Good Breakdown of a slippery topic. As for oiling ways, I am in the "can not overdo it"-camp. Each day and repeated constantly when the machine is used.
As for solvents, I like to have isopropanol alcohole around for general cleaning. It doesnt attack gloves and degreases very well for glueing/cleaning purposes. Apart from that I only stock Acetone but no break cleaner (aka Cancer in a tin) in my shop.
Oh! And dont bother with acetone and isopropanol alcohole from the hardware store. Usualy bad quality with poor purity. Fingernail or lab supply shops have way higher grade solvents, in larger containers for less money.
@@StefanGotteswinter In Canada you can find 99% isopropyl alcohol at pharmacies. I don't know about Germany. What is the advantage of higher purity acetone?
@@StefanGotteswinter I only use the non chlorinated brake cleaner. Might be more expensive though. It's the chlorinated stuff you definitely want to stay away from. Dale in Canada
I have a home workshop and spend many hours tinkering. I have owned a mini lathe for three years and never really used it much until I stumbled upon your videos. You are remarkable and inspiring. I have learned much from your tutorials. You are articulate, personable, and do a very effective job of getting your information out there. While it’s unlikely that I will spend large amounts of time with my lathe, I certainly do appreciate the high quality of what you bring to the machining audience. Your opening is fantastic!
Hi Quinn, Great videos! I'm an not a machinist but I can tell you that while wheel bearing grease is not the best smelling stuff it is not the devils toothpaste, that would be reserved for Anti Seize. Somehow anti seize is attracted to the back of your elbows and the smallest amount will end up all over your hands, elbows, face, butt, car, couch, and on the towel when you get out of the shower because you could not scrub it off the back of your elbows. Keep up the great vids.
My favorite gas leak finding fluid is Windex, or similar. It's usually already in a spray applicator, and the foam produced from the tiniest leaks is quite prolific, plus all of the usual home remedies per My Big Fat Greek Wedding
That's what drives me crazy at times. Especially since I live in Europe, where most products are different from the US/Canada. So these videos are very helpful but can still send me down the rabbit hole
And a caveat for lubing: there are some machines that use zerk fittings for lubrication points. Some people will see them and use a grease gun to squeeze grease in there but are actually intended for oil.
I will admit, I slammed a bunch of grease into my Bridgeport. It seems to work ok. But now I am wondering if I should clean it all out and switch to oil
Oh thank you. I do HVAC/R work. I would have packed them full! I have a dozen grease guns. High speed low speed food grade vacuum grade hi temp low temp End it looks like I will be expanding my lubricant collection to precision work.
I was given a load of old machine tools. Singer sewing machine oil helped clean and restore my micrometer, the force required to move them was clicking the ratchet stop too early, all good now. I also used it sparingly on a sticky dial indicator, which is now working well too. That little bottle has saved me at least £100 already
It's on the affiliate link list, but I think Evapo-Rust deserves a call out because it is freaking magical. There are plenty of products that will eliminate rust, but this is the only one I've used that leaves the metal alone. The funny part to me is the black residue sometimes left on steel is apparently pure carbon left behind after the iron oxide was removed.
I find that Remington "Rem Oil" is very good for lubricating delicate mechanisms (like sticky dial indicator stems). A one ounce bottle will probably last years (so of course I bought a 16oz can!). If not Rem Oil, I still wouldn't be without some kind of "clock oil," and a needle-tip bottle is the way to go.
Lubricants are actually very interesting and something I use a variety of for general repair, farm and restoration of antique typewriters and sewing machines. I have an old bush hog with a leaking oil seal under the gearbox. The large nut on the bottom is rust welded on and will NOT come off. So I replaced the oil with 00 grease (between a gear oil and grease in viscosity) which is thin enough to lubricate the gears but too thick to leak through. For bicycle chains I much prefer wax. I heat a Mason jar of wax and chain on lowest oven setting, dunk the chain then hang it up to cool. Excellent chain lubricant that does not attract grit and does not mess up my trousers. My chains last longer now. Wax is also great to rub on bottom of wood drawers in antique furniture. I've read a 1940's typewriter manual that advised against oiling the machine. Sure, if you type 40 hours a week the paper dust does stick to the oil, and the oil of that era could gum up and make a varnish, but today we have synthetic oils and typewriter hobbyists just piddle around typing, so I say sparingly lubricate that machine with a quality oil! I have several long needle oilers I use during restoration. Kroil Microil is good as well as Remoil. Besides, we have dry lubricants now like spray on graphite and PTFE if you don't want to oil your typewriter. Singer oil is great for sewing machines - doesn't stain fabric. I use vegetable oil in my chain saws for the chain lubricant reservoir as I don't want to breath cancer causing petroleum oil droplets, but I sometimes do have to work the chain loose as vegetable oil over time will harden and get very gummy if it hasn't been used in awhile. Yes, Kroil is great, but I actually like the smell better than PB Blaster. And I've used "Mouse Oil" penetrant too. For oil cans I prefer the type you push the bottom as there are no moving parts to fail. Thanks for the video. Sorry to be so verbose, but you inspired me.
Any grease other than NLGI 2 usually requires a major purchase in volume. I tried to buy a grease cartridge of Chevron Black Pearl grade 1...impossible at the retail level.
The easy way to unstick rusted un unstuckable fasteners is HEAT! An oxyfuel torch with a weed burner tip or rosebud tip will do. There’s videos on how to do it safely, without goobering up your brush hog
Quinn, recent sub, here. You are a gifted teacher, with a flair for language and great sense of humor. I have a new ShopFox M1116 mill, and have loved your beginner series. Thanks for all you do.
I just used JAX for the first time, and honestly it was my last alternative. I had a surface gauge I was restoring and wanted to blue it. Oxpho and Perma Blue simply would not touch it. I cleaned it with every solvent .... nada. Then I boiled it in a strong detergent solution for a few hours and rinsed excessively, Only a few small irregular areas would respond to either of those products. I am not new at this, and I've never seen this before. So I bought a pint of JAX on the outside chance it would work, submerged the gauge base and voila, it really did the job. A few repeats with water rinse and some light steel wool burnishing between dips, each dip lasting 5 - 10 minutes, and I got a beautiful part. SO...Jax may not be the easiest or fastest or least costly...but in SOME cases it really gets the job done. It is part of my "always have this on hand" inventory now.
In the olden days (1960's) we used only sulfurated cutting oil (brown oil) or white lead (lead pigment in linseed oil) for all cutting operations in the shop I was in. Probably no need for either in the 21st century. Thanks for the video!
Quinn, not sure if you have tried Hangsterfer’s cutting lubricants. At RR we use their tapping fluid when thread forming `difficult` materials, normally this is Inconel 718 or other super alloys. It is administered in the form of a fine mist spray using the oil and a low pressure compressed air feed. Experience has told us that this is the best combination to achieve a good and consistent thread form. Being British copious quantities of freshly brewed tea are also necessary when undertaking any machining tasks!
I use motorcycle chain wax for my change gears. It is made to resist high pressures, doesn't fling off when the gears are spinning and it dries to a waxy substance that chips don't stick to.
wanted to add something here as i noticed it. as a knifemaker and blacksmith, i highly dis-advise the use of used motor oil as a quenchant for parts, the smoke and fumes that are released from motor oils has been shown to be quite toxic, as well as it can be slightly carcinogenic, so as an overall, it is very bad for your health if you are near it. and even tho it may have a relatively high flash point, the temperature at which you are quenching something at, relatively over 1300degree's F, it well past exceeds the flash point of it. a much much safer and even more pleasant option is actually any kind of common cooking oil, more often a canola oil, as it is also quite cheap, and has a decently high flash point but also any of the fumes that come from it burning off are non toxic, and will actually smell pleasant instead of deadly in this circumstance. this is just my advice and you may do with it what you may, but i also would like to always see people try and stay away from airborn toxins as much as possible. good job overall on the rest of the info.
Thank you so much for the video Quinn. I had a list on Amazon that was probably close to two hundred bucks for fluid and I'm thinking okay that's just fluid I ain't even bought no tools yet! Thank you for the reduced list of about $90 :-) hope you're having a wonderful Saturday. I'm going to try and go out in my shop and make a video today. We'll see what happens. I'm a late bloomer I usually don't start till about 2:30 in the afternoon.
