Gunsmithing Reamer pressure flush lubricant?

[Wannashootit]

Finally have a game plan to set up a pressure flush on my South Bend (jeezus it takes waaay to long to do this otherwise)...I tried a search as I'm sure this has been asked a gazillion times here but can't turn up anything (guess the search function still sucks like it used to).

The system is going to be primarily used for reaming operations, but I'm going to set up a nozzle on the cross-slide to use for occasional other operations as needed.

To the question- synthetic, or dark cutting (Viper's, Ridgid, etc) oil? Lubricity is paramount, coolant properties way down on the list as removing heat isn't really relevant on this machine at the feeds and speeds I usually run.

I already have a Grizzly reservoir/pump system, and I have concerns about it being able to generate the pressures needed if a heavy cutting oil is used vs. a lighter viscosity synthetic- so synthetic would probably be the better way to go if it's the best way. If dark oil is preferred for these ops, then I'll hook up a higher pressure pump to the reservoir instead of using the built-in one.

Suggestions?

 

[Gene Poole]

I've not tried cutting oil so I can't give an objective comparison, but I am pretty happy with my coolant setup. I built the coolant system first from a carbonator pump, a five-gallon bucket, 10 or 12 feet of vinyl tubing and a loc-line mag-base nozzle. I had to replace the spring in the bypass for the carbonator pump to keep the pressure down. Those suckers put out about 250 psi if you let them. I've throttled mine down to about 30 psi which works fine.

I don't know about lubricity; I mainly like the chip flush. I've seen videos of smiths doing an entire chamber in one plunge, but that scares me. I peck at it about 50-100 thou at a time and let the coolant flush any chips when I back out. I'll stop completely a few times during the chambering just to check out the state of things, but the reamer always comes out as clean as the day it was new.

I use HOCUT 795MP-RHS coolant mixed with water to the manufacturers recommendation. Good stuff.



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[300sniper]

Water based coolants have a lot of maintenance involved, especially with machines that sit more than are used. I’m not sure there are any advantages of a water based coolant for chambering barrels on a manual lathe. Rigid Dark works so good just applying it with a wash bottle, I think I’d stick with that and cut it ATF to get a viscosity that will flow better.

 

[Mordamer]

I run water based coolant on a regular basis for other cutting operations. Would water based coolant result in lower reamer life if I just ran that through from the muzzle as pictured above? Would it result in a lower quality chamber?

 

[Gene Poole]

I run water based coolant on a regular basis for other cutting operations. Would water based coolant result in lower reamer life if I just ran that through from the muzzle as pictured above? Would it result in a lower quality chamber?

I find that they come out looking much better with flood coolant v. clean and re-lube every 50 thou. Perhaps this has something to do with my technique (maybe letting too many chips pack in) or some other variable I haven't accounted for.

Here is a picture midway through the chambering with the coolant flush. Just blew off the coolant and snapped the photo:

 

[molonlave]

Gene Poole ,
I'm very interested in your setup. Would you share some details on setting up the carbonator pump. Specifically how to decrease the psi to the proper level.
Thanks,
Ari

 

[Killswitch Engage]

on my personal set up, I run 50/50 dark sulphur and atf in my system. I built it from oil transfer pump and a 20gal metal drum. on most barrels where I have plenty of length I simply drill and tap the muzzle for 1/4 npt and simply screw my coupler right into the barrel. it handles pressure better especially on smaller bore like .224 or .243. works fantastic and I can ream a chamber without prebore in 10min if I want.

 

[Gene Poole]

I can take some picture but it might have to wait until spring . It's been single digit temperature here in St. Louis and my coolant has frozen. I've been searching google and this seems to be a common occurrence in shops that sit for days unheated and is apparently not a problem for the chemistry of the coolant (once it thaws).

Essentially, there are two acorn nuts on the body of the pump. The larger one that points downward (see picture above) contains a screen which keeps debris out of the pump internals (good idea to check it for chips that might make it past the screen in my chip pan drain). The second, once removed, exposes a set-screw that adjusts the pressure. If you remove the set-screw, there is a hefty spring behind it. I replaced it with a lighter spring from an assortment pack I bought at an auto parts store, or a hardware store; can't recall which.

Found this in an image search:

 

[molonlave]

Great! Thanks for info. I'm looking forward to trying this.

 

[Gene Poole]

Keep an eye on eBay, etc. I got mine for $50 shipped.