Elliot Omnimill 00 Ways Lube Check

[Colin H]

After some more extensive use of the mill, all the ways seemed a bit dry and some slop seen. I slid out the tapered gib for x axis and was caked in crud so pretty sure has been greased.

In true style I got carried away and stripped the table off to look.

Both lube holes (which have to push oil uphill!) were blocked solid with grease.

Not blaming anyone though as even manual doesn’t tell you which are grease and which are oil specifically.

So as suspected there is very little wear as I can see machine marks on x axis and scrape marks on saddle so pretty good.

Shiny on ends of saddle with table weight as expected.



I use an oil can for my machines but don’t think it has the pressure to push oil up to x axis way and into cross feed nut and bottom saddle hole at same time. May modify this but will see.

I will probably change the one grease nipple to a proper nipple so I remember which is which.

 

[Smouser]

Always grease pumped into the oil nipples.

Even on my J&S 540 Surface Grinder

 

[Colin H]

Always grease pumped into the oil nipples.

Even on my J&S 540 Surface Grinder

Yup my surface grinder is running black moly grease from last owner

Although I’ve pumped oil into grease nipples for vertical head as it had same nipples!

Think I need higher pressure oil gun

 

[Agroshield]

On a Beaver mill, they have a red plastic washer under all the oil nipples and a yellow plastic washer under the grease nipples. That gives you a visual clue about what goes in there, especially if you put the same colour zip tie on the gun.

 

[RichardM]

I use one of the larger Teclamit pump action grease guns for oil, allows greater pressure to get the oil into fittings.
This sort of thing with the nozzle converted.

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Grease Gun Brand Tecalemit 13" long GB 2166 patent | Vehicle Parts & Accessories, Garage Equipment & Tools, Workshop Equipment & Supplies | eBay!

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[Colin H]

On a Beaver mill, they have a red plastic washer under all the oil nipples and a yellow plastic washer under the grease nipples. That gives you a visual clue about what goes in there, especially if you put the same colour zip tie on the gun.

That's a great idea. I know what they are now but on 3 months (or days) that information will be overwritten in the memory banks.

I use one of the larger Teclamit pump action grease guns for oil, allows greater pressure to get the oil into fittings.
This sort of thing with the nozzle converted.

Grease Gun Brand Tecalemit 13" long GB 2166 patent | eBay

Grease Gun Brand Tecalemit 13" long GB 2166 patent | Vehicle Parts & Accessories, Garage Equipment & Tools, Workshop Equipment & Supplies | eBay!

www.ebay.ie

Thanks for the idea, I was thinking of maybe converting a mini great gun I have also with a sealed tube to pump oil.

So today's mission after work will be to clean ways, a quick pass with scraper on the saddle x axis ways to mottle them. Check gibs are true and give them a mottle also.

I am very tempted to drill a different oil route for x axis but will see how it goes once clean and leadscew installed. The leadscrew nut is fed from same oil hole so without screw in place it can't push oil up gallery to x axis

 

[Colin H]

Cleaned all the remaining oil
Galleries and found one hidden that needed drill bit in pin chuck to clear!

Then used my oil can to try and pump oil and turns out the pressure relief inside means nothing flows. No wonder it’s been feeling rough as no oil getting anywhere and grease from previous owner rubbed off.

I will order high pressure oiler.

I finished cleaning saddle X axis ways and the scrapes are more oil pockets. When stoned there are some very wide contact points so will put some half moons all over for now to improve slide of table.



Not that it should stick really as the table ways are milled and can still see the tool marks

One day this may get a light rebuild but for now it’s get it back together before I do something I regret and have another non running machine!

It really is in damn good condition as I bought it expecting a project.

I will finish breaking up top of ways later and get this thing back together so I can continue the grinder rebuild.

Must be a side project rule or something as gets me every time

News Years Day, I will be mostly milling dovetails

 

[Martin Hocking]

Looks in great nick colin. Compared to mine yours is showroom condition!

Unless you’ve taken a lot stuff off Beatrice must have tidied up the saddle on the later omnimils quite significantly. My early one has a myriad of pipes that feed more or less everything in the saddle from one nipple on the front.

Mine was full of grease too I blasted it with mrs martins steam cleaner. I changed too what I’d call an oil nipple which is apparently called a concave grease nipple to hopefully prevent anymore grease going in.

I bought an oil gun from the same place I got the nipples from (the nipple shop) because as you’ve said it takes some doing to get the oil where it belongs but I’d buy the bigger version if I was to buy one again.

 

[Colin H]

I got the mill back together. I couldn’t help myself and put straight edge on ways to see how worn they were and was very little in flatness. I then only scraped higher wide spots then stopped myself.

Gibs on both axis are not flat on faces so I scraped a little to improve then put together to be addressed another day.

Thrust bearings on handwheels full of crud and now back together, is tight and smooth.

My kind of New Year’s Eve, disco lights and all.

 

[Colin H]

Looks in great nick colin. Compared to mine yours is showroom condition!

Unless you’ve taken a lot stuff off Beatrice must have tidied up the saddle on the later omnimils quite significantly. My early one has a myriad of pipes that feed more or less everything in the saddle from one nipple on the front.

Mine was full of grease too I blasted it with mrs martins steam cleaner. I changed too what I’d call an oil nipple which is apparently called a concave grease nipple to hopefully prevent anymore grease going in.

I bought an oil gun from the same place I got the nipples from (the nipple shop) because as you’ve said it takes some doing to get the oil where it belongs but I’d buy the bigger version if I was to buy one again.

Cheers Martin, yes upon stripping it’s even better than I thought!

The saddle is as I received and it seems they did tidy them up. Only pipe is grease pipe to worm gear so I have now changed that to grease nipple so I remember in future (All the others are depressed oil type, including the grease nipples).

The only thing that needs some decent attention for now is the gibs. I will do those after I finish the Clarkson grinder.

X axis gib needs flattening a little and seems to be riding under table also. Being tapered gibs these need much more thought than I can give them at present

Y axis seems to have pushed the support bracket below it down and isn’t riding on entire surface.

Be nice to finish though and have a complete machine at last