It's worth noting that EP additives in oil and/or grease will attack yellow metals, ie brass, phosphor bronze and the like. So be careful where these are used. Excellent primer on an oft neglected subject!
For general turning/ milling of steel, I like to use plumbers tapping fluid. It is easily found at many hardware stores and isn't that expensive. That and wd40 are my go to cutting fluids.
Quinn, I just wanted to say thank you for these videos. This video, your series on the lathe and the mill, and many more of course. But these vids in particular feel like a huge relief when an aspiring machinist finds them. You see other channels using all of this stuff and they never mention what they are, where to find them, or when and why you should use them. Thank you for all of your hard work, and generosity in sharing this info with us.
You missed be talking about use silicone grease for plastic / nylon gears and tell people to not use WD40 as lubricant and to not aply WD40 in rubber stuffs as well. Excellent video anyway. Very good and accurate information. Thanks for sharing that!
Thanks for doing this vid. I think most of us newbies needed it. I like JB Weld epoxy the best. As a couple have mentioned, chain saw oil may be a good way oil. It has lots of 'stickum' to keep it from slinging off the chain.
Yeah I use bar lube on my mill's ways. It's fine. Plus I always got the stuff and it is easy to get more. I live on a wooded lot so chainsaws are not optional. I'm always cutting trees down someplace. I dropped a 48 footer that was in my garden the other day. The bark was falling off its trunk so it had to go.
Project Farm did a good video on penetrating oils, once I am done with my Kroil I'm going to change over to his recommendation, worth checking out. I got a 10 pack of small oil squeeze bottles from Wish. I have found them very handy for keeping useful amounts of oils at hand that come in larger quantities. Another sticky oil I use around the shop is chainsaw bar oil. It does not smell as bad as way oil. Straight mineral oil is great for keeping around. I use it often to wipe down metal to keep it from rusting but still clean enough to handle with bare hands. Some kitchen cleaning products have a bottle design that you put a towel on top and press down and it dispenses into the towel. I found the bottle perfect for acetone onto a rag for cleaning. Small makeup containers are perfect for repackaging things like bearing grease that you don't use much of. Old perfume bottles are great for things like isopropyl alcohol if you need small spritzes.
Yay new Blondihacks! I've been fortunate, getting into machining after becoming an auto repair professional, so I'm 85% there on chems. This is a great idea though, I eat up all the machining I can find on RUclips, and I can't recall seeing anyone else put out a video about the myriad colorful bottles o' poison we need to machine stuff. Thanks for doing what you do!
Just today, 3h ago, i filmed a video about my first lathe i'm about to set up and said, that i'm not sure what kind of lubricant to use.... thanks for the explanations! :D
When I first got my lathe I asked in a forum what kind of oil to use for cutting and most people laughed and said ...something slippery. Then I saw a guy who used canola oil on youtube and found it is EXCELLENT as a cutting oil for steel. High smoke point and works very well. Not the absolute best but Plenty good enough. The good thing... less than a dollar per liter or 3 dollars a gallon. What other kind of liquid can you get for under $3 per gallon? Way oil...sticky is good. some use STP oil treatment. I use Lucas Oil Stabilizer. Dedicated way oil is cheaper, if you buy it in 5 gallon buckets. but I buy it in quart bottles. So far I have used about 1 oz of it in the year that I have been using it. So don't make the mistake as a beginner of buying a 50 lift time supply for big money only to find out later you need to go into the way oil reselling business.
Although you did show it, you barely touched on the CMD Extreme Pressure lube before moving on. I can't say enough good things about this stuff. Your tube looks new, so maybe you haven't used it much, or had the need to with lighter duty machinery and smaller parts, but when there is a lot of force involved between sliding surfaces, like threads or centers, regular wheel bearing grease won't hold up, galling occurs and parts fail. If you ever have very heavy material in a dead center this stuff is awesome. It's also incredibly effective at preventing galling on the forcing screws and nuts on all kinds of pullers. I have been using it for a long time on dozens of expensive bearing and gear pullers in the automotive world, where the threaded forcing screws tend to gall and seize, and this lube prevents that and the tools last forever.
I'm not a full-time finisher, but I've spent many hours blackening and tried most of the products out there. I settled on Black Magic from Sculpt Nouveau due to its versatility and ease of use. Much better behaved than most of them, works equally well on everything but aluminum and stainless, and actually meant for hand application instead of a submersion bath. Thought you'd like to know about it if you don't already.
Thanks for another awesome video. If you're looking for a less toxic pickling solution, citric acid is a winner. I use it to remove fire scale from sterling silver and to remove flux from soldered and brazed parts. You can buy it as a food-grade ingredient for making jams and jellies. Only downside: you have to use it hot (I just use a hotplate). When hot, it will eat right through a 1/8" thick aluminum pan with ease (but you must never ask me how I know this).
A couple of suggestions for additions / options: Loctite 290. "Super Wick-In". This stuff is great for "fixing" parts AFTER final assembly. It is VERY "watery" and as the name suggests, "wicks" into close-fitting assemblies. A classic use is when setting up to pin a "block" to a round shaft. Position the thoroughly degreased and dry block on the equally well-prepared shaft. Measure three times, then apply 290 to the junction and watch it disappear. Return several hours later and hit the machinery. This is really useful if the "block" has radiused faces and /or is salvaged from a previous assembly and has existing holes that expose the circumference of the shaft at a "fun" angle for drilling and reaming.. Also useful for "pacifying" adjustment screws that have to be tweaked during setup and then remain in that setting to prevent performance degradation. As for "sticky" / high-pressure lubricants: I have been using "heavy-duty "oil stabilizer for years. Available at the ubiquitous "auto parts and supplies" stores almost everywhere, it stays "slippery" even under great pressure. It appears to be similar to stuff found in places where sheet metal is rolled and / or deep drawn, as it does not "collapse" as a lubricant when under pressure. (Unlike standard WD-40, which is not a "serious" lubricant, but a fine WATER DISPLACEMENT substance.) Then there is Moly grease, and spray-on Teflon and Silicone spray, (a REALLY good "paint repellent").
12:17 - hydraulic vs pneumatic is similar to pump vs compressor. When the working fluids are liquid, use hydraulic and pump terminology when the working fluid is a gas or gas mixture, use pneumatic and compressor terminology. This is an engineering convention that developed in the industrial age.
Quinn, thank you much for your great videos. Penetrating oil: I have had the best luck with PB Blaster, and have found it to be better than Kroil (which is pretty darned good). Some years back, I ran into an early-1940s half-track that had a stuck pintle mount. Nothing would free it. Two shots of PB blaster freed it right up. Was able to free it with hand pressure. Lubrication general rule: I was taught by an old-school mechanical engineer that the general rule is captive assemblies get oil, non-captive gets grease. Way oil seems to cover all the in-between stuff.
Blondihacks got me to buy Anchorlube from a previous video. Her description resonated with my fear of chemicals. I have been drilling out pin holes in knife handles with 1/4" carbide drills. It works for that and no stink. My experiments with cutting lubes shows Moly D has the advantage in drilling large holes or tapping large holes.
Quinn’s essential oils. Cool video. Couple of ad ons: -A-9 for cutting aluminum -John Deere superlube dri-film. It’s a dry lube but TPFE based. Its fantastic, gets everywhere, sticks like crazy but nothing sticks to it and is super slippy. -beer
Some other products I think are worth buying: Deoxit -- a T9 for nastier environments Double sided VHB tape -- like those 3m adhesive patches, but on a roll. Sodium Hydroxide -- useful for so much! Diamond paste, good for lapping on a surface plate (with foil in between)
Quinn If you buy direct from Brownell's, they have a 32oz size of Oxpho-Blue for approx $44, which on a per ounce basis is much more economical than the tiny 4 oz bottles from Amazon for approx $10 John
Fluid Film. I use AS (Aerosol) or BW (White Paste).It's lanolin based, I use the paste as a tapping grease, surface protection, smear it on the ways of my lathe, apply to drawer slides, it's great. The Aerosol I use as cutting fluid, but I predominantly work in plastics and it's probably inappropriate for the job.
