Routine maintenance on lathe and DP?

[angboy]

What kinds of routine maintenance or checking up on do people do with their lathes and drill presses? When I asked a question before about a DP, I know some people wrote about doing certain kinds of routine things every month, but I don't remember what. So are there guidelines (maybe written out in the form of "how to do it for dummies") that people follow for doing all the things one needs to do to be sure your tools last as long as possible? Thanks!

 

[rtjw]

I dont do anything really special for them each month. I just check for any anomaly's and anything that is out of the ordinary. I try to take one day a month to really clean everything and use some wd 40 on all the moving parts.

 

[wayneis]

I don't know if comes out to once every month but a few things that I do with my tools is general cleaning and oiling mainly. My DP is a VS Delta so it does need to be oiled but I can tell when it needs it, it will vibrate just a touch. My bandsaw gets all the dust and shavings blown away with my air comperssor. Ridgid I believe suggests that both top and bottom get blown clean. Once in a while I also use a bearing lube on the guide bearings. Tablesaw gets about the same treatment, vacumed first then air compressor then lube job. What you probable remember is some of us talking about the VS Delta DP needing oiling.

Wayne

 

[Rifleman1776]

After reading Wayne's routine, I should be embarrassed. Basically, I don't do anything but use them. When shavings get knee-deep I do a shop clean-up. But, for band saw and drill press, I found that they can get out of square with routine use. I do check that occasionally. Better to check than ruin a project.

 

[woodwish]

Maybe this is just a bigger problem here in the humid Gulf Coast area but in addition to cleaning, oiling, checking squareness, etc. we also have to wax all the tables at least once per month. During the summer I do it weekly (first thing every Saturday morning) but during the "dry" months of winter I do it maybe monthly. If I have been turning anything green I wax the lathe ways more often. I also NEVER leave any chips or sawdust sitting on anything cast iron. I use a good quality automobile wax although several companies sell special products for this.

 

[jwoodwright]

I knew better and I forgot and almost bought a new motor.[:I]

Don't forget to blow the sawdust out of the motor... That cooling fan on the TEFC (totally enclosed fan cooled) Motor will suck up copious amounts of dust combined with the lube and what a mess.

Of course a regular waxing with Johnson's Paste wax keeps everything sliding well and prevents rust...

 

[Easysport]

Rust, Whats that?? Don't see much of that stuff in Arizona. []