Oil Daily

[dbb-the-bruce]

I somewhat recently purchased a brand new benchtop mini-drill mill. It's spec plate say "oil daily with SAE 30 oil" great advice, but awfully terse. That's it, no chart that shows "here, here and here"

I've got plenty of experience with my old Southbend 9A, and know enough to keep all the sliding non-finished surfaces oiled along with any threaded cast iron bits, gibs, dove-tails, lead screws etc.

I'm wondering if I need to oil the spindle and quill or any other rotating bearing surfaces. They are all pretty seriously inclosed / not very accessible, the quill has grease on it so I'll add more when / if it gets sticky or "dry".

I'm guessing that it's all modern sealed bearings and they just don't need any attention. I just want to make sure I'm not neglecting something that's going to shorten the life of the mill.

The question is, am I missing anything?

All in all, I'm quite happy with the mill.

-Dave

 

[markba633csi]

SAE 30 non-detergent oil is most likely what they mean, and the spindle bearings are probably sealed as you mentioned. You can oil the controls, shafts, and the quill.
For the ways/dovetails, you can use chainsaw bar oil, it's readily available

 

[dbb-the-bruce]

SAE 30 non-detergent oil is most likely what they mean, and the spindle bearings are probably sealed as you mentioned. You can oil the controls, shafts, and the quill.
For the ways/dovetails, you can use chainsaw bar oil, it's readily available

Thanks. I'm a little surprised at the lack of responses - but I think that's more about not being clear in my "question"

I've used chainsaw bar oil on my lathe, but now switched to motor oil. The bar oil is good but it's a little too thick, makes cleaning swarf up harder. It's not so much the question of which oil to use, it's how and where to oil.

Basically, the head of my drill/mill (it's a version of the Sieg X2) is pretty much completely sealed up / covered.

I was looking at it again yesterday and the only way to get oil on the quill is to lower it and squirt some oil on it.
Things like the lowering handle and fine Z knob cannot be oiled or greased without tearing the covers off (at least).

I did get inside of it for other reasons, stuff is all nice and greased up. So again, I guess the answer is that I don't need to deal with it unless it really gets sticky or gummed up.

I was expecting that the manual would have a little bit of advice on what and where to oil.

Love the fact that my Southbend lathe manual has a diagram of all the oil points and even a schedule - I guess its a benefit that there are no oil points on my new mill, however the face plate says "OIL DAILY"!!!

-Dave

 

[tmenyc]

It was a shock to discover that one could use chainsaw oil on the ways...I left a 5 gallon, mostly filled, can of chainsaw oil, with my dead chainsaw, on my mother-in-law's property in the Massachusetts woods when she moved to a retirement village. Fun as using and maintaining the chainsaw was, I don't miss it, but do wish I still had that oil...
Tim

 

[Aaron_W]

As to the lack of responses you are way over on the East Coast. You posted at 330AM on the west coast. You have to give people a chance to wake up and have their first cup of coffee. There is also the issue of machine specific.

I have a Sherline mini-lathe and mill and that is pretty much all they require in the way of lubrication, oil on the ways and lead screws. My larger (and much older) lathe and mill by contrast not only require many more specific lubrication points but also use a wider variety of lubricants.

If you can figure out which of their mills is closest to the X2 you can download the manual from Grizzly and see if they give any more specific information.

 

[dbb-the-bruce]

If you can figure out which of their mills is closest to the X2 you can download the manual from Grizzly and see if they give any more specific information.

Excellent advice - the Grizzly G0836 appears to be a variation of the X2 machine. The manual and pictures accurately describe the mechanics of my mill and they give complete lubrication information. Confirms my thinking that I should occasionally open it up to clean an lubricate the insides.

Thanks!

As far as posting at 330AM west coast time, I waited a full 24 hours!
I'll try harder on specifics next time. I'm not complaining and take full responsibility

-Dave.

 

[Aaron_W]

Excellent advice - the Grizzly G0836 appears to be a variation of the X2 machine. The manual and pictures accurately describe the mechanics of my mill and they give complete lubrication information. Confirms my thinking that I should occasionally open it up to clean an lubricate the insides.

Thanks!

As far as posting at 330AM west coast time, I waited a full 24 hours!
I'll try harder on specifics next time. I'm not complaining and take full responsibility

-Dave.

Oh, I thought that was 330 this AM. I had a feeling that a branded version might offer better information.

 

[royesses]

The following is from the Sieg X2 manual:
Lubrication

We recommend the use of two lubricants on your mill.

 Where oil is required, we recommend Lubriplate 3V Machine Tool Oil. Lubriplate 3V is a 20 weight oil especially designed for machine tool way lubrication and bearing lubrication. A good alternative is Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil, any viscosity, available at most auto parts stores.

 Where grease is required, we recommend Lubriplate 630-AA Lithium-Based Grease. Lubriplate 630-AA is an NLGI No. 1 lubricant. White lithium grease is a plastic-friendly general use grease that is easy to find and easy to use.

The following points on your mini mill require lubrication. Location	Lubricant	Frequency	Notes
Column dovetail and rack	Lubriplate 3V Machine Tool Oil	Daily
Table and other machined surfaces	Lubriplate 3V Machine Tool Oil	Daily	Oil lubricates and prevents corrosion
Table dovetails	Lubriplate 630-AA Lithium-Based Grease	Yearly
Table feed screws and nuts	Lubriplate 630-AA Lithium-Based Grease	Yearly
X-axis thrust bearings	Lubriplate 3V Machine Tool Oil	Yearly

Roy

 

[richl]

On my lathes, a 11"x24" rockwell, 13"×40" enco chinese, and a 14"×40" PM chinese lathe I use aw68 during the summer and aw32 during the colder months, the aw32 I also use as way oil.


I get them at my local napa in 5 gallon containers