"Stupendous Man" wrote in message
...
This whole subject needs a good venting here. Over the years I've seen an
endless stream of misconceptions about coolants and lubricants, and, of
course, we have a wide range of hobbyists and commercial shops
represented here, using many different types and vintages of machines.
Most of us hobbyists, running 60-year-old toolroom-type lathes and HSS
tools, have no business running coolant of any kind. We should be using
cutting oils, not soluble oils or synthetics. And, except for people
using better production machines of more recent vintage, few of us run
carbide at its limits, either, and have little or no need for coolants.
Coolants come into


OK, educate me. I am using a series one Bridgeport mill and a 70s Graziano
lathe. I mostly use carbide indexable cutting tools, but some solid
carbide and HSS mills. What lubricants (available in California) would be
best for steel and titanium? I am with happy with kerosene for aluminum ,
and cut magnesium dry.

You'll generally get better performance in steel by using a mineral-based
cutting oil or a vegetable oil than a water-soluble oil. Sulfur is a nice
touch, especially if you're inclined toward high feedrates. It stinks,
however.

Blaser makes some of each. Check them out. As for titanium, I'd give Blaser
a call. There are several other suppliers, some a lot cheaper than Blaser.

I generally keep my speeds and feeds to the low side to reduce tool costs,
and avoid blue chips. Should I let the work get really hot, and then have
to figure shrinkage into the final dimension?

Only if you're doing production work. Chances are you don't have enough
spindle speed to get hot chips while leaving the work cool; if you did, you
wouldn't be asking these questions. g That game starts at around 2,000
sfm. (600 m/min.)

So you're stuck with hot chips and possibly a hot workpiece if you go fast.
But if you're going slowly enough to avoid blue chips, how much is your
workpiece really heating up, anyway?

--
Ed Huntress