I currently have a BMW R75 with a leaking sump while my 1969 Triumph is bone dry ( yes there is oil in it).
As long as something comes out, something is in.
I believe you, I know it from the R50/5 (the only "rubber cow" I know of whose exhaust manifolds did not turn blue).
Back in the 50- 60's when the first motorways opened near Manchester, people took their 'old bangers' for a 'ton' and promptly, destroyed their engines. Weren't made for 9,000rpm +.As long as something comes out, something is in.
I believe you, I know it from the R50/5 (the only "rubber cow" I know of whose exhaust manifolds did not turn blue).
My Guzzis also let out about a drop a day - so I know everything is ok.
The joke about English drivers used to be at the petrol station: check the petrol, fill up the oil.
In my younger years on bigger trips with the mates, it was the Guzzis that had nothing (ok, one belt driven alternator in France on an 850 [before T3], could be replaced 1:1 with an R4 alternator from the scrap), the English drivers were always dirty, but came home on their own wheels ...
... Only the Harleys came home in a Ford Transit.
Carsten
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Just as well that the roads were empty as they wandered a lot. Steering not being so positive back then. In Germany however I believe you had fast roads and cars to match?
Good thing I watch snooker and therefore know that a "ton" stands for one hundred - so in this case probably 100mph / 5 x 8 = 160kph.
Well that took a good while:
), I've actually read and heard a wide range in terms of the amount of drops per unit of time, ranging from two drops per hour to one drop every 30 seconds. 
Or, is it??? 
I use hydraulic oil. Mannol ISO 32 (10ltr) same as Colchester gearbox. Drip rate depends on load, which is a very ambigous answer I know. I go by temperature (feel) and aim for a rate of < 1 drop min to minimise usage. Also the drip rate increase as oil heats up, so self regulating? It won't self destruct through short time oil starvation. White metal bearings are very resiliant I've found.About the Myford and its drip oilers:
After I had first got my gummed up drip oilers working again with Ballistol, I finally filled them with normal non-resinous sewing machine oil.
And lo and behold, what worked with the very thin Ballistol, suddenly didn't work with the sewing machine oil anymore.
I then cleaned the damn things again thoroughly with carburettor cleaner -
- but without taking them apart, it seemed to me that this would be a one-way street, no way back.
Since then it has been dripping again and for the first time I have the impression that I can influence the rate in a more or less linear way.
View attachment 325046
After the many slightly or even very different oilers I have seen in the meantime, I am inclined to think that I still have originals.... right?
Now, over the time I've been into this topic (not exactly ages, as you very well know
I am aware that the oil supply to the main bearings is highly dependent on the load of the task at hand, so that there can't be just one simple fixed answer to this question,
but I find such a wide range absurd ....
What is your knowledge and experience on this topic????
As you can see in the picture above, I'm missing one of the two star-shaped lock nuts, which is why this oiler tends to move. Do you have any idea where I could get one of these?
Thank you very much for your input,
good night
Carsten
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I had my drip oilers in hand with the intention of disassembling them for cleaning.
I don't want to buy oilers: Mine seem to be original, work quite well for now and look acceptable - and see * above.
Forgotten: Thanks for the tip,
we buy a lot of Mannol products, including hydraulic oil in the 20-litre plastic drums for the excavator.
I had my drip oilers in hand with the intention of disassembling them for cleaning.
After close inspection, I found no way in which the application of more force was guaranteed to result in a reversible condition.
This risk was too great for me, so I left them assembled and did what I could through the available openings.
It depends on what oilers you have.
One of the critical points: There is a lot of talk about cork seals and I shy away from that because of past experience.
However, I have seen pictures of disassembled drip oilers for the Myford that looked reassemblable to me without any problems.
As with a doctor or lawyer: it depends ....
In addition, many people say: If you have original drip oilers that still work to some extent, take care of them; the Chinese ones you can buy are no good either * ...
I don't want to buy oilers: Mine seem to be original, work quite well for now and look acceptable - and see * above.
What I want to get is a star nut like the one pictured, and the lathe is of relatively little help here, as I could only turn the ring.
I can't get the star even remotely acceptable looking with a file, the part is also chrome plated and with the small thread - I'm guessing something in BSF - I would have to buy a matching tap and this means with us: either delivery time and pay the surcharge at the dealer for BSF or order in the UK and wait there for delivery and pay the surcharge when importing.... and that's just the tap, no star yet, no chrome yet ...
