Lathe Coolant system or Cutting Fluid, What do I need

Ray C said:
They come in all kinds of configurations. Most of the systems run off typical shop compressed air. If you look at that thread I referred you to, I showed some links to misters that cost about 10 bucks. I run mine at 40-50 PSI and the air-flow is so low, I'd say I have leaks in other fittings in the system that waste more air than my mister does. FWIW, I use Kool-Mist branded solution. Comes in 8 oz bottles. Mix 1 cap to a quart of water. A quart last me several days to a week of heavy lathe use.

These are my personal thoughts/opinions/practices. Your mileage may vary and I highly encourage you to experiment. Like I said, the only thing I really encourage is that you stop using oil lest you damage your health.

Regards

Ray C.
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Any limitations on what material you can use the coolant on? I have seen some soluble mixes that are meant for specific materials, or some have said not for titanium. Just wondering if it will work on everything, or if you have to have other formulas if you change materials.
 
Ray just wondering where the coolant drains to (if at all) and do you reuse it?
 
@Investigator: I use the Kool-Mist 77 solution on everything. At one time, I did try the stainless-steel specific stuff but honestly saw no difference. I also ran out and just used water for a couple days and that worked fine too. -Not recommended though.

@Tozguy: It's not reused and no drains are needed. My lathe sits in a tray and I have a cookie sheet underneath the front part near the chuck. Once you find-out how low you can set this to for your given application, you will probably only use about 1-2 ounces of working fluid in an hour of cutting. Sometimes I use those blue bed-sheet absorbent pads (used in hospitals for people prone to pissing themselves) on the front part of the ways if I'm doing extended work. Been using the same one for about 3 months now. You gotta be careful that it does not get snagged by spinning swarf and slap you in the face. I use little magnets to hold it down.

Regards

Ray C.
 
Regarding the Kool-Mist solution. Here's the summary from, and a link to the MSDS. https://archive.org/stream/KoolMist77MSDS2013/Kool Mist Formula 77_djvu.txt


Ray

Non-hazardous when ingested. May cause mild irritation to the gastro-intestinal (Gl) tract if
excessive quantities are ingested.

Excessive inhalation of product mist may cause mild irritation.

Essentially non-irritating to the skin. Prolonged exposure to undiluted product may cause mild
irritation and dryness.

Mist may cause mild eye irritation in sensitive individuals.

In sensitive individuals certain medical conditions may be aggravated by prolonged exposure,
including dry skin and/or dermatitis, and pre-existing chronic upper respiratory diseases such as
bronchitis, emphysema and asthma.
 
This is interesting. I was originally planning to use the normal cutting oils on my lathe, but this has me thinking I should consider trying the mist setup and reserve the oil for tapping and such. I understand how the evaporative and flood cooling would work, does the solution contain something to help ease the cutting forces like oils do? The marketing claims it does that and has rust prevention additives. I'm wondering how it compares to other users here though.

I like the idea of avoiding unnecessary exposure to chemicals. I was planning to just increase ventilation when running the lathe, and will anyway to some degree, but not getting more stuff into the air is even better.
 
Industrial Dermatitis , I know two tradesmen that had to give up their trades. One a machinist, the other a millwright/heavy duty mechanic. It was tough to see his hands cracked and bleeding. That's oil for you.

It's been 30 years since my pre-app days, we studied this, but some water soluble ones do have lubricating properties. For the lathe I have a Little Giant pump, a square pail and mag-base nozzle, my even use it.

I don't have dust extraction system for my little Delta Toolmaker, so I'll be putting a mister on it.
 
ttabbal said:
This is interesting. I was originally planning to use the normal cutting oils on my lathe, but this has me thinking I should consider trying the mist setup and reserve the oil for tapping and such. I understand how the evaporative and flood cooling would work, does the solution contain something to help ease the cutting forces like oils do? The marketing claims it does that and has rust prevention additives. I'm wondering how it compares to other users here though.

I like the idea of avoiding unnecessary exposure to chemicals. I was planning to just increase ventilation when running the lathe, and will anyway to some degree, but not getting more stuff into the air is even better.
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Once again, there's a difference between oils/lubricants and cutting fluids. Oils do not reduce cutting forces. Only cutting fluids do. When it comes to oil/lubricant, the only kind that serves as a cutting fluid is high-sulfur cutting oil or what's called bar & chain oil. Lubricating oil and hydraulic specifically have as much sulfur removed from them as possible. If you regularly use cutting oil and get it on your ways, the sulfur will eventually make dark stains that cannot be removed w/o very abrasive sanding.

Oils and lubricants can be helpful when cutting on a lathe but not because it's acting as a cutting agent but, because, it's acting as a friction reducer which prevents the junctions from chattering. You could use water or spit if you wanted to.

When you mix flood coolants it's usually something like 8 oz's of stock solution to a gallon of water. Kool-mist is something like 32 or 48: 1 (1oz stock solution and 31 or 47oz of water). When you feel it, it feels just like water. It's not slippery at all. The ingredients are mainly there to act as algae and rust inhibitors. The other main ingredient (Triethanolamine) is used in sun-screen, hand lotion and is an emulsifier so it will get along with your way's lubricating oil.

Hope that helps...

Ray C.
 
I think there was a mist tank setup in the stuff I got with the lathe. I'll check and see.
 
I've had a coolmist77 set up on my milling machine for many years with no problems. I piped air to it though an old hospital regulator and keep the psi low, less than 10 psi to keep too much mist from forming. It lasts a long time! I put a blue paper shop towel in line of the mist to absorb excess. The chips are cool and are pushed away from the cut but don't fly away to far with the low pressure, cleanup is easy. I haven't had any rust problems either! My 2 cents, Steve.
 
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