Thread: Creeping or not to creep

Originally Posted by welder

They also showed us water finish at tafe. I have never been able to replicate it, even using the same piece of hss on another lathe. There was one guy in my class going the slowest feed rate at about 50 rpm great finish. We knocked the feed out and it took him 15 minutes to realise the carriage had stoped moving.

Welder, you will get many differing versions of any machining operation, each individual claiming that he has the best and only version and all other methods are questionable. That goes for the shape of tool, feed rate and cutting speed for finishing. In saying this, I'm talking about the water finish. The below pic of text from a text book is a good indication of the variants used/suggested in the NSWGR workshops in the early days. No doubt the same was true in every other workshop.

Someone mentioned the small flat on the front of the tool which gives a flat surface and can use a higher feed rate.

Thats how I ground the tool at tafe, it was a regular finishing tool but I stoned a flat onto the tip. At tafe it worked wonders with lots of milk and a moderate feed rate. At work its all carbide with a sharp cermet finishing insert you can take a fluff cut with a good finish. at home on my al960 whatever I do I get lines in the work from the straight cut gears in the headstock.

Originally Posted by welder

sharp cermet finishing insert you can take a fluff cut with a good finish.

They would be like the Kennametal LF (light finishing) carbide inserts (there are other brands but do not necessarily call them LF) I mentioned a while ago on here. Designed to take fluff cuts. I get exceptional results with them. Air bearing like fits. Great for on sizing without heat or deflection issues.

Originally Posted by OldRustyToolie

But the "water" in the case of water finishing on a lathe is the normal soluble oil which helps lubricate and protect. Only a problem if the coolant isn't kept in good shape!

My soluble oil based coolant was fresh, but I made the mistake of not wiping it off before leaving it for two weeks. Nasty rust under the carriage was the result.
I came to understand that it's great for machines in constant use, but should be wiped dry after use otherwise.
Maybe there's been improvements to soluble oil so they suit lazy occasional machinists now?

Originally Posted by nadroj

My soluble oil based coolant was fresh, but I made the mistake of not wiping it off before leaving it for two weeks. Nasty rust under the carriage was the result.
I came to understand that it's great for machines in constant use, but should be wiped dry after use otherwise.
Maybe there's been improvements to soluble oil so they suit lazy occasional machinists now?

I let mine air dry and it leaves a nice wax like protective coating.

Originally Posted by variant22

I let mine air dry and it leaves a nice wax like protective coating.

What brand is it, please?

Originally Posted by nadroj

What brand is it, please?

Hocut. Unfortunately they no longer stock it. I have a container of their new brand coolant but have not run it yet.

This stuff is pretty good . Been using it and no rust issues . Peak Oil head store/office is in Dandenong, the local hardware will order it for you .

http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rc...0FOiWALCIee7-w

The best coolant/lube we used at work was Rocol but at $22/L for 20L, or $25/L for 5L (both ex GST) is its way out of my DIY price range.

Since setting up the coolant/lube systems on my lathe in 2011 and the later on my BS I have been using the green and then the brown stuff from H&F which have been OK provided the minimum concentration was maintained.

When I ran out of the brown earlier this year I managed to pick up 5L of the Rocol from the mens shed, and using that again has reminded me of how good that stuff is.

Has anyone used the Fuchs Oils?
eg http://www.fuchs.com.au/Product-Deta...tCategoryId=31
Backwoods has it for $7/L including GST for a 20L drum.
Or the superior semi-synthetic Fuchs 9022, thats $8.50/L (GST inc) for 20L ?

I notice that H&F now only sell the Metalium brand ($10/L for 5L inc GST) - has anyone used this?

Maintaining the lube in good condition and mixing it correctly makes a big difference in terms of rust.
I used to think that the level in the tanks was going down mainly due to water evaporation and very little due to splashing and flinging losses.
Because of this I used to occasionally top off with just water and then run the pump to remix everything (my tanks can pump the fluid around a loop without going over machinery).
However, especially on the lathe, I found flinging losses are greater than evaporation so topping off with water plus lube is needed to prevent rust.
This tends to be less of an issue for the bandsaw.

http://www.fuchs.com.au/Product-Deta...tCategoryId=31

My two bobs worth.

I have been using Ecocool 420 for many years after hearing of it through "Australian Model Engineering".

Mixed to a ratio of 1 to 12 it has proven to me to be absolutely non rusting, non 'smelly and very stable when used in a home workshop environment. One thing which is most important , not only with 420 but with other oil in water emulsions is the method of mixing and that is to add the oil to the water and NOT the water to the oil. Likewise, when topping up a tank never just add water, that will form an unstable emulsion which will separate out over time. To top up, mix another batch up and add that to the tank though topping up is not really warranted, when the pump starts sucking tramp oil simply mix up another batch.

Unfortunately the smallest container is 20 L but that lasts many years. The 'problem' of tramp oil is non-existent as it floats on the top so it forms an 'air proof' seal and is easily skimmed off if necessary.

Peter