What's the proper cutting fluid

stupoty said:
What colour is it? Ive got a tub of mistery cutting grease that came with my first lathe, i'm sure its some sort of animal fat but ist much yellower than lard and seperates into a yelowish thin oil and cream colourd lard if it gets left somware warm.

it works amazingly on steel and i'm starting to run low.

stuart
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Neatsfoot oil doesn't seperate. It's liquid at room temperature (but not, unfortunately, in my shop just now).
 
I use a mixture of 1 part Mineral Oil, 1 part Murphy's Oil Soap and 5 parts water. Works for drilling and cutting, lubricates and helps cool - I just put it in a spray bottle and apply as needed it doesn't take much. So far (10+years) it has not caused any rusting issues on parts , tools or tooling.

I am sure the commercial solutions are probably better, but you can make a gallon of this for about $5.00
 
For lathe work with carbide I cut dry. On Steel, tapping and reaming I use either dark Mobil cutting oil or Lard Oil that is sourced from McMaster-Carr.

You can still purchase TCE if you claim to be a scientist. A google search with come up with some sources. It isn't cheap but its pure so you just put a few drops in a pint of your favorite oil and it makes a difference especially on stainless, or difficult to tap metals.

For aluminum I use kerosene, wd40 or lamp oil, with a dash of the wicked stuff.

michael
 
For steel I use Ridgid Dark sulphur oil from HD/ Lowes and for aluminium I use WD40. Both make a large difference in tapping and a noticeable difference in cutting, although my cutting machines are very light weight and entirely lacking in rigidity, so the contribution of the oils might be more a reflection of that.

One thing for sure though, WD40 really helps prevent chips galling to the cutter, either an endmill, drill or toolbit. Makes a huge difference. One day I'll buy a gallon and brush/ squirt it on as using a spray can is a PITA sometimes.
 
I've been using dark (sulfur) thread cutting oil for steel. Applied sparingly with a acid brush. I've had good results using kerosene on aluminum for general cutting and Tap-Magic for tapping. I've started collecting bacon grease to use in the shop. Does anyone use it straight?
 
gi_984;256657 I've started collecting bacon grease to use in the shop. Does anyone use it straight?[/QUOTE said:
Yes, i have dabbled with using it straight.
i found that 10% mineral oil mix kept the grease a little smoother and it doesn't get rancid very quickly.
it will stay put on a drill bit spinning, tap or when turning.
if you make a hybrid of 10-20% dark cutting oil and 80-90% bacon grease you got a metal moving mix that doesn't make you gag as badly.

i generally use a 50/50 ish mix of BG and mineral oil,
just because i don't like the smell of the Dark Cutting oil.
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stupoty said:
What colour is it? Ive got a tub of mistery cutting grease that came with my first lathe, i'm sure its some sort of animal fat but ist much yellower than lard and seperates into a yelowish thin oil and cream colourd lard if it gets left somware warm.

it works amazingly on steel and i'm starting to run low.

stuart
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Hi Stuart,
a presumption on my part completely,
after heating and cooling a few years the mystery stuff probably just got darker in color.
could be that it's lard oil, but i can't rule out sheep's fat, :thinking:
i have a bacon grease/mineral oil mixture that has darkened after a few seasons.
 
Bill Gruby said:
I have watched quietly now I am going to blow your minds --- I hardly ever use any. Tool life is just fine. I do not need to take deep cuts, .020 max and mostly .010. I have all the time in the world to get a job done. All it takes is patience.

"Billy G"
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Hi, Bill,

Now this is very interesting, and I'd like to understand why it's true. :think1: This is because I use a mini-mill and a mini-lathe, and usually limit my cuts to .020" or less anyway, though I will take heavier cuts in aluminum sometimes. Is the reason you don't see shorter tool life due to the light cuts? Because if that's the case, I should be fine without cutting fluid except for harder materials. (I discovered recently while milling some "soft jaws" that "soft" is an opinion, not a statement of fact.) Of course, cutting fluid is required for tapping (Tap Magic Pro Tap for me), drilling, etc. I was working on a project the last few days where I was milling steel for a couple of vise stops, and used Re-Li-On, which did a great job but also made a great mess, requiring that I add a catch basin to my shop vac to catch the oil that drips back out after I vacuum up the swarf.

Any thoughts on this subject would be appreciated!
 
Ulma Doctor said:
Hi Stuart,
a presumption on my part completely,
after heating and cooling a few years the mystery stuff probably just got darker in color.
could be that it's lard oil, but i can't rule out sheep's fat, :thinking:
i have a bacon grease/mineral oil mixture that has darkened after a few seasons.
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The seperation layer is like olive oil or thinner viscosity and does mix back in after a bit of mixing, im thinking its a mix of two things(or more) it does have an animal fat kinda smell but i cant place it, definetly not backon althoug i did have to stop and make a backon sandwhich the other day when using it , hummmm

Its definetly very efective what ever it is and quite easy to clean off.

it does melt a bit like butter on toast if you put a dob of it on the tool before a cut.

Stuart
 
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