Lubricants for vintage lathe

Open gear grease is probably the best: they're thick and sticky so they don't run off. They're formulated for open gears on machinery like rock crushers so, more than
adequate for our lathes. I have a tube of Jet Lube OG-H which I bought from Grainger.
 
Izzy you say vintage lathe? you do know people of this day vintage is a two year old car. Vintage to me is something older than me and I'm 70. So ask my 100 yr old lathe, and it says oil what ever ya got. Open
change gears squirt 90-140 gear oil while its running - ways and everything else #30 or what ever I
have. Its only a machine, and who had a harder life than a Model T. They dumped everything from
from french fry oils to paraffin, butter oil, fish oils, whatever and they ran and ran. My model T, I
run Valvoline racing oil 20-50 lots of zink for flat tappets and Babbitt. When in doubt just use any
hydraulic oil or ATF because its use is for high precision as in hydraulics. Excuse me, but I never
got the two sliding steel or cast, what ever sliding surfaces needing special oils. Can even spit on
it and it will slide. I wrote this long time ago on this forum; only new vehicle I bought in my life
was a 1975 Ford F250 OK it said If I do not use Ford 300 oil my warranty is dead? LOGIC; Ford
does not produce oil, they buy of vendors and put their name on it. Use approved South Bend
oils thats crap they buy from the lowest oil bid. So its like South Bend oil is run of the mill
Mobil Atlantic or who knows. don't believe this, fine, my pre war machines work every day..
with off the shelf oils . and they will run long after I am gone, I hope (My sons)
 
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