Way Oil And Variations

The job of lubricating the ways on a lathe is not that special. A so called 'way oil' is probably no different than some of the oils commonly available for compressors or hydraulics. I would not go out of my way to buy 'way' specific oils. My attitude is to wipe the ways down often and oil frequently with a good machine oil.

Re the viscosity, for regular use on ways an ISO68 grade oil would be my call. It might not be a good idea to use heavy or sticky oils because the oil film between ways and carriage would be thicker. Heavy chain oil might provide too much of a cushion between ways and carriage. Bear in mind that bar and chain oils are formulated for minimal slinging and minimal consumption, which is not a problem on ways and is why it works on gears.

For long term storage however, heavier and stickier oils might be more suitable.
 
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I do like Savarin's comment on using the bar oil on the change gear train........makes sense.
 
My old boss would say. Any oil is better than no oil. I buy way oil from KBC. It is about $22 a gallon.
Martin W
 
Guys IMO its kinda silly to mess around with anything but way oil. I mean if your in a pinch and the machine is at risk of rusting sure use what you have at the moment bute really -even MSC with outrageous prices sells a gallon for $22 and will ship it to your door. I use way oil profusely and a gallon will last a couple years.
 
The OP did not ask a silly question. There is a lot of marketing hype used to sell oils. For example, many will pay more for synthetic oils for their car even if regular oil is perfectly adequate.

I think that it is valid for hobbyists to look for substitutes or multi use oils considering the small quantities they use. You don't have to agree but that doesn't make it silly for those who do.
 
I've been using 90 wt gear oil for years. It has tackifiers that aid in keeping it where it belongs, is available locally so I don't have to order it, and the price is about $15 a gallon. Meets my needs just fine.

Tom S.
 
I use Vactra #2 way oil on the mill and lathe. I used to buy from Enco, when they had a sale and free shipping. You may consider MSC, if they have a warehouse near you; you can pick it up at their location and save shipping.
 
Any Chevron oil distributor can get you the Vactra, you can also call just about ANY oil distributor and tell them the ISO weight of oil you want and they can get it for you. The big advantage of way oil as opposed to other choices is that way oil is developed to be slippery but not stick (suction) like some oils can when used between two pieces of cast iron.
 
"Stiction." The anti stiction additive stops slip-stick from happening, causing poor finishes. That is indeed a good reason to use way oil. I have never had that problem, but then I use way oil...
 
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