Lathe maintenance

[Jamie Copeland]

Hi folks

I've just bought my first lathe; a union graduate. I was wondering what kind of general maintenance you guys do (if anything) to keep yours in good working order. Do you grease or oil any of the moving parts, for example?

I'm also considering giving it a good clean and maybe, just maybe, a wee coat of paint. Do you's have any tips or pointers? good or bad.

Cheers

Jamie

 

[paulm]

Looks in pretty good nick Jamie I would just use a grease gun on any grease nipples you can see, it may not have any if the bearings are sealed for life ones, otherwise just crack on and enjoy it

Cheers, Paul

 

[Jamie Copeland]

everything appears to be encased. It was wondering if anyone greased their moving parts to keep them from getting tight, but I suppose frequent use is as good as anything.

 

[SimonT]

I usually wire wool and oil the bed along with the tool rest and any other moving parts. I would recommend this after turning green wood particularly

 

[graduate_owner]

Hi,
My graduate has two greasing points, one on either side of the headstock so 1 for each bearing. When I had the lathe I thought it was a bit noisy but since greasing it has quietened down and runs nicely. If you need an operator's handbook then try this link.

http://www.lkctraining.co.uk/S7-WoodLat ... ndbook.pdf

and if necessary select

Union - LKC training Ltd.

The handbook says to grease daily but it also says do not overgrease. The original greasing method involves turning a cap full of grease but on mine the caps were missing. I replaced them with grease nipples so I can't tell how much grease is being used.
K

 

[Jamie Copeland]

That's really helpful.

Thanks!

 

[Jamie Copeland]

Hi,
My graduate has two greasing points, one on either side of the headstock so 1 for each bearing. When I had the lathe I thought it was a bit noisy but since greasing it has quietened down and runs nicely. If you need an operator's handbook then try this link.

http://www.lkctraining.co.uk/S7-WoodLat ... ndbook.pdf

and if necessary select

Union - LKC training Ltd.

The handbook says to grease daily but it also says do not overgrease. The original greasing method involves turning a cap full of grease but on mine the caps were missing. I replaced them with grease nipples so I can't tell how much grease is being used.
K

What kind of grease do you use?

 

[chipmunk]

Just a quick FYI.

I definitely wouldn't use oil on a woodturning lathe bed as finishing any quality wooden items will be very tricky if they get contaminated with oil.

Use wax polish instead. I use Renaissance wax as that's my finish of choice and was developed for preservation of metal parts.
HTH
Jon

 

[SimonT]

Just a quick FYI.

I definitely wouldn't use oil on a woodturning lathe bed as finishing any quality wooden items will be very tricky if they get contaminated with oil.

Use wax polish instead. I use Renaissance wax as that's my finish of choice and was developed for preservation of metal parts.
HTH
Jon

good point jon.
However i oil my bed regularly and have never had issues yet, i use oil with wire wool and wipe off the excess with tissue. As for moving parts i spray with wd40. To be honest once you've started turning anything which you have used oil/wd40 will be covering in shavings and very unlikely be able to contaminate your work.

Wax will work just the same an although less likely to be transfered across will surely also prevent a good finish if contamination occurs?

Ive not had a problem this way so far but will give the wax method a go when next cleaning up my lathe, as a point of interest do you do the same thing for moving parts?

Thanks

 

[chipmunk]

Hi Simon,
Sorry I missed your questions.

You may be right if you're careful to remove the excess oil with tissue and/or shavings. It's just that wood is a naturally absorbent material and will soak up just about anything and the lathe bed is a handy place to stand anything you're making ;-)

Because wax dries and is slick, there's nothing really to contaminate the wood. For oil to do it's job I think that there really needs to be a film of it left behind? I have an old Myford metalworking lathe and it's always got an oil film over every surface but it's not rusty!

I think WD40 is a pretty poor lubricant - more a penetrating oil and water displacement (WD) spray.

I must admit that most of the moving parts on my wood lathe are sealed for life (bearings) or slide on the bedways which have wax polish on them. My old Reeves drive lathe used to be greased but that was inside the headstock where there was no chance of cross-contamination. I haven't done this but the camlocks underneath the banjo and tailstock could be greased as again there's little chance of it getting into contact with the turning.

Silicone and finishes are a real no-no as contamination with that is worse than oil IMHO - it can prevent finishes sticking. So, I'm always a bit surprised with the silicone sprays for lathe beds you see to buy as wonder-products. I'll stick to wax.

HTH
Jon

 

[graduate_owner]

I think the grease I used was a lithium based one - just what I happened to have in the shed at the time. I think though that if it's good enough for tractors and diggers then it ought to be good enough for the lathe. I am happy to stand corrected and accept advice from other readers if this is the wrong type.

K