Cutting Lubricant or Oil.

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Not getting hooked up on what to use.
I was just wondering what people use.

Oh yes neighbour is a "Mr Richard Cranium" Thinks as he works in a machine shop he is a expert on it all.

I use Rocal for new threads and a solid grease type for drilling.

In this case I was just cleaning up old threads be fore I reused them.
But I do love the responses and the way every one passes on uses full information.

I did used to have a old ex WD of soluble oil it was fantastic until it ran out.

 

[Bill Edwards]

Regardless of preference, from reading this I can't imagine what could possibly cause anybody to cut a thread DRY

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Wouldn't a wire brush [on a bench grinder if need be] clean them sufficiently for re-use?

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

@slim boy fat
Yes, I would normally do that.
But 2 things stopped me.
1 I was not at my workshop with it.
2 I was not at my workshop with it.

It so important to mention I felt I should mention it twice.

 

[brightspark]

I wouldn't get too hung up on what to use. As long as it's wet it will help stop your tool snapping..

 

[Spark plug]

Even when there is no lubricant to hand a bit spit is better than nothing.

 

[Spark plug]

is that the red rocol chlorine free ??it stinks if it is . the old brown pastes the best . I thin it with white spirit to apply small amounts for drilling and tapping out of a squirty bottle

That's the stuff but I like the smell, I've got a tin of the paste some ware too.

 

[tinman123]

i wouldnt cut a thread dry for if you do you tear a thread out rather than cut it imo.

i use rocol (paste) and trefolex here as well for cutting threads, i use soluble oil neat in a little plastic paint jar with a tapered top and an acid brush for machining work and id use coolant on the saw and mag drill.
if i was milling stock i use a mister on the mill.
one thing is for sure, i dont work any steel normally without some kind of lube be it oil or mist.

 

[Pete.]

Regardless of preference, from reading this I can't imagine what could possibly cause anybody to cut a thread DRY

Cast iron
Plastic

 

[brightspark]

Cast iron
Plastic

brass

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

I used to use paffine on brass, when it was available.

 

[WorkshopChris]

Yes paraffine on brass also have used for aluminium. Its another one of those products that's getting harder to find these days.

 

[norlander]

not heard of paffine or paraffine, but you can still get modern paraffin for the Japanese type inverter paraffin heaters, like this
http://www.dry-it-out.com/Paraffin-Extra-Tozane-4-by-4-Litre, should be enuf to last you, or split it tween mates. Good for heavy duty degreasing as well, but I don't want to digressing into degreasing

 

[langy]

cutting new threads without lubrication isn't doing your dies any favours it will be harder to cut give a rough thread and wear your die out quicker . just cleaning up stuff already threaded I just do it dry just wire brush it up 1st .proper cutting compound is better than oil but oil is better than nothing . trefolex or rocol is the best

Spot on brightspark, its not called cutting oil for no good reason !!!

 

[Bill Edwards]

Cast iron
Plastic

Haha OK, but I wasn't talking about different materials where the requirements are different, but where people should use lubricant and don't.

 

[brightspark]

when I started work I got the job of threading all the conduit on a school . 20 and 25mm just using oil it was hard work so I extended one of the bars on the dies to make the leverage easier I now use the proper stuff and its noticeably easier I also dab some on my hacksaw blades for cutting steel

 

[langy]

when I started work I got the job of threading all the conduit on a school . 20 and 25mm just using oil it was hard work so I extended one of the bars on the dies to make the leverage easier I now use the proper stuff and its noticeably easier I also dab some on my hacksaw blades for cutting steel

And drilling, holesaws last longer in fact any cutting edges life is extended enormously

 

[the artfull-codger]

For general use drilling tapping hacksawing thread cutting etc on most steels I allways use rocol, if i'm machining alluminium [cast or extruded] I allways use trend wax, it's supplied in a tube, it's better & cleaner than rocol & trefolex, it's used all the time in the alloy fabricating industry.

 

[scott0031]

Just for information cutting oils are as good as it gets. Compounds are more made that way so it doesn't run off the job and maintains lubrication where its needed at point of contact, more for manually orientated operations. Go google 'multi spindle turning or lathes' or multi spindle wickman' (many other variants out there) l These lathe's are designed to produce hundreds of thousands of parts which they do normally on neat cutting oils no matter the material using flood coolant. These machines can produce huge quantities or parts and threads with very little tool wear. I use neat cutting oils on production machines and know from first hand experience the full pros and cons. Its not uncommon even on my simple single spindle machines to do several hundred/ thousand stainless parts using HSS/Cobalt tooling with no regrinds during the run.

 

[WorkshopChris]

As an alternative to Rocol i use CT90 for tapping and drilling its very effective but much cleaner to work with.