Degreasing of new machinery, how serious do you do it?

Newton

Newton

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have received the message that my Lathe is produced and is now done.
It would be shipped in mid February so I'm preparing my self for the big
day :)
When I received my CNC I pretty much dismounted A LOT of gear to get
all the "peanut butter" of the machine in every corner and I was just wondering
how serious I should be on the lathe?
Taking it to pieces is doable and I might ending up doing just that, but
I guess this might be "shooting birds with a hand cannon" ?
Last time I used a special de-greaser which was so strong that if
you're hands got exposed - they turned white due to the total loss of
humidity in my hands. I do however plan to use carosine (or how it's spelled)
this time.
Any advice on the topic would be highly appreciated.

Kent
 
Newton said:
I have received the message that my Lathe is produced and is now done.
It would be shipped in mid February so I'm preparing my self for the big
day :)
When I received my CNC I pretty much dismounted A LOT of gear to get
all the "peanut butter" of the machine in every corner and I was just wondering
how serious I should be on the lathe?
Taking it to pieces is doable and I might ending up doing just that, but
I guess this might be "shooting birds with a hand cannon" ?
Last time I used a special de-greaser which was so strong that if
you're hands got exposed - they turned white due to the total loss of
humidity in my hands. I do however plan to use carosine (or how it's spelled)
this time.
Any advice on the topic would be highly appreciated.

Kent
Click to expand...

As far as I'm concerned the initial clean up is the most important step as far as getting long life out of a machine tool especially if it is an Asian lathe. The stuff they use is not a lubricant as such and just gums up and puts a horrible drag on every thing. I never took my Head apart on my lathe but you must make sure all of the bearings and drive rods and gears are completely cleaned and re-lubed. When I got my mill drill I took it completely apart and cleaned. I could tell you all of the problems I incurred with my first new lathe because of not cleaning good enough but I don't have the time nor space. By the way it's Kerosene.

Dick
 
Last edited:
Often just using general lube oil will disolve the packing oil and not damage any of the ruber components as well.
Make sure you clean where you can before moving any of the ways.
A good clean before use, does 2 things, gets the M/C clean and you learn about what you have.
Good luck,

Neil Lickfold
 
Thank you for you're feedback.

As usual I'm not moving ANY thing on the machine before it's cleaned.
I was at a local shop to check out the machine and the reseller had one on
display which was not cleaned at all. Everything was clogged up where the
movement was heavy.

If I clean up the bed and the lead screws, do I need to dismount the carriage?
The reason for asking is because I then need to dismount the scales for the
DROs which I'm not very keen on doing...

I would update my "New small tool for my shop" thread when this arrives
with photos so you could hopefully join when I pack it out and potentially
give me some tips if you like.:smile:

I have received a photo from the factory of the finished machine all wrapped
up and "greased" with the gaga, but the photo was most likely done with a
cell phone - not very clear - so I'm not putting that up here.

Thank's again.
Kent
 
It would be my work horse for years to come, so I would do as much as possible to make it correct the first time.
I'm kind of anal about my tools and would like to keep them top shape and clean,
but I guess the manufacturers do not make a machine to have the customer
taking it apart again on arrival just because it it's covered with gaga to keep
the rust away during transport?
It would be a joy to clean it up, lubricate it and for sure take my time on the
process. I guess I have to wait and see how severe the gaga is sprayed over
the machine and make a judgement from there.

The chuck is covered with a brown paper which I guess is not covered by
gaga. Possibly just oiled and covered with the paper to keep the dust away
like other tools?
This was the case on for instance the tailstock chuck we receive at work..

Kent
 
Cleaning Machinery

The machine is sprayed with rust inhibitor AFTER it is assembled. I see no point in disassembling a machine to clean imagined preservative off surfaces that are concealed. You will probably create more problems than by just leaving well enough alone. Clean off the preservative on the machined surfaces and the handles, etc. Clean the inside of the headstock so that the preservative does not get flung over the belts (or you), clean off the painted surfaces that got hit with overspray. Lube the machine per the instruction manual and start making sawdust. You will probably need to take the chuck apart to clean it. I have found that lacquer thinner dissolves the cosmoline best.
 
That "peanut butter" / "gaga" stuff is cosmoline. If you google "cosmoline cleaning" you will get a lot of hits with much good information on methods and materials.

I'm on the 'clean it very well' side. The stuff seems to age poorly and gets tougher and more difficult the longer it sits. I'm speaking of years rather than days or months, but any uncleaned areas could cause more problems down the road as it gets tougher.

