Printed from Kezuriba (kezuriba.net/en/maintenance/milling/lubrication/)

Lubrication of a manual milling machine

Where to lubricate, oil types and viscosity (ISO VG), and replacement guidelines. For intervals, oil types, tightening torques, and tolerances, your machine's instruction manual comes first. The values here are examples from published materials (instruction manuals of overseas small turret mills, an inspection report from one domestic maker, and so on) and differ by model. Adjust gibs and the spindle head only with the spindle and feeds stopped and the power off

⛽Lubrication points and oils

Location	Machine	Oil (example)	Interval guideline
Automatic lubricator for sliding surfaces	Vertical	Oil specified for the modelEtsuki warns that with too little oil, gibs and sliding surfaces wear faster and accuracy cannot be maintained (appendix of the MHLW manual)	Adjust the discharge to a sufficient amount^[5](1 source, for reference)
Oil cups on the spindle head (spindle bearings, etc.)	Turret type	Baileigh: 10W machine oil	Baileigh fills them once a day. The Washington State teaching text says "regularly; amount and frequency per the instruction manual"^[1][3]
Quill gears	Turret type	As specified in the instruction manual	Daily^[1](1 source, for reference)
Vertical bevel gear of the spindle head, feed screws of the table, saddle, and knee	Turret type	As specified in the instruction manual (#2 tube grease for the knee elevating screw)	Weekly^[1](1 source, for reference)
Outer taper of the R8 collet, entrance of the spindle taper, drawbar thread and seat/washer	Turret type	A thin coat of anti-seizeDo not apply it inside the collet or on the tool shank (keep them dry and clean). On the spindle taper, about 1 inch (about 25 mm) from the entrance is enough. Do not apply so much that it spreads inside the collet (recommendation based on Tormach's tests)	When installing a tool^[6](1 source, for reference)
Ways and feed screws of the table, saddle, and knee (one-shot lubricator)	Common	Oil specified for the model. Baileigh puts 10W machine oil in the lubricator tankPiping from the lubricator feeds the ways of the table, saddle, and knee at once with one stroke (Baileigh). Hardinge (Bridgeport) explains that it also meters oil to the feed screws	Baileigh pulls it once every hour of operation. The Washington State teaching text says once at the start of the day (once more for heavy work). See also the table in the checklist^[1][2][3][4]
Vise screw and ways	Common	As specified by the vise maker	Periodically^[3](1 source, for reference)

🛢Oil types and how to choose

Way oil (oil for sliding surfaces)Mobil way oils recommend ISO VG 32 and 68 for horizontal ways on small and medium machines, and VG 150 and 220 for large machines and for vertical or inclined ways: Lowers friction on the ways and prevents the repeated sticking and slipping (stick-slip) when starting to move at low speed. The ways of the knee and column are vertical, so "tackiness", which keeps the oil from running off and the oil film from breaking, matters (ENEOS). Follow the model's specification for the actual brand and viscosity^[7][8]
10W machine oil (Baileigh's specification)Equivalent to SAE 10W (as stated in the instruction manual): Example from Baileigh's turret mill instruction manual, for the spindle head oil cups and the one-shot lubricator tank. Specifications differ by model, so your own instruction manual takes priority^[1](1 source, for reference)
Anti-seize compound: Makes the collet's outer surface and the drawbar thread and seat slide better, and converts the drawbar's tightening force into the collet's gripping force. Tightened dry, the drawbar seat and washer galled quickly (Tormach's tests)^[6](1 source, for reference)
Water-soluble cutting fluidDilution examples: Baileigh uses 1 part concentrate to 10 parts water (the company's recommended product is 20 to 1). The University of California, Riverside uses 5% concentrate: Cooling, lubrication, and chip evacuation. After use, wipe the cutting fluid off the machine and dry it (same university)^[1][4]

📚Sources

Items without a mark are those on which two or more materials from different publishers agree. Values and intervals are governed by each machine's specifications. The text is summarized in Kezuriba's own words.