mcostello
Member
Did not want to hijack another thread so started this one. It was mentioned not to use suflurized cutting oil on Aluminum. Never heard of this before. What say ye?
Non sulfurized cutting oil on Aluminum?
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maverick
Well-Known Member
Sulfurized cutting oil can stain some metals, brass and Alum. included. There may also be some more serious reaction like deterioration or corrosion if not cleaned well, especially in tapped holes where the oil could be trapped by a fastener. It will also stain vises and mill tables if left on the surface too long. Thats the bad side. On the good side, 1018
and other gummy steels cut much better with it. It's cheap and easy to clean off, and gets used frequently in my shop.
Maverick
and other gummy steels cut much better with it. It's cheap and easy to clean off, and gets used frequently in my shop.
Maverick
One of the better odorless cutting fluids for aluminum is WD40. You can buy it in an aerosol can with a small attached "hollow straw" to direct it onto your work. All of us with a lathe downstairs and a wife upstairs have had to come to terms with finding an odorless cutting fluid.
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It works great, but if you have a lathe downstairs and a wife upstairs, you're going to catch Hell!!! It STINKS!!!
Use detergent for manual dishwashing with some water and ethanol added. It works fine for aluminium, provides lots of cooling and proper lubrication... and easy waste disposal without any problems as it isn't special waste. Plus lovely scent 
I would be very cautious about using any water based cutting fluid because of rust.
Tin Falcon
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Brian: there is nothing wrong with using water soluble oils. they do require some common sense management. imho in a home environment flood coolant is probably not the best choice. it can get messy and stinky if things are allowed to grow int it.
Properly mixed and used for manual application or a mist system I do not see a problem.
flood systems are more prone to problems due to evaporation. you come in to the shop after things have sat for days and add water to the tank. Unless the concentration is tested and adjusted. thing can get rusty. I ran a cnc lathe with flood coolant for almost a year. at the end of the day the ways were wiped down. on Fridays the machine was cleaned and oiled. I worked in several shops and never used a refractometer to check coolant . This is the proper method of adjusting and checking concentration of coolants etc. but never actually saw i done .
Mix a spray bottle of WS oil and the recommended amount of water use it clean up when done and rust should not be a problem.
Tin
Properly mixed and used for manual application or a mist system I do not see a problem.
flood systems are more prone to problems due to evaporation. you come in to the shop after things have sat for days and add water to the tank. Unless the concentration is tested and adjusted. thing can get rusty. I ran a cnc lathe with flood coolant for almost a year. at the end of the day the ways were wiped down. on Fridays the machine was cleaned and oiled. I worked in several shops and never used a refractometer to check coolant . This is the proper method of adjusting and checking concentration of coolants etc. but never actually saw i done .
Mix a spray bottle of WS oil and the recommended amount of water use it clean up when done and rust should not be a problem.
Tin
