Vent: Old timer changed my mind about running tools dry

Guy named Ray at the shop last Tuesday swore I was wrecking my spindle by not using the right lube on a new aluminum job. He said I was burning through bearings in six months instead of three years. You guys have a specific routine for coolant mixes on smaller parts?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_simon11d agoMost Upvoted

Hang on, check your air lines too. A buddy of mine was convinced it was the lube but his real problem was water getting into the spindle through a cracked air line seal. Fixed that and his bearings started lasting way longer.

keith_rivera1910d ago

You ever see a guy chase a problem for weeks and it ends up being something stupid simple? My buddy was about to swap out his whole spindle before he noticed a hairline crack in his air line fitting letting moisture creep in. Dried everything out, swapped the fitting, and his bearing noise vanished overnight.

cole99410d ago

Yeah, what @the_simon said about the air lines is something I've seen before too... water in the spindle is a sneaky one. Did you check if your coolant mix is actually staying consistent through the whole job? I run 7% semi-synthetic on aluminum and it works good for me, but if it's thin parts the heat can build up fast if the flow ain't right.