So I'd rather try to find the star nut somewhere and then take on the delivery time and penalty fee ... But where can I get something like that?
All a good start into the new week
Carsten
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Wow, they look very old, nice!To earlier posts.
Oiler chuck bearing
Oiler gear cluster end. Originals I believe.
Maybe you have always used the right oil?!?
(Yes, wishful thinking, I know, and damn expensive ...)
Leaps and bounds, leaps and bounds!Wow, they look very old, nice!
How old is your machine, what does the SNR say?
Maybe you have always used the right oil?!?
And the machine never stood still for a long time after you had saved it?!?
The previous owner of my machine didn't have a clue about lubrication, he had pressed grease into all the oil nipples - it was a lot of pumping to displace that with oil ....
Who knows what he put in the drip oilers? And with that, it had been standing for 15-20 years, so something can gum up.
I want a gearbox like yours!
Over the last two days I learned what it means to change wheels five times for one small piece of work ....
... before THIS parcel arrived I didn't have even had all the necessary gears ....
A fortnight ago, I made myself a mount for an M10 post in order to be able to take a crappy Chinese QCTP.
But even with lots of Loctite_green, the rod didn't stay in place, and the thread didn't start very straight.
View attachment 325126
Now with the ability to cut threads on almost anything, I made myself the improved version.
View attachment 325128
Still not aesthetically pleasing, but that will come, first function!
View attachment 325129
A particular difficulty was that I don't have a proper thread chisel, only an insert holder for an equilateral triangle, which gave me the required 60° but not the right depth. In the end I had to use a normal tap to finish off M10, but this went well.
I chose the method of setting the top slide to half the thread flank angle, i.e. 30°, so that I can feed finer than would be possible with the cross support.
View attachment 325133
Stainless, check.
Knurling, check.
Thanks all
Carsten
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Main thing is to think it through and not follow blindly, lots of people with different opinions. I've seen a very experinced Yutuber and professional machinist putting his finger into the end of revolving tube to use grit paper, Someone I know lost end of finger doing that. I use a piece of wood or similar. As an apprentice I was taught to use the file backwards with handle towards the rear and under the work piece. If it hit chuck jaws the tang end wasn't driven into your chest. Hacksawing lefthanded also, banned from using parting tools.
I was curious to do a test bar on the ML7. Too much chatter, Turned out to be excess play in the chuck bearing, It's one that has been messed around with (by me) a lot. Did attempt to build the bearing up with soft solder way back and nearly melted the whole thing.
Just realised after studying the pic your threading angle appears to be wrong. Should be 60 degs on dial - 1/2deg So 60.5 not 30. I thought it didn't look steep enough. The thread profile of 60 deg is 30 deg either side of the cross feed which is at 90 deg to the bed. So it's 60 and 120 degree sides relative to bed. Of course the topslide gradient marks are relative to the bed. Which corresponds to 60 and 120deg. Tool ground to less than 60deg with leading edge set to profile. I've confused myself a number of times writing this. Hopefully not gaffed.Leaps and bounds, leaps and bounds!
Small lathes are more likely to stall before injury occurs, but eyesight is quite impotant too me.
You're really motoring now. ......Like the tool holder! The beauty of those is you set tool angle easily. On mine on the Colchester it is fixed at 90deg and has to have the holding nut slackened to angle tool. But much larger and more expensive.
Was very disappointed this morning.......
They are normal cast in situ using dams. Bit more than a rainy day to do that though.
So I did a test on the Colchester instead and got 0.04 mm over ~400mm, so that has shifted as well.
I need to slacken head bolts, slight tap with mallet and retighten. It's caused by bad parting operations, stalling the motor and shearing the blade.
Yes the gearbox.....couldn't be doing with change gears, life's too short.
It's only imperial, but can approximate metric. Ther's one compound gear that is flipped round to change from threading to fine feeds. Takes 5 secs.
Never checked SNR I'll have a look.ave a look.
BTW on purist pont (not one I rigidly follow) The cross-slide is set to slightly less than the 1/2 thread angle 1/2 deg. Think it's to ensure it cleans the trailing edge. So 29.5 and 27 or some such
re-edited again arrgh!
