Newbie- What lubes & Grease for my 1955 Bridgeport?...

[winegar]

Hey there guys... about to fire up my BP that i picked up this last week... This does not have the oil unit on the side of the knee... It has grease fitting there and the other side... as well as the saddle.... oil ports everywhere else.... what grease and oils should I be looking for?

Thanks a bunch, Kelly

[winegar]

Also, what is the best way to clean the table?.... I saw a video of someone using what looked to be a sharpening stone on one... then oiled it when he was done... But i'm not sure....... It has 3-4 drill marks on it as well and would like to fill them , what would i use for something like that?... thanks again guys, Kelly

[jmelson]

Originally Posted by winegar Hey there guys... about to fire up my BP that i picked up this last week... This does not have the oil unit on the side of the knee... It has grease fitting there and the other side... as well as the saddle.... oil ports everywhere else.... what grease and oils should I be looking for? Thanks a bunch, Kelly

You need to modify a cheapie grease gun to pump way oil into the Zerk fittings.
Basically, take one of the 8 Oz "mini" grease guns and remove the plunger,
spring and piston. Solder a disc over the hole in the cartridge container.
Fill the container with ISO VG-68 way oil, and screw the gun onto the
container. Invert the gun so the container is up, give a couple pumps and
then place it on the Zerk fittings and pump until oil leaks out of the ways.
Store the gun with the container down to avoid leaks.

The oldest machines (mine is a 1938) didn't have two lube fittings for each
X way, and the oil doesn't make it to the left end if you don't pump a HUGE
amount of oil in. I added 2 more fittings on the left side of the saddle to fill
the oil path from the other end.

You need a different oil for the spindle, something specifically designed for
machine tool ball bearings. I use SAE 10, but there are probably better
oils.

Jon

[jmelson]

Originally Posted by winegar Also, what is the best way to clean the table?.... I saw a video of someone using what looked to be a sharpening stone on one... then oiled it when he was done... But i'm not sure....... It has 3-4 drill marks on it as well and would like to fill them , what would i use for something like that?... thanks again guys, Kelly

Some people sweep off dings and ridges with an India stone, very hard, won't remove anything but a high spot. My table was way too far gone when I got it for this treatment, so I don't bother.

As long as there aren't any big ridges, I wouldn't worry about a few mars. I do most of my
work on a vise, and otherwise on a fixture plate with rows to tapped holes, so I just don't
worry over the table.

Jon