Lathe Maintenance

[hornet406]

Hi all. I have a Rikon 70-100 VS and I was wondering if there is any type of periodic maintenance that needs to be done. The owners manual just says to keep it clean and the bed lubricated.

What do i lubricate with? I was told not to use oil or WD-40 because it attracts dust and will gum up the tailstock and sled.

Are the bearings sealed? I have a 2 piece live center in the tailstock. Will it hurt to oil it?

Thanks for any comments. New to turning. Just hate the thought of having a tool damaged when there could be something I could do to prevent it.

 

[Justturnin]

The only thing I do is wax the bed every once in a while. I use Minwax Furniture Wax on all my cast iron. If CA gets on it it will pop right off.

 

[Ed McDonnell]

I have a can of bowling alley wax that come from somewhere. I've been using it for the last 20 years to wax my saws and lathes. In nevada you won't have to battle the rust like I do close to the ocean down south, but I also find the wax helps the tailstock glide across the ways. I also wax my tool rests to get smooth tool movement.

WD40 evaporates, so I don't see how that would gum things up. Whenever I'm been drilling on the lathe and using water as a coolant I will hose things down with WD40 (after cleaning up with rags) when I shut down for the day. No problems to report.

Whether the bearings are sealed or not, I would not try to lubricate them unless specifically instructed to do so in the manual.

Ed

 

[frank123]

I have a can of bowling alley wax that come from somewhere. I've been using it for the last 20 years to wax my saws and lathes. In nevada you won't have to battle the rust like I do close to the ocean down south, but I also find the wax helps the tailstock glide across the ways. I also wax my tool rests to get smooth tool movement.

WD40 evaporates, so I don't see how that would gum things up. Whenever I'm been drilling on the lathe and using water as a coolant I will hose things down with WD40 (after cleaning up with rags) when I shut down for the day. No problems to report.

Whether the bearings are sealed or not, I would not try to lubricate them unless specifically instructed to do so in the manual.

Ed

WD-40 should be great for displacing water after using it on the lathe since water displacement and rust prevention is what it was originally meant to be used for.

The History of WD-40 - What Does WD-40 Mean?

I wouldn't use it for lubricating anything moving at high speed such as a bearing though (but the ones on the lathe and the center should be sealed anyway).

 

[longbeard]

I clean the ways with acetone, then wd-40. Same with the tail stock and banjo.
Been doing that for over a year now. I dont do anything to the bearings, they are sealed.

 

[ren-lathe]

Periodically check the belt for wear and stretch. when cleaning dont forget to do the tapers in the head and tail stock. blow out the motor now and again to get the dust out. If you turn much green wood make sure you wipe down the ways after turning many woods are high in tannic acid will cause the ways to rust quickly.