Max Schumacher I'll have to agree with Max lanolin based lubricants, like fluid film, when they dry leave a nice protective coating, also smells way better than most other lubes. Ahh smells like the farm
Fluid Film. Does not smell nearly as most of the other alternatives, works pretty well, and isn't so toxic on your person. Its Lanolin based, and seems to stay in place pretty good.
Quinn, thanks for this useful tutorial. I find a very useful steel finish is phosphate finish, aka Parkerizing. Does not work on aluminum, yellow metals, or stainless. It requires modest heat, thermometer, and stainless steel container. The resulting surface is porous and holds oil very well. Does not affect dimensions. You can find it at Brownells and Midway. I set up long stainless steel tanks with temperature controlled propane burners, but a stainless steel pan and thermometer will do just fine for smaller parts.
I know this video is 2 years old, but you forgot the best use of prussian blue, and that is playing pranks on coworkers! When I was working in a machine shop all of the "old-timers" would tell stories about putting prussian blue under coworkers toolbox handles or door handles of their cars, and the real favorite was on the receiving side (Ear side) of the shop payphone haha!
Excellent video on fluids/lubes for the shop! Kroil and Boeshield T9 are great products; the only thing you missed is Spindle Oil for those of us with old plain bearing lathes.
Great video, Quinn, covered the basics quite well. One thing I'd point out is that not all ISO 68 oil is way oil which didn't seem clear in the video. You can buy more than one weight (viscosity) of way oil, though 68 is a good all around choice. One other thing your QC gearbox oil. If you're using conventional gear oil and your machine has any brass in it, you want to use a GL-4 rated oil as GL-5 will attack most yellow metals.
On a few lathes that I use instead of the term 'way' oil, we use hydraulic oils of around similar viscosity mainly due to the other tools that have in general have very similar recommended lubricant requirements.
Great information and very helpful. Just a little addition from my experience; Brake cleaner is somewhat sits in the middle when it comes to solvent based cleaners, if you want a weaker cleaner then use 'contact cleaner' but if you want something bit stronger than brake cleaner, then use 'carburettor/throttle body cleaner which is little bit stronger, however you mentioned Acetone which is stronger then the ones mentioned above.
A little known "solvent" that I also like to keep around is baby oil. It's actually a fantastic organic solvent for cleaning most glues and sticky stuff off your hands. Most paints, glues and stains will surprisingly be removed with the gentle action of baby oil.
I found baby oil to be the only thing in an entire shop that worked on adhesive residue from years-old duct tape - tried three different liquid hand soaps, a Lava soap bar, dish soap (Dawn IIRC), hand sanitizer, pure isopropyl and even acetone (gently, quickly, trying to avoid absorbing too much...), but baby oil was the only thing that worked. Follow that with the dish soap again to clean off the oil, and I could finally use my hands again...
Hi Helena! Plain mineral oil is even better, its the same as baby oil but without the palm oil saturates, alcohols and fragrances. I use it generally on the lathe to lubricate and clean since way oil is sticky and greases are hard to clean. For cutting I use supermarket lard which is very good for steel and bronze, for aluminum I use the usual: kerosene, diesel or mostly wd40, they are pretty much all the same thing. I look for stuff that is non toxic since I end up covered with it. Easy to clean,... just wipe if off. Oh, about the lard,... keep your dog away from the stuff, dogs love to eat it metal lathe chips and all.
I tried it, and it works a treat ! I tried with mineral oil, it works but the best is genuine baby oil, made with fresh babies, it's expensive, needs a couple of babies for a single ounce of oil, hence the price, but it's worth it ! Just sayin' !
Tape gum and slime on cables and surfaces? This is a common problem in the music / theatre production biz. MOST modern power and signal cables have outer sheaths made from PVC, which is less susceptible to environmental degradation. However, there is, as usual, a catch. Think about the PVC in your domestic plumbing and then consider a microphone cable: Why is the cable floppy while the down-pipe is rigid? The PVC in cable sheaths contains a magic "vinyl softener'. BUT this substance is "volatile and slowly escapes from the cable, hence "old" PVC cables tend to be "stiffer" than new ones. They also may contain more actual copper. When the stage crew tapes down the audio and power cables to prevent clumsy artistes tripping over them, that "out-gassing" of vinyl softener continues. If the gig is a one-night stand, no problem. If we are talking a month or more-long production, the softener will have its wicked way with the gum on the tape. What you end up with is a whole bunch of icky, slimy cables that instantly pick up dust and "grime". Yes, you can go nuts and use acetone and a bunch of last year's tour T-shirts to clean it off, but acetone is a bit harsh on the vinyl sheath and not exactly beneficial to the nicotine-laced lungs of the crew. We found that the best brew is Eucalyptus Oil. Plenty of that here in the land of the Gum Tree (Australia, not California). It will clear your sinuses without cauterizing your lungs; even so, this is a job best preformed in the great outdoors.
Phosphoric acid is handy to have around (just don’t spill it on concrete), plus ether (starting fluid) is good for shutting up those guests who talk too damn much...
If you're in the U.K. Azure make various chemicals like phosphoric acid for rust removal at a reasonable price compared to EvapoRust and they do the same job except that the Azure is more pungent and EvapoRust has additives to presumably reduce odour and prevent flash rusting after treatment. I just bought 4x5L of the Azure brand for £30. A salt, oxide or grey powder forms and settles in the container and can be separated between soaks by syphoning off the top whereas the EvapoRust mixes and becomes thicker with use but handles oily parts better. Try some of each and see what you think. I didn't even know about it after 35 years of cleaning up rusty tools and machinery. Pitting can't be removed of course without abrasives but all of the oxidation will be. It's a must have and you'll find endless things to derust. Send my commission to Blondihacks! www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Azure-Rust-Remover-For-All-Types-Of-Metals-Containing-Iron-5L-x-4/113828285455. Current item number is the last digit string if the link won't work.
Couple things you mentioned I'd like to hear more about - silver soldering is one, as I've never seemed to find the right combo of solders (so many!), flux and torch. And steam engines! You've mentioned this a few times, and I'd love to see your work in that department. Great video as usual!
i would suggest canola oil for quenching. it's generally considered nearly as fast as a proper high speed quench oil, i successfully use it with thin sections of W2. it's also a lot less noxious than used motor oil.
You forgot Isopropyl alcohol that is almost as good as acetone and I use alcohol and water to clean my air brush and found 10% 90% alcohol water mix is great for cleaning everything :)
I use methal ethal ketone for melting some plastics together which is another derivative of acetone. This, acetone and isopropyl alcohol is apparently the three products of the one item.
BIG CAUTION when using brake cleaners. Don't use these around any HOT parts. They can emit phosgene gas from hot parts or when processed through internal combustion engines. I find spray carburetor cleaner a much better choice for cleaning and much safer.
Two items worth mentioning: 1) Anti - seize and 2) Moly-Dee Other notes: LPS-3 is comparable to Boeshield General light oils? In order of preference: Breakfree, Triflow, WD-40. Heavier oil? SAE30 (preferably synthetic). Available in a spray can as LPS-2.
Thank you. As always, the best tutorial ever. Very specific and mouth food feeding, (Italian expression) essential for an armature like me. We could be the most expert in a subject, but the ability to transmit knowledge ,... is above..!!
Appreciated as always. one comment, soap&water depending on how much it gets used around metal may be better replaced by the bubble fluid used by hvac tech's as it is referred to as dish soap like bubble juice but is not made with a corrosive liquid since it goes on various metals to detect leaks of refrigerant that will later need to be braised/soldered etc.
Did anybody mention the Birchwood Casey "Aluminum Black" yet? Its like cold blue, but its for aluminum and its black. If you have to machine a part that is already anodized, you end up with exposed silver. The Aluminum black takes care of that.
I use Lucas Heavy Duty Oil Stabilizer for way oil. I may be doing it wrong but it seems to be BETTER than dedicated way oil. It is More expensive than way oil but you can get it in smaller quantities and they have it just about everywhere. I haven't used any dedicated oils for my lathe yet. Cutting oils depend on the material . Light oils ...even charcoal lighter for aluminum...I use regular old canola oil for cutting and drilling steel.
Excellent treatise on soft products for the shop, Slide Way oil is the unsung hero, a fairly recent innovation. I would recommend Isopropanol or Ethanol before using Acetone as a cleaner, plastics can be attacked it. Again many thanks for sharing and best regards from the UK.