Good luck with your new machine.

Dave
 
DaveK said:
That "peanut butter" / "gaga" stuff is cosmoline. If you google "cosmoline cleaning" you will get a lot of hits with much good information on methods and materials.

I'm on the 'clean it very well' side. The stuff seems to age poorly and gets tougher and more difficult the longer it sits. I'm speaking of years rather than days or months, but any uncleaned areas could cause more problems down the road as it gets tougher.

Good luck with your new machine.

Dave
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tip about the gaga name.I would Google it
ASAP.
I have now read the manual for the Grizzly G0509G just to check what these boys say.They have a nice manual archive.
They say (page 17) that "Remove this protective coating with a solvent cleaner or Citrus-based degreaser such as Grizzly's G7895 citrus degreaser. To clean thoroughly,SOME PARTS MUST BE REMOVED" ....

We'll I guess I have to see how this looks when it arrives.
Kent
 
Newton said:
Thanks for the tip about the gaga name.I would Google it
ASAP.
I have now read the manual for the Grizzly G0509G just to check what these boys say.They have a nice manual archive.
They say (page 17) that "Remove this protective coating with a solvent cleaner or Citrus-based degreaser such as Grizzly's G7895 citrus degreaser. To clean thoroughly,SOME PARTS MUST BE REMOVED" ....

We'll I guess I have to see how this looks when it arrives.
Kent
Click to expand...

When I received a new Enco lathe in 1991 we set it up and then I took some rags with kerosene and cleaned the lathe down I thought pretty well. Before I started the lathe the first time I cranked the carriage the length of the bed and the on/off rod that runs through the carriage on my lathe wasn't clean enough, got in a bind and pulled and destroyed the on off forward/reverse switch. Later, the drive rod for the feed put enough pressure on a gear that it ate it's way completely through the saddle. Later again, one of the bearings in the gear train on the rear of the head was gummy internally so it dragged causing severe adverse wear on the back gears so that they needed replaced along with the drive gears in the head. Other things also occurred but I don't recall at the moment as it's been nearly 20 years. These problems were completely my fault as I never cleaned the machine with the care needed. I must say that Enco replaced all of the parts free of charge even though it was not their fault that this happened.

Dick
 
Dick,
Sounds like you had a really bad experience.
However, if you had problems with internal gears getting worn out, I simply don't see how this could be you're problem....
Did it happend due to bad lubrication?
Also,did the feed rod problem occure due to binding in the half nut activation of the carrige?
Thanks for the feedback.I would for sure clean the carrige area well.
I would however for sure leave the gearbox internals by it self.Rappid oil changes is however something I would do.
Kent
 
Newton said:
Dick,
Sounds like you had a really bad experience.
However, if you had problems with internal gears getting worn out, I simply don't see how this could be you're problem....
Did it happend due to bad lubrication?
Also,did the feed rod problem occure due to binding in the half nut activation of the carrige?
Thanks for the feedback.I would for sure clean the carrige area well.
I would however for sure leave the gearbox internals by it self.Rappid oil changes is however something I would do.
Kent
Click to expand...

It wasn't my threading bar that caused the problem but the feed bar for normal cutting. It is a smooth round bar that has a slot running it's length that a gear rides on in the carriage. This gear, when engaged, feeds the carriage along the rails. The threading system, with the half nut, should only be used when cutting threads so as not to wear. The bearing in the back gear was almost seized up from this gunk. That put a severe strain on all of the gear train and once the case hardening on the gears is penetrated, they wear quickly. Ordering and having to wait on parts for a new toy is maddening. After the first year of down time this lathe has served me very well.

Dick
 
rhncue said:
It wasn't my threading bar that caused the problem but the feed bar for normal cutting. It is a smooth round bar that has a slot running it's length that a gear rides on in the carriage. This gear, when engaged, feeds the carriage along the rails. The threading system, with the half nut, should only be used when cutting threads so as not to wear. The bearing in the back gear was almost seized up from this gunk. That put a severe strain on all of the gear train and once the case hardening on the gears is penetrated, they wear quickly. Ordering and having to wait on parts for a new toy is maddening. After the first year of down time this lathe has served me very well.

Dick
Click to expand...

OK, I understand what you mean.
I did reply from my iPhone - last post - so it was a little hard to get the overview.
My wish is that I at the end get a machine which would serve me for years as well,
and you're feedback is highly appreciated. Just got back to my laptop and
would do that Google search mentioned earlier.
Thanks

Kent
 
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