn't dry out or evaporate. It won't gum up in extremely cold weather. It withstands extreme heat without break down. For what you get it's not expensive. A quart will last a long time. And,for what it's worth, it makes a great gun oil for a lot less money. For what you would pay for four ounces of gun oil you can buy a quart of synthetic motor oil. No one said you could only use it in an engine. I use 0-20 AMSOIL because it's not heavy, but other synthetics work just as well.

I hope this helps someone searching for a better lubricant.
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Thanks for the tip on using a needle, went out to the horse barn and grabbed on and gave it a try, works great.
 
ML_Woy said:
Thanks for the tip on using a needle, went out to the horse barn and grabbed on and gave it a try, works great.
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Like I said earlier, be careful with pushing down the ball with a needle oiler or anything else. If you push it down too far it will get stuck off to the side and not pop back up. I tried pretty hard and was unable to get the ball back up onto its seat. That will let contamination in and the ball oiler will need to be replaced. Been there, done that...
 
Frankly, I do not care much for the spring loaded ball oilers (SLBO). Especially on the carriage of a metal lathe, like yours, Rangemaster1 and mine too! The problem is you cannot get all the swarf removed from the SLBO to get the fresh oil in without picking up some swarf as well. I would think a vacuum of some kind would be the best, but my attempts leave me wondering if I got all the swarf out of the way? My solution is to just squirt oil at the ends of the carriage where the wipes are and everywhere else I see fit. My lathe is wet with oil all the time. I realize the wipes will wipe away a lot of the oil, but some will remain. I have had my lathe now for over 35 years and she still holds tolerance, no rust and I do not use the SLBO’s…Good Luck, Dave.
 
An interesting discussion. I had hoped for a definitive answer regarding detergent vs. non-detergent oil and find that there all a lot of opinions out there regarding the subject and perhaps not all that much fact to back up those opinions. My concern is that the user manuals for lathes and mills state unequivocally that I should be using a non detergent oil but finding one locally is well nigh impossible. When you do find one, it is usually and off brand of questionable quality.

My take on the subject is this: for oiling systems with ball oilers, the oiling schedule is meant to to replace old oil with fresh, forcing the old oil out, If a detergent oil truly does suspend the wear products, they would be flushed out with the old oil which is a good thing.

I'm not so sure about the gear boxes or other systems that recirculate the oil. One thing is certain though, an oiling system in a lathe or milling machine in no way experiences the kind of conditions seen in an internal combustion engine.

My impression regarding synthetics was that they were carefully controlled blends of various oils and additives as compared to natural oils produced by fractionating crude oil where you have no control over what the dinosaur to giant fern ratio is. A such, the resulting physical and chemical characteristics of a synthetic oil could be better maintained to give you an oil with better viscosity control over an extended temperature range and with an extended service life. Unfortunately, "synthetic oil" seems to be more of a marketing term these days.

I had the need to buy some 2 cycle oil for my Stihl chain saw last month. I looked in my user manual and it said specifically not not use oil rated for water cooled engines. Now, I have always used the two cycle oil used for outboards for my chain saws. This started an online search where I ran into all kinds of opinions regarding the correct oil to use. In the end, I capitulated and bought the Stihl brand synthetic oil. After all, it only added an additional $1 to the cost of a gallon of gas. The manual for my Mariner outboard states use Mercury brand 2 cycle oil at a 50:1 mix; for any other brand mix 16:1. I am sure that Evinrude and Honda say much the same thing.

The point is that all of these "scientific" studies and white papers are biased in selling their particular brand of oil and, at least IMO, are just opinions.
 
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