We used to use red lead to check fit on parts. Basically a powder that you add a little oil to and apply with a brush, but because it has lead you can't get it anymore. Those that have any horde it like gold.
Quin wow another great video ! , you are one very smart lady and I learn something new in everyone of your videos. To add to your list I really like denatured alcohol for cleaning up parts and great on cleaning gaging equipment measuring surfaces. My second chemical for polishing is FLITZ polishing cream “ but in the tube “ not the liquid . Its a lot less stinky than Brasso which I really dislike. How long have you been working your hobby shop as you are much smarter than many of the tool makers I worked with 45 yer ago. You are one really smart young lady.
Cheaper alternative to sparex is swimming pool chemicals. I forget the active chemical (sodium bisulfate maybe?) but it’s the same. Lifetime supply for $15. For less toxicity when dealing with pickle compound, don’t mix it as strong but keep it in a thrift store crock pot and warm it up to increase potency.
Thanks for the great tips! I'll have to try the Boshield T-9. I have been using LPS-3, which seems to be durable when used for rust prevention on surfaces like milled cast iron and drill press columns.
11:10 Note on the Locktite products, over at the Pete's Garage channel he noted that those products have a one year shelf life. He has been on the factory tour too. Not sure if that is noted officially anyplace though.
Quinn, an excellent subject for this video, but one correction Brownells makes a 32 oz bluing for $43 or half the price of the little bottles for the same volume.
Lard thinned with some kerosene to a grease like consistentcy with an old toothbrush is great for cutting and tapping aluminum, plus a few other metals. I like to climb mill into a thin film brushed on to a surface so every cutting tooth gets a bit of lubrication.
Most anti-seize lube DOES NOT BURN OR SMOKE. I use Never-Seez. on lead molds. They are typically good to 2000° F. But it is really messy. Your hands will be full of silver ick.
Not sure on your specific hydraulic and pneumatic sealants, but the hydraulic ones I have seen tend to harden into a polymer (monomer? I suppose) like set loctite, and the pneumatic ones tend to stay as a gel or paste liquid-ish consistency.
CRC 05018 Lectra-Motive Electric Parts Cleaner comes in a spray can and is one I keep around. Non-flammable and non-conductive. Leaves no residue and safe to use on energized components. It's about as good a brake parts cleaner but doesn't stink like brake parts cleaner.
I work in a shop where we revise, repair and modify electric motors, reduction cases etc etc. Aside from general industrial electrical work we also do automation. I use Loctite SF7200 a lot for removing gaskets on older engines. Especially these that come from Arcelor Mittal (our main customer) they are often killed by overheating, heat fucks up the grease they put in these, dries out the seals and ruins the insulation of the coils. Some of their motor-axles aren’t grounded either, fucks with the bearings too. That SF7200 is great, just spray it on, leave it for 10mins and it will rub off like nothing. We also use Loctite 641 for glueing bearings in place. Some 648 as well. 243 is the standard on all fasteners. 263 is also used but on rarer occasions. All mechanics have a side tray on their cart filled with an entire collection of these bottles 😂 aside from seal remover, WD40, brake cleaner and ballistol. A tube of SKF bearing grease is in everyone’s bottom drawer as well 👀
hi! awesome video, which is the standard on your channel and thats an understatement. You are greatly inspiring to many including myself and such a pleasant and lovely human to learn from. Just a quick note for everyone regarding pickling acids, the one you use, sparex no2, is not harmless by far but also not end of the world toxic. it consists of sodium sulfate and bisulfate, making it corrosive as hell, just like you said, but the ones you *really* wanna be careful with are the ones based on HF or fluoride salts. While some accounts of HF tox. are sensationalized and not based in fact, this stuff most definitely is nothing to play around with and it absolutely cannot be stored in glass, the real proper way being expensive PTFE bottles.
I used Anchorlube yesterday when making sizeable bores on 1018 steel. It makes vapors, not smoke. Soon, within an hour of using it, I noticed that all parts of my lathe near the work were turning brown. My chuck, jaws, the 1018 workpiece, the ways...ALL the metal was turning brown. I cleaned it with 1500 emory, WD-40, Scothbright, and managed to scrub away most of stain. I then finished the job using both Tap Magic, and the new THICK Tap Magic. They smoke like crazy, but I've never had a staining problem with them before. This morning all the parts are stained again after just sitting over night...after being cleaned. It is a uniformly distributed brown surface film on all surfaces, and only a vapor deposition can do that. So...one of these cutting lubes is fuming and or smoking and messing up my lathe. HAVE YOU SEEN SIMILAR PROBLEMS???
My favorites are Starrett M1 as a penetrating oil and glue solvent, and Corrosion X as an assembly aid. The latter works really well for electronic circuit cards that might get wet (which is any outdoor gear here in the pacific northwest :) I was told that soluble oil was the stuff for most cutting and turning, but I mostly use RapidTap or motor oil.. For Copper; oddly Whole milk seems to work best.
Project Farm did a bunch of videos on penetrating oils. Kroil actually didn't actually perform that well. Liquid wrench I think was the best for the money.
@@hairyfro ....Yep, Kroil was towards the bottom of the test. Figure in the absurd cost of the stuff and the manufacturer should face some kind of charges. I have a $25 can of the stuff sitting in my shop, constantly reminding me of the money I have spent over the years looking for the "magic penetrating goop". Yes, Project Farm found Liquid Wrench to be the most effective and one of the cheapest per ounce. For this I am eternally grateful. Btw, acetone mixed with ATF (my fathers old go-to) didn't test well and was found mostly useless.
Quinn, you forgot the most essential "lubricant" that all machinists and engineers need... Coffee!
☕️☕️☕️
As an engineer I can support this claim. I drink a 1.5L french press of coffee every morning at work.
@@Oberkaptain Can confirm as well. Im a machinist in a cnc shop, and the coffee machine is the only machine that is running all time.
@@Oberkaptain You have too much blood on your caffeine
I don't know, sure seems like it will take a lifetime of verification study to confirm. So far I've got a pretty strong positive signal.
This is the most expensive RUclips channel ever. Every time I watch it I have to buy more stuff.
TOT and AvE have cost me quite a bit over the years too, but Quinn is probably the RUclips machinist who has made the biggest hole in my wallet.
😅😅😅😅😂😂😂😂Yeah You're Right
I agree, this channel made me buy a lathe and convert a room into a workshop 😂
LMAO! I totally agree. Very good info, I’ve learned a ton.
Love your videos! I’m a retired gunsmith, I loved doing machine work! THANKS!
Good Breakdown of a slippery topic.
As for oiling ways, I am in the "can not overdo it"-camp. Each day and repeated constantly when the machine is used.
As for solvents, I like to have isopropanol alcohole around for general cleaning. It doesnt attack gloves and degreases very well for glueing/cleaning purposes.
Apart from that I only stock Acetone but no break cleaner (aka Cancer in a tin) in my shop.
Oh! And dont bother with acetone and isopropanol alcohole from the hardware store. Usualy bad quality with poor purity. Fingernail or lab supply shops have way higher grade solvents, in larger containers for less money.
@@StefanGotteswinter In Canada you can find 99% isopropyl alcohol at pharmacies. I don't know about Germany.
What is the advantage of higher purity acetone?
Make sure you’re getting pure acetone from salon suppliers. Nail polish remover has a lot of other stuff in it besides acetone.
@@StefanGotteswinter I only use the non chlorinated brake cleaner. Might be more expensive though. It's the chlorinated stuff you definitely want to stay away from.
Dale in Canada
I have a home workshop and spend many hours tinkering. I have owned a mini lathe for three years and never really used it much until I stumbled upon your videos. You are remarkable and inspiring. I have learned much from your tutorials. You are articulate, personable, and do a very effective job of getting your information out there. While it’s unlikely that I will spend large amounts of time with my lathe, I certainly do appreciate the high quality of what you bring to the machining audience. Your opening is fantastic!
Hi Quinn, Great videos! I'm an not a machinist but I can tell you that while wheel bearing grease is not the best smelling stuff it is not the devils toothpaste, that would be reserved for Anti Seize. Somehow anti seize is attracted to the back of your elbows and the smallest amount will end up all over your hands, elbows, face, butt, car, couch, and on the towel when you get out of the shower because you could not scrub it off the back of your elbows. Keep up the great vids.
