04-14-2012, 03:38 AM
Ed,
Just to answer your query about swarf sticking to gears.
Because I haven't used open gears for many years, I had forgotten completely about that problem, but when I used to use my old Myford ML2, which did have open gears, I never found it a problem, as chips never seemed to go towards that direction.
Mayhem,
I am no super expert on lubrication, but in my years of maintenance work, properties of lubricants was always in the back of my mind, just in case there was no literature for the given gearbox. Almost all factories that I went into had a drum of thin hydraulic oil (even though no hydraulics were used in the place), and a drum of a thick Hypoid type gear oil. These two items would cover most gearboxes in use, and could get you out of the crap when nothing else was available, usually in the middle of the night.
You said that the ISO 32 was very thin, which might seem odd for gearbox lubrication, but when you look at the oil's properties, and where it will be used, it becomes a little clearer.
The main property of an hydraulic fluid is it's ability to resist compression (in theory, you can't compress a liquid, but it practice it does happen).
Now look at your geared head lathe.
Some splash lubrication is required, so a thin oil is required to achieve that. A thicker oil would be used in a sump where no splash lubrication is needed, it is transferred by the gears themselves, say as in an automobile gearbox or differential.
Then the properties of the oil comes into effect, sitting between the teeth of the gears, it cannot be compressed, so metal to metal contact shouldn't occur, but in practice it does, but only a tiny bit.
A very simple breakdown as to what is required, but it seems that your ISO 32 is spot on for the job.
John
Just to answer your query about swarf sticking to gears.
Because I haven't used open gears for many years, I had forgotten completely about that problem, but when I used to use my old Myford ML2, which did have open gears, I never found it a problem, as chips never seemed to go towards that direction.
Mayhem,
I am no super expert on lubrication, but in my years of maintenance work, properties of lubricants was always in the back of my mind, just in case there was no literature for the given gearbox. Almost all factories that I went into had a drum of thin hydraulic oil (even though no hydraulics were used in the place), and a drum of a thick Hypoid type gear oil. These two items would cover most gearboxes in use, and could get you out of the crap when nothing else was available, usually in the middle of the night.
You said that the ISO 32 was very thin, which might seem odd for gearbox lubrication, but when you look at the oil's properties, and where it will be used, it becomes a little clearer.
The main property of an hydraulic fluid is it's ability to resist compression (in theory, you can't compress a liquid, but it practice it does happen).
Now look at your geared head lathe.
Some splash lubrication is required, so a thin oil is required to achieve that. A thicker oil would be used in a sump where no splash lubrication is needed, it is transferred by the gears themselves, say as in an automobile gearbox or differential.
Then the properties of the oil comes into effect, sitting between the teeth of the gears, it cannot be compressed, so metal to metal contact shouldn't occur, but in practice it does, but only a tiny bit.
A very simple breakdown as to what is required, but it seems that your ISO 32 is spot on for the job.
John