Lube on the way

[kewlkiwi]

Hi all.
What do people use to lubricate the 'ways' on their machines?

Ways are the rails the head moves on, usually 1 'left to right' one with the 3rd mirror and focusing head, and two
'front to back' ones at the side.

I get occasional juddering, usually after a job is almost done - which thus gets stuffed and leads to a temperature rise (i.e. mine!)

'Tried light machine oil, but that's obviously not the right lube to use. Should it be a grease of some sort, a "Way oil" as used on machine tools, or what?

Thanks, Bob

[SkipW]

Hi Bob,

I use a thin lithium based grease that has the consistency of butter. I use it on my cnc router rail bearings and on my laser rail bearings. It's made by CRC Industries, STA-Lube brand name, part # SL3310.

It's difficult to grease my laser bearings though. Not sure what type of grease fittings those have on them but there isn't enough room to get a regular grease gun fitting onto them, if it would even fit. I had to unscrew them and use a needle point grease gun end pushed up tight to the hole where the fitting was removed. That's the only way I could get any lube in them.

HTH,
Skip

[SkipW]

I should also mention the just oiling the rails/ways won't do much good because if your bearings are like mine, they have rubber way wipers on both ends that fit tight to the rail and act like a squeegee (is that spelled right?) to keep crud from getting inside the bearings. Putting the lube inside the bearing is the way to go.

Skip

[kewlkiwi]

Thanks Skip.

Can't see any lube nipples on the rails (unlike the bearings at the back) so guess I'll have to smear some on and hope it gets where it's needed!

Bob

[SkipW]

Sorry Bob, I guess mine must be different than yours. Here's what mine looks like.

Skip

[kewlkiwi]

Skip, your pic shows a rail and slider assembly that looks exactly like mine.

Had another look at it and, now that you've 'pointed' the way, what I thought was just another nut actually has a hole in it.

As you say, it's not a standard grease nipple, too small - but removing the outer 'head' of the grease gun, leaving just the needle, should work fine as long as it doesn't slip off. (Would make a right mess if it did while injecting grease)

So thanks muchly, you've solved my problem!

Bob

[SkipW]

Glad I could help, Bob.

I had to actually remove that small grease nipple (they are threaded in), then use a needle fitting on my grease gun and stick it in the nipple hole. That's the only way I could get them greased.

Lube 'er up !!

Skip