My favorite gas leak finding fluid is Windex, or similar. It's usually already in a spray applicator, and the foam produced from the tiniest leaks is quite prolific, plus all of the usual home remedies per My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Yes, bewildering for neophyte machinists, compounded by the diversity of STRONG opinions.
Thanks for a very useful, informative overview
Oh yes- many many opinions in this area. 😁
That's what drives me crazy at times. Especially since I live in Europe, where most products are different from the US/Canada. So these videos are very helpful but can still send me down the rabbit hole
And a caveat for lubing: there are some machines that use zerk fittings for lubrication points. Some people will see them and use a grease gun to squeeze grease in there but are actually intended for oil.
Particularly old Bridgeport mills.
And old us machine co mills. Took me while to find the proper way to oil the ways through the alemite fittings.
I will admit, I slammed a bunch of grease into my Bridgeport. It seems to work ok. But now I am wondering if I should clean it all out and switch to oil
Stupid noob question: how do you oil a machine through a zerk fitting?
Oh thank you. I do HVAC/R work. I would have packed them full! I have a dozen grease guns. High speed low speed food grade vacuum grade hi temp low temp End it looks like I will be expanding my lubricant collection to precision work.
So this is my favorite channel on making stuff. You do great and real.
I was given a load of old machine tools. Singer sewing machine oil helped clean and restore my micrometer, the force required to move them was clicking the ratchet stop too early, all good now. I also used it sparingly on a sticky dial indicator, which is now working well too. That little bottle has saved me at least £100 already
It's on the affiliate link list, but I think Evapo-Rust deserves a call out because it is freaking magical. There are plenty of products that will eliminate rust, but this is the only one I've used that leaves the metal alone.
The funny part to me is the black residue sometimes left on steel is apparently pure carbon left behind after the iron oxide was removed.
I find that Remington "Rem Oil" is very good for lubricating delicate mechanisms (like sticky dial indicator stems). A one ounce bottle will probably last years (so of course I bought a 16oz can!). If not Rem Oil, I still wouldn't be without some kind of "clock oil," and a needle-tip bottle is the way to go.
Great video. Thanks for all of these low level tutorials. It’s all the little stuff that people assume everyone knows so they don’t bother sharing it.
I agree very strongly with that sentiment. The devil is in the detail.
Lubricants are actually very interesting and something I use a variety of for general repair, farm and restoration of antique typewriters and sewing machines.
I have an old bush hog with a leaking oil seal under the gearbox. The large nut on the bottom is rust welded on and will NOT come off. So I replaced the oil with 00 grease (between a gear oil and grease in viscosity) which is thin enough to lubricate the gears but too thick to leak through. For bicycle chains I much prefer wax. I heat a Mason jar of wax and chain on lowest oven setting, dunk the chain then hang it up to cool. Excellent chain lubricant that does not attract grit and does not mess up my trousers. My chains last longer now. Wax is also great to rub on bottom of wood drawers in antique furniture. I've read a 1940's typewriter manual that advised against oiling the machine. Sure, if you type 40 hours a week the paper dust does stick to the oil, and the oil of that era could gum up and make a varnish, but today we have synthetic oils and typewriter hobbyists just piddle around typing, so I say sparingly lubricate that machine with a quality oil! I have several long needle oilers I use during restoration. Kroil Microil is good as well as Remoil. Besides, we have dry lubricants now like spray on graphite and PTFE if you don't want to oil your typewriter. Singer oil is great for sewing machines - doesn't stain fabric. I use vegetable oil in my chain saws for the chain lubricant reservoir as I don't want to breath cancer causing petroleum oil droplets, but I sometimes do have to work the chain loose as vegetable oil over time will harden and get very gummy if it hasn't been used in awhile. Yes, Kroil is great, but I actually like the smell better than PB Blaster. And I've used "Mouse Oil" penetrant too. For oil cans I prefer the type you push the bottom as there are no moving parts to fail. Thanks for the video. Sorry to be so verbose, but you inspired me.
Any grease other than NLGI 2 usually requires a major purchase in volume. I tried to buy a grease cartridge of Chevron Black Pearl grade 1...impossible at the retail level.
The easy way to unstick rusted un unstuckable fasteners is HEAT! An oxyfuel torch with a weed burner tip or rosebud tip will do. There’s videos on how to do it safely, without goobering up your brush hog
Quinn, recent sub, here. You are a gifted teacher, with a flair for language and great sense of humor. I have a new ShopFox M1116 mill, and have loved your beginner series. Thanks for all you do.
Thank you for the kind words and the sub!
I just used JAX for the first time, and honestly it was my last alternative. I had a surface gauge I was restoring and wanted to blue it. Oxpho and Perma Blue simply would not touch it. I cleaned it with every solvent .... nada. Then I boiled it in a strong detergent solution for a few hours and rinsed excessively, Only a few small irregular areas would respond to either of those products. I am not new at this, and I've never seen this before. So I bought a pint of JAX on the outside chance it would work, submerged the gauge base and voila, it really did the job. A few repeats with water rinse and some light steel wool burnishing between dips, each dip lasting 5 - 10 minutes, and I got a beautiful part. SO...Jax may not be the easiest or fastest or least costly...but in SOME cases it really gets the job done. It is part of my "always have this on hand" inventory now.
In the olden days (1960's) we used only sulfurated cutting oil (brown oil) or white lead (lead pigment in linseed oil) for all cutting operations in the shop I was in. Probably no need for either in the 21st century. Thanks for the video!
Quinn, not sure if you have tried Hangsterfer’s cutting lubricants. At RR we use their tapping fluid when thread forming `difficult` materials, normally this is Inconel 718 or other super alloys. It is administered in the form of a fine mist spray using the oil and a low pressure compressed air feed. Experience has told us that this is the best combination to achieve a good and consistent thread form. Being British copious quantities of freshly brewed tea are also necessary when undertaking any machining tasks!
Good to know! Tea is an essential fluid in my shop as well. 😁
@@Blondihacks Should you ever find yourself in the Nottingham area please feel free to call in for a brew and a chat...the kettle is always on!
I use motorcycle chain wax for my change gears. It is made to resist high pressures, doesn't fling off when the gears are spinning and it dries to a waxy substance that chips don't stick to.
wanted to add something here as i noticed it. as a knifemaker and blacksmith, i highly dis-advise the use of used motor oil as a quenchant for parts, the smoke and fumes that are released from motor oils has been shown to be quite toxic, as well as it can be slightly carcinogenic, so as an overall, it is very bad for your health if you are near it. and even tho it may have a relatively high flash point, the temperature at which you are quenching something at, relatively over 1300degree's F, it well past exceeds the flash point of it. a much much safer and even more pleasant option is actually any kind of common cooking oil, more often a canola oil, as it is also quite cheap, and has a decently high flash point but also any of the fumes that come from it burning off are non toxic, and will actually smell pleasant instead of deadly in this circumstance. this is just my advice and you may do with it what you may, but i also would like to always see people try and stay away from airborn toxins as much as possible. good job overall on the rest of the info.
Thank you so much for the video Quinn. I had a list on Amazon that was probably close to two hundred bucks for fluid and I'm thinking okay that's just fluid I ain't even bought no tools yet! Thank you for the reduced list of about $90 :-) hope you're having a wonderful Saturday. I'm going to try and go out in my shop and make a video today. We'll see what happens. I'm a late bloomer I usually don't start till about 2:30 in the afternoon.
It's worth noting that EP additives in oil and/or grease will attack yellow metals, ie brass, phosphor bronze and the like. So be careful where these are used.
Excellent primer on an oft neglected subject!
Chock full of helpful info. You are a great contributor to the machining community. Thanks for all the great videos.
For general turning/ milling of steel, I like to use plumbers tapping fluid. It is easily found at many hardware stores and isn't that expensive. That and wd40 are my go to cutting fluids.
Quinn, I just wanted to say thank you for these videos. This video, your series on the lathe and the mill, and many more of course. But these vids in particular feel like a huge relief when an aspiring machinist finds them. You see other channels using all of this stuff and they never mention what they are, where to find them, or when and why you should use them. Thank you for all of your hard work, and generosity in sharing this info with us.
Nice tour of slippy-gooey-marky-cleany stuff! Many thanks!
