Proper Way Oil: Vacuoline 1409

dlane said:
I read some ware lately that way oil in the home shop is a bad idea, it is made for industrial machines with much better wipers that run 24-7 , he stated that it is too sticky and small chips / debris stay on the ways and get under the wipers . He said detergent motor oil is best for home shop way oil.
I think it was on fretts or something similar, can't seem to find it at the moment but made sense to me.
Edit: it's on Google , the article is from Robert bastow, I searched home shop way oil it was first
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I read his posts and understood his concern, but I disagree with his premise and results. Way oil is appropriate for all ways, not just for million dollar machines that have very efficient systems to prevent chips from landing on ways. It was used in the heyday of industrial production on countless South Bends, Leblonds, Americans, etc. and remains appropriate for similar machines.
I absolutely agree with him that best practice in the home shop would be to wipe the ways clean each time a lathe is prepared. However, I want the sticky, tacky way oil that forces the sliding parts to float on a layer of lube and I don't want any particulates suspended as they would be in a detergent type oil.


Steve Shannon
 
higgite said:
If Vactra #2 was good to go yesterday, it's still good to go toda
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Everyone is comparing it to Vactra #2, what about Vactra #4? Does anyone use the #4? I thought #4 was thicker/heavier wt. than #2, is this correct? If it is, than wouldn't that help it stay put better than #2? Thanks, JR49
 
When I first became aware of way oil (yeah we all start out all inocent) i got a mettal 1litre tin of mobile vectra 2 ebay seller decants from bigger bottles, i go with the mantra of "don't be shy with the oil" so when it ran out I saw some way oil in a 1gal oil bottle, it's got more of the string efect that people talk about, not quite chain saw but definetly much tackier. The vectra 2 always just seemed thick.

It's always dificult to know what ur buying unless it's off a reputable oil distributor.

Ow to throw the preverbial to the chickins, any oils better than no oil ;)

Stuart
 
If your oil is not tacky enough, add STP to your oil! That stuff will make any oil tackier.

I use Chevron way oil in my shop. It's not Mobil Vactra 2, but does okay. I think I got better wear resistance from ISO 46 than from way oil. An yes, I wipe the ways down and oil every time the lathe gets used. I also wipe down the ways when done too.
And one thing I've notice, I coated the ways on a lathe I have in storage. It don't stay long enough to prevent rust! Applied ISO 46 oil to the bare metal surfaces, so far, so good.
 
Don't forget that way oil is also marketed as stopping stick/slip between sliding surfaces, supposedly giving a better finish to the work. Well, Vactra #2 is. Not sure about the others...
 
And any old worn out hobby machinist with their old worn out machines and old worn out oil is better than....

CHuck the grumpy old guy
 
I recently picked up a bottle of this myself, from this vendor, so I'll throw in my 2¢:

The bottle is just a 'generic liquid bottle', presumably filled from a bulk container, and labeled with a printed adhesive label - so the contents are 'on the honor' of the vendor.

I was skimped a few ounces (based on a volumetric calculation of the cylindrical container), and while not the end of the world, at their price-per-ounce (shipped), I'm not thrilled about it.

I haven't used it yet, and being an extreme novice I wouldn't know what I was looking at anyway to judge, so I'm of no help in that regard.

Lastly, and somewhat unrelated, prior to purchasing the Vactra #1409, I spent way too much money on a bottle of "South Bend Way Oil For Lathes", only discovering after some research that it was generic oil (Primrose Oil Company #185) rebranded by Grizzly under "South Bend". Again, I can't speak to it's quality, but if it follows with what I've experienced from Grizzly so far, you're probably better off setting fire to $20 and wetting your ways with bar lube...
 
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