Sometimes circumstances conspire to lead you in directions that you might not be ready to travel, but will eventually be a good move for you. For years, I have been saying I was going to shoot some YouTube videos, and never took the first step. I’m sure my friends and kids were tired of hearing me “plan” my Hollywood debut. Well, last night I took the plunge and christened the bluechipmachineshop channel.
South Bend Lathe A B C Oils
Most machine tool manufacturers have very specific performance standards for the care and feeding of their products to insure accuracy and long service life. In the South Bend Lathe publication; “How to Run a Lathe”, which is considered by many people to be the last word on the care and operation of the South Bend lathe, the use of “A, B and C Oils” were recommended. These are lubricants that fall into specific viscosity ranges, or have particular qualities. Judging by the amount of “survivor” South Bends on the market today, the recommended oils were more than adequate. In researching the current types of lubricants that have been developed in the last century, I found out that the oils originally called for in “the Bible” are still available, and in fact very competative in terms of performance.
I’ll be discussing only the Mobil line of lubricants, as that is what I have chosen to sell in the BlueChipStore. I chose them for availablity, quality, and cost. My reasoning was that buyers would want an ample supply of a time tested product at a fair price. Mobil lubricants fit the bill.
Here is the PDF file of the South Bend Lathe Chart #6503: Lubrication Chart (courtesy of Jim B. at the South Bend Lathe Group on Yahoo). This will answer many questions about the lubrication point on the SBL lathe. Download all three pages with one click on the TITLE HEADER, or the picture above.
Please have a look at the 
and let BlueChipMachineShop.com provide your special maintenance and tool needs..
A buddy of mine had a chance to get a real good price on some spindle oil, and was looking for the equivalent viscosity for Mobil Velocity #6 (my preference). It took me a while to find this file in my archive, and thought it might be of interest to other guys, so I’m posting it here, for easier access. Hope it helps.
Please have a look at the and let BlueChipMachineShop.com provide your special maintenance and tool needs..
I ran across this a while back, and had instance to use it today; it has some very nice plain explanations of machine maintenance. The page on replacing the collet screw came in very handy while working on Dave’s mill. One page told the whole story. Download this file, and keep it by your mill.
bridgeport-ops-maintenance-manual
Please have a look at the and let BlueChipMachineShop.com provide your special maintenance and tool needs..
1 Pint of Each Oil
$ 14.00
Spindle/Way Lubricant
$ 8.75
Heavy Way Oil
$ 8.75
SBL A, B and C Oils
$ 30.00