You missed be talking about use silicone grease for plastic / nylon gears and tell people to not use WD40 as lubricant and to not aply WD40 in rubber stuffs as well. Excellent video anyway. Very good and accurate information. Thanks for sharing that!
Why shouldn’t we use WD-40 on rubber products/surfaces?
Thanks for doing this vid. I think most of us newbies needed it. I like JB Weld epoxy the best. As a couple have mentioned, chain saw oil may be a good way oil. It has lots of 'stickum' to keep it from slinging off the chain.
Yeah I use bar lube on my mill's ways. It's fine. Plus I always got the stuff and it is easy to get more. I live on a wooded lot so chainsaws are not optional. I'm always cutting trees down someplace. I dropped a 48 footer that was in my garden the other day. The bark was falling off its trunk so it had to go.
Project Farm did a good video on penetrating oils, once I am done with my Kroil I'm going to change over to his recommendation, worth checking out.
I got a 10 pack of small oil squeeze bottles from Wish. I have found them very handy for keeping useful amounts of oils at hand that come in larger quantities.
Another sticky oil I use around the shop is chainsaw bar oil. It does not smell as bad as way oil.
Straight mineral oil is great for keeping around. I use it often to wipe down metal to keep it from rusting but still clean enough to handle with bare hands.
Some kitchen cleaning products have a bottle design that you put a towel on top and press down and it dispenses into the towel. I found the bottle perfect for acetone onto a rag for cleaning.
Small makeup containers are perfect for repackaging things like bearing grease that you don't use much of.
Old perfume bottles are great for things like isopropyl alcohol if you need small spritzes.
No-way oil is good for lubricating your suspension of disbelief.
Beer also works well.
Yay new Blondihacks! I've been fortunate, getting into machining after becoming an auto repair professional, so I'm 85% there on chems. This is a great idea though, I eat up all the machining I can find on RUclips, and I can't recall seeing anyone else put out a video about the myriad colorful bottles o' poison we need to machine stuff. Thanks for doing what you do!
Me to these guys have been so helpful.
Just today, 3h ago, i filmed a video about my first lathe i'm about to set up and said, that i'm not sure what kind of lubricant to use.... thanks for the explanations! :D
When I first got my lathe I asked in a forum what kind of oil to use for cutting and most people laughed and said ...something slippery. Then I saw a guy who used canola oil on youtube and found it is EXCELLENT as a cutting oil for steel. High smoke point and works very well. Not the absolute best but Plenty good enough. The good thing... less than a dollar per liter or 3 dollars a gallon. What other kind of liquid can you get for under $3 per gallon? Way oil...sticky is good. some use STP oil treatment. I use Lucas Oil Stabilizer. Dedicated way oil is cheaper, if you buy it in 5 gallon buckets. but I buy it in quart bottles. So far I have used about 1 oz of it in the year that I have been using it. So don't make the mistake as a beginner of buying a 50 lift time supply for big money only to find out later you need to go into the way oil reselling business.
Thank you for this video. Great info on fluids and what we need, plus I found out what "throwing shade" is....BONUS!
Although you did show it, you barely touched on the CMD Extreme Pressure lube before moving on. I can't say enough good things about this stuff. Your tube looks new, so maybe you haven't used it much, or had the need to with lighter duty machinery and smaller parts, but when there is a lot of force involved between sliding surfaces, like threads or centers, regular wheel bearing grease won't hold up, galling occurs and parts fail. If you ever have very heavy material in a dead center this stuff is awesome. It's also incredibly effective at preventing galling on the forcing screws and nuts on all kinds of pullers. I have been using it for a long time on dozens of expensive bearing and gear pullers in the automotive world, where the threaded forcing screws tend to gall and seize, and this lube prevents that and the tools last forever.
I love all those smells!
Diamond paste is very handy stuff also.
I'm not a full-time finisher, but I've spent many hours blackening and tried most of the products out there. I settled on Black Magic from Sculpt Nouveau due to its versatility and ease of use. Much better behaved than most of them, works equally well on everything but aluminum and stainless, and actually meant for hand application instead of a submersion bath. Thought you'd like to know about it if you don't already.
Thanks for another awesome video. If you're looking for a less toxic pickling solution, citric acid is a winner. I use it to remove fire scale from sterling silver and to remove flux from soldered and brazed parts. You can buy it as a food-grade ingredient for making jams and jellies. Only downside: you have to use it hot (I just use a hotplate). When hot, it will eat right through a 1/8" thick aluminum pan with ease (but you must never ask me how I know this).
A couple of suggestions for additions / options:
Loctite 290. "Super Wick-In". This stuff is great for "fixing" parts AFTER final assembly. It is VERY "watery" and as the name suggests, "wicks" into close-fitting assemblies. A classic use is when setting up to pin a "block" to a round shaft. Position the thoroughly degreased and dry block on the equally well-prepared shaft. Measure three times, then apply 290 to the junction and watch it disappear. Return several hours later and hit the machinery. This is really useful if the "block" has radiused faces and /or is salvaged from a previous assembly and has existing holes that expose the circumference of the shaft at a "fun" angle for drilling and reaming.. Also useful for "pacifying" adjustment screws that have to be tweaked during setup and then remain in that setting to prevent performance degradation.
As for "sticky" / high-pressure lubricants: I have been using "heavy-duty "oil stabilizer for years. Available at the ubiquitous "auto parts and supplies" stores almost everywhere, it stays "slippery" even under great pressure.
It appears to be similar to stuff found in places where sheet metal is rolled and / or deep drawn, as it does not "collapse" as a lubricant when under pressure. (Unlike standard WD-40, which is not a "serious" lubricant, but a fine WATER DISPLACEMENT substance.)
Then there is Moly grease, and spray-on Teflon and Silicone spray, (a REALLY good "paint repellent").
12:17 - hydraulic vs pneumatic is similar to pump vs compressor. When the working fluids are liquid, use hydraulic and pump terminology when the working fluid is a gas or gas mixture, use pneumatic and compressor terminology. This is an engineering convention that developed in the industrial age.
Quinn, thank you much for your great videos.
Penetrating oil: I have had the best luck with PB Blaster, and have found it to be better than Kroil (which is pretty darned good). Some years back, I ran into an early-1940s half-track that had a stuck pintle mount. Nothing would free it. Two shots of PB blaster freed it right up. Was able to free it with hand pressure.
Lubrication general rule: I was taught by an old-school mechanical engineer that the general rule is captive assemblies get oil, non-captive gets grease. Way oil seems to cover all the in-between stuff.
Quinn, PB blaster works reall also to loosen rusted parts!
Definitely fits the “smells worse, works better” philosophy
@@boots7859 ...I agree. The tried and true "blue wrench" is the answer.
@@caseytailfly PB used to smell real bad and work great. They reformulated it and now it isn't that bad and don't work too good either.
@@boots7859 technique is everything when it comes to freeing frozen fasteners. You have to fully appreciate the materials science to achieve success.
Blondihacks got me to buy Anchorlube from a previous video. Her description resonated with my fear of chemicals. I have been drilling out pin holes in knife handles with 1/4" carbide drills. It works for that and no stink. My experiments with cutting lubes shows Moly D has the advantage in drilling large holes or tapping large holes.
Thank you Quinn, you're quite right that this is an easily overlooked topic so it was helpful to have a round up of your favourites.
Quinn’s essential oils. Cool video.
Couple of ad ons:
-A-9 for cutting aluminum
-John Deere superlube dri-film. It’s a dry lube
but TPFE based. Its fantastic, gets
everywhere, sticks like crazy but nothing
sticks to it and is super slippy.
-beer
Some other products I think are worth buying:
Deoxit -- a T9 for nastier environments
Double sided VHB tape -- like those 3m adhesive patches, but on a roll.
Sodium Hydroxide -- useful for so much!
Diamond paste, good for lapping on a surface plate (with foil in between)
Quinn
If you buy direct from Brownell's, they have a 32oz size of Oxpho-Blue for approx $44, which on a per ounce basis is much more economical than the tiny 4 oz bottles from Amazon for approx $10
John
Fluid Film. I use AS (Aerosol) or BW (White Paste).It's lanolin based, I use the paste as a tapping grease, surface protection, smear it on the ways of my lathe, apply to drawer slides, it's great. The Aerosol I use as cutting fluid, but I predominantly work in plastics and it's probably inappropriate for the job.
