The quill lube should be quite light. I think we use a vactra 32. Or
any light hydralic type oil will do. You may have to flush out the thick
stuff with some WD or varasol and then replace with the lighter oil and
work the spindle up and down for 10-15min. If the mill is used daily it
should be oiled daily

Brent Muller wrote:
I was wondering if some of you could enlighten me on the proper
lubrication of a Bridgeport-style quill. We have a Acra knee mill
that has always had something of a tight quill. I don't believe
that there is any interference, I think it's just very tightly
toleranced. The reason I say that is that when you wipe off the
oil from the quill, it loosens up immediately. We recently added
some oil to the quill, but, not having any lube specifically
for it, we added some that we had lying around. I don't recall
what it was; in fact, I don't even know if it was labelled. I was
simply given it for that task. Now the quill is even worse. Even
more frustrating, the quill does the "stick-slip" dance when you
are trying to move it smoothly. You can imagine how frustrating
that is when drilling with small drills or power-tapping. Is the
oil special? Should we use a lighter viscosity oil for this quill?
I would be interested in knowing what makes way lube suitable
for ways also.
Thanks,
Brent.


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James P Crombie

Summerside Machinist
Prince Edward Island Amateur Astronomer
Canada 3D Designer

E-mail
Astronomy webpage http://www.jamescrombie.com
Rhinoceros 3D webpage http://www.jamescrombie.com/rhino/
Mirror Grinder page http://www.jamescrombie.com/pics/
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I was wondering if some of you could enlighten me on the proper
lubrication of a Bridgeport-style quill. We have a Acra knee mill
that has always had something of a tight quill. I don't believe
that there is any interference, I think it's just very tightly
toleranced. The reason I say that is that when you wipe off the
oil from the quill, it loosens up immediately. We recently added
some oil to the quill, but, not having any lube specifically
for it, we added some that we had lying around. I don't recall
what it was; in fact, I don't even know if it was labelled. I was
simply given it for that task. Now the quill is even worse. Even
more frustrating, the quill does the "stick-slip" dance when you
are trying to move it smoothly. You can imagine how frustrating
that is when drilling with small drills or power-tapping. Is the
oil special? Should we use a lighter viscosity oil for this quill?
I would be interested in knowing what makes way lube suitable
for ways also.
Thanks,
Brent.