Max Schumacher I'll have to agree with Max lanolin based lubricants, like fluid film, when they dry leave a nice protective coating, also smells way better than most other lubes. Ahh smells like the farm
@@fishermanyt8187 and non toxic!
Fluid Film.
Does not smell nearly as most of the other alternatives, works pretty well, and isn't so toxic on your person. Its Lanolin based, and seems to stay in place pretty good.
Quinn, thanks for this useful tutorial. I find a very useful steel finish is phosphate finish, aka Parkerizing. Does not work on aluminum, yellow metals, or stainless. It requires modest heat, thermometer, and stainless steel container. The resulting surface is porous and holds oil very well. Does not affect dimensions. You can find it at Brownells and Midway. I set up long stainless steel tanks with temperature controlled propane burners, but a stainless steel pan and thermometer will do just fine for smaller parts.
Fluid Film (pure lanolin) works well to prevent corrosion. It's also good for dry hands.
Some of those I have, many I don’t. The loctite piece was especially helpful. Thank you for putting this together
I know this video is 2 years old, but you forgot the best use of prussian blue, and that is playing pranks on coworkers! When I was working in a machine shop all of the "old-timers" would tell stories about putting prussian blue under coworkers toolbox handles or door handles of their cars, and the real favorite was on the receiving side (Ear side) of the shop payphone haha!
Excellent video on fluids/lubes for the shop! Kroil and Boeshield T9 are great products; the only thing you missed is Spindle Oil for those of us with old plain bearing lathes.
Great video, Quinn, covered the basics quite well. One thing I'd point out is that not all ISO 68 oil is way oil which didn't seem clear in the video. You can buy more than one weight (viscosity) of way oil, though 68 is a good all around choice. One other thing your QC gearbox oil. If you're using conventional gear oil and your machine has any brass in it, you want to use a GL-4 rated oil as GL-5 will attack most yellow metals.
On a few lathes that I use instead of the term 'way' oil, we use hydraulic oils of around similar viscosity mainly due to the other tools that have in general have very similar recommended lubricant requirements.
Great information and very helpful. Just a little addition from my experience; Brake cleaner is somewhat sits in the middle when it comes to solvent based cleaners, if you want a weaker cleaner then use 'contact cleaner' but if you want something bit stronger than brake cleaner, then use 'carburettor/throttle body cleaner which is little bit stronger, however you mentioned Acetone which is stronger then the ones mentioned above.
I haven't seen any better video on liquids yet!
Pledge liquid works great as a cutting fluid on aluminum and brass, easy cleanup and doesn’t smell bad.
I've used condensed milk on brass a number of times and for what it's worth it seems to do the job.
I use the aerosol Dykem blue. It dries really fast and and produces very crisp scribe marks.
Wool Wax or Fluid Film are great metal surface protectors in my shop, both have a creep factor, so they will work into the pores of the metal
A little known "solvent" that I also like to keep around is baby oil. It's actually a fantastic organic solvent for cleaning most glues and sticky stuff off your hands. Most paints, glues and stains will surprisingly be removed with the gentle action of baby oil.
I found baby oil to be the only thing in an entire shop that worked on adhesive residue from years-old duct tape - tried three different liquid hand soaps, a Lava soap bar, dish soap (Dawn IIRC), hand sanitizer, pure isopropyl and even acetone (gently, quickly, trying to avoid absorbing too much...), but baby oil was the only thing that worked. Follow that with the dish soap again to clean off the oil, and I could finally use my hands again...
Hi Helena! Plain mineral oil is even better, its the same as baby oil but without the palm oil saturates, alcohols and fragrances. I use it generally on the lathe to lubricate and clean since way oil is sticky and greases are hard to clean. For cutting I use supermarket lard which is very good for steel and bronze, for aluminum I use the usual: kerosene, diesel or mostly wd40, they are pretty much all the same thing. I look for stuff that is non toxic since I end up covered with it. Easy to clean,... just wipe if off. Oh, about the lard,... keep your dog away from the stuff, dogs love to eat it metal lathe chips and all.
I tried it, and it works a treat ! I tried with mineral oil, it works but the best is genuine baby oil, made with fresh babies, it's expensive, needs a couple of babies for a single ounce of oil, hence the price, but it's worth it !
Just sayin' !
Tape gum and slime on cables and surfaces? This is a common problem in the music / theatre production biz.
MOST modern power and signal cables have outer sheaths made from PVC, which is less susceptible to environmental degradation.
However, there is, as usual, a catch. Think about the PVC in your domestic plumbing and then consider a microphone cable: Why is the cable floppy while the down-pipe is rigid? The PVC in cable sheaths contains a magic "vinyl softener'. BUT this substance is "volatile and slowly escapes from the cable, hence "old" PVC cables tend to be "stiffer" than new ones. They also may contain more actual copper.
When the stage crew tapes down the audio and power cables to prevent clumsy artistes tripping over them, that "out-gassing" of vinyl softener continues. If the gig is a one-night stand, no problem.
If we are talking a month or more-long production, the softener will have its wicked way with the gum on the tape.
What you end up with is a whole bunch of icky, slimy cables that instantly pick up dust and "grime".
Yes, you can go nuts and use acetone and a bunch of last year's tour T-shirts to clean it off, but acetone is a bit harsh on the vinyl sheath and not exactly beneficial to the nicotine-laced lungs of the crew.
We found that the best brew is Eucalyptus Oil. Plenty of that here in the land of the Gum Tree (Australia, not California).
It will clear your sinuses without cauterizing your lungs; even so, this is a job best preformed in the great outdoors.
Phosphoric acid is handy to have around (just don’t spill it on concrete), plus ether (starting fluid) is good for shutting up those guests who talk too damn much...
If you're in the U.K. Azure make various chemicals like phosphoric acid for rust removal at a reasonable price compared to EvapoRust and they do the same job except that the Azure is more pungent and EvapoRust has additives to presumably reduce odour and prevent flash rusting after treatment. I just bought 4x5L of the Azure brand for £30. A salt, oxide or grey powder forms and settles in the container and can be separated between soaks by syphoning off the top whereas the EvapoRust mixes and becomes thicker with use but handles oily parts better. Try some of each and see what you think. I didn't even know about it after 35 years of cleaning up rusty tools and machinery. Pitting can't be removed of course without abrasives but all of the oxidation will be. It's a must have and you'll find endless things to derust. Send my commission to Blondihacks!
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Azure-Rust-Remover-For-All-Types-Of-Metals-Containing-Iron-5L-x-4/113828285455.
Current item number is the last digit string if the link won't work.
Hi you mentioned bingo dabbers. I use bingo dabbers and indelible markers almost all of the time, dry wipe markers for testing for low and high spots
Couple things you mentioned I'd like to hear more about - silver soldering is one, as I've never seemed to find the right combo of solders (so many!), flux and torch. And steam engines! You've mentioned this a few times, and I'd love to see your work in that department. Great video as usual!
You bet! I’ll do a video on it at some point.
i would suggest canola oil for quenching. it's generally considered nearly as fast as a proper high speed quench oil, i successfully use it with thin sections of W2. it's also a lot less noxious than used motor oil.
You forgot Isopropyl alcohol that is almost as good as acetone and I use alcohol and water to clean my air brush and found 10% 90% alcohol water mix is great for cleaning everything :)
Also for air brushes washer jet fluid works really well too.
And it won't eat your plastic.
I use methal ethal ketone for melting some plastics together which is another derivative of acetone. This, acetone and isopropyl alcohol is apparently the three products of the one item.
BIG CAUTION when using brake cleaners. Don't use these around any HOT parts. They can emit phosgene gas from hot parts or when processed through internal combustion engines. I find spray carburetor cleaner a much better choice for cleaning and much safer.
Two items worth mentioning:
1) Anti - seize and
2) Moly-Dee
Other notes:
LPS-3 is comparable to Boeshield
General light oils? In order of preference: Breakfree, Triflow, WD-40.
Heavier oil? SAE30 (preferably synthetic). Available in a spray can as LPS-2.
Throw a magnet for a t into your lathe oil tin .best thing ever so much harder to tip over .
That's great! and round magnets even come free with second-hand speakers!
Thank you. As always, the best tutorial ever. Very specific and mouth food feeding, (Italian expression) essential for an armature like me. We could be the most expert in a subject, but the ability to transmit knowledge ,... is above..!!
Seafoam "Deep Creep" for removing rusty stuck bolts! Can be purchased at auto parts stores.
Hey thanks for being genuine. Learn alot from your videos. Your info is great. Enjoy your videos
As a old millwright your rite on target I agree with all you mention millwright Mac Las Vegas Nevada
Appreciated as always. one comment, soap&water depending on how much it gets used around metal may be better replaced by the bubble fluid used by hvac tech's as it is referred to as dish soap like bubble juice but is not made with a corrosive liquid since it goes on various metals to detect leaks of refrigerant that will later need to be braised/soldered etc.
Did anybody mention the Birchwood Casey "Aluminum Black" yet? Its like cold blue, but its for aluminum and its black. If you have to machine a part that is already anodized, you end up with exposed silver. The Aluminum black takes care of that.
Had to come back to this one. Sounds I’m not the only one going on a shopping trip after these videos lol. Great content and keep em coming!
Very informative! I did not know about way oil and it stickyness. Auto transmission fluid and acetone (50/50) also works well as penetrating fluid
I use Lucas Heavy Duty Oil Stabilizer for way oil. I may be doing it wrong but it seems to be BETTER than dedicated way oil. It is More expensive than way oil but you can get it in smaller quantities and they have it just about everywhere. I haven't used any dedicated oils for my lathe yet. Cutting oils depend on the material . Light oils ...even charcoal lighter for aluminum...I use regular old canola oil for cutting and drilling steel.
Excellent treatise on soft products for the shop, Slide Way oil is the unsung hero, a fairly recent innovation. I would recommend Isopropanol or Ethanol before using Acetone as a cleaner, plastics can be attacked it.
Again many thanks for sharing and best regards from the UK.
We used to use red lead to check fit on parts. Basically a powder that you add a little oil to and apply with a brush, but because it has lead you can't get it anymore. Those that have any horde it like gold.
Quin wow another great video ! , you are one very smart lady and I learn something new in everyone of your videos. To add to your list I really like denatured alcohol for cleaning up parts and great on cleaning gaging equipment measuring surfaces. My second chemical for polishing is FLITZ polishing cream “ but in the tube “ not the liquid . Its a lot less stinky than Brasso which I really dislike. How long have you been working your hobby shop as you are much smarter than many of the tool makers I worked with 45 yer ago. You are one really smart young lady.
Perfect timing.. thou art a minor deity! Been pondering this very subject as I'm planning my own shop.
Cheaper alternative to sparex is swimming pool chemicals. I forget the active chemical (sodium bisulfate maybe?) but it’s the same. Lifetime supply for $15. For less toxicity when dealing with pickle compound, don’t mix it as strong but keep it in a thrift store crock pot and warm it up to increase potency.
Thanks for the great tips! I'll have to try the Boshield T-9. I have been using LPS-3, which seems to be durable when used for rust prevention on surfaces like milled cast iron and drill press columns.
I’ve heard good things about LPS-3 as well!
11:10 Note on the Locktite products, over at the Pete's Garage channel he noted that those products have a one year shelf life. He has been on the factory tour too. Not sure if that is noted officially anyplace though.
Interesting- I had not heard that!
Quinn, an excellent subject for this video, but one correction Brownells makes a 32 oz bluing for $43 or half the price of the little bottles for the same volume.
Best intro on RUclips.
2:11 You could sketch those, labelling which ones have which tips, then you'd have an Euler Diagram. 🤣
I'll get my coat.
You should check out a gizmo called eulers disk, it’s really cool
Lard thinned with some kerosene to a grease like consistentcy with an old toothbrush is great for cutting and tapping aluminum, plus a few other metals. I like to climb mill into a thin film brushed on to a surface so every cutting tooth gets a bit of lubrication.
I guess there's place for anti-seize lubricant/paste/however one calls it.
Most anti-seize lube DOES NOT BURN OR SMOKE. I use Never-Seez. on lead molds. They are typically good to 2000° F. But it is really messy. Your hands will be full of silver ick.
Thank you for this, Quinn! I learned a bunch. This really helped fill in the gaps for me.
Not sure on your specific hydraulic and pneumatic sealants, but the hydraulic ones I have seen tend to harden into a polymer (monomer? I suppose) like set loctite, and the pneumatic ones tend to stay as a gel or paste liquid-ish consistency.
Excellent information along with the links also.Thank you , what a time saver.
CRC 05018 Lectra-Motive Electric Parts Cleaner comes in a spray can and is one I keep around. Non-flammable and non-conductive. Leaves no residue and safe to use on energized components. It's about as good a brake parts cleaner but doesn't stink like brake parts cleaner.
I work in a shop where we revise, repair and modify electric motors, reduction cases etc etc.
Aside from general industrial electrical work we also do automation.
I use Loctite SF7200 a lot for removing gaskets on older engines. Especially these that come from Arcelor Mittal (our main customer) they are often killed by overheating, heat fucks up the grease they put in these, dries out the seals and ruins the insulation of the coils. Some of their motor-axles aren’t grounded either, fucks with the bearings too.
That SF7200 is great, just spray it on, leave it for 10mins and it will rub off like nothing.
We also use Loctite 641 for glueing bearings in place. Some 648 as well.
243 is the standard on all fasteners. 263 is also used but on rarer occasions.
All mechanics have a side tray on their cart filled with an entire collection of these bottles 😂 aside from seal remover, WD40, brake cleaner and ballistol. A tube of SKF bearing grease is in everyone’s bottom drawer as well 👀
hi! awesome video, which is the standard on your channel and thats an understatement. You are greatly inspiring to many including myself and such a pleasant and lovely human to learn from. Just a quick note for everyone regarding pickling acids, the one you use, sparex no2, is not harmless by far but also not end of the world toxic. it consists of sodium sulfate and bisulfate, making it corrosive as hell, just like you said, but the ones you *really* wanna be careful with are the ones based on HF or fluoride salts. While some accounts of HF tox. are sensationalized and not based in fact, this stuff most definitely is nothing to play around with and it absolutely cannot be stored in glass, the real proper way being expensive PTFE bottles.
I used Anchorlube yesterday when making sizeable bores on 1018 steel. It makes vapors, not smoke. Soon, within an hour of using it, I noticed that all parts of my lathe near the work were turning brown. My chuck, jaws, the 1018 workpiece, the ways...ALL the metal was turning brown. I cleaned it with 1500 emory, WD-40, Scothbright, and managed to scrub away most of stain. I then finished the job using both Tap Magic, and the new THICK Tap Magic. They smoke like crazy, but I've never had a staining problem with them before. This morning all the parts are stained again after just sitting over night...after being cleaned. It is a uniformly distributed brown surface film on all surfaces, and only a vapor deposition can do that. So...one of these cutting lubes is fuming and or smoking and messing up my lathe. HAVE YOU SEEN SIMILAR PROBLEMS???
My favorites are Starrett M1 as a penetrating oil and glue solvent, and Corrosion X as an assembly aid. The latter works really well for electronic circuit cards that might get wet (which is any outdoor gear here in the pacific northwest :) I was told that soluble oil was the stuff for most cutting and turning, but I mostly use RapidTap or motor oil.. For Copper; oddly Whole milk seems to work best.
Acetone and automatic transmission fluid is a great penetration fluid. I think it’s similar to Kroil.
Project Farm did a bunch of videos on penetrating oils. Kroil actually didn't actually perform that well. Liquid wrench I think was the best for the money.
@@hairyfro ....Yep, Kroil was towards the bottom of the test. Figure in the absurd cost of the stuff and the manufacturer should face some kind of charges. I have a $25 can of the stuff sitting in my shop, constantly reminding me of the money I have spent over the years looking for the "magic penetrating goop". Yes, Project Farm found Liquid Wrench to be the most effective and one of the cheapest per ounce. For this I am eternally grateful. Btw, acetone mixed with ATF (my fathers old go-to) didn't test well and was found mostly useless.
@@paulcopeland9035 no, the acetone / atf, was second best, behind liquid wrench.
Another great video from Blondihacks👍, thanks for sharing your knowledge.