After pricing coolant systems for my lathe, I simply don't have several hundred dollars to blow on such a thing. Also, I wanted to include my floor standing Delta drill press in the cooling system, so my hole saws last longer. I cut enough thick-wall tubing and header plates that I go through hole saws very quickly, even turning them at 150 RPM. Cooling/cutting fluid is the answer, so I decided to build a simple coolant tank, pumping system with valves so I can select between the drill press and the old Clausing lathe I recently acquired.

Here is the insides:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/yard/...t/IM001762.JPG

And the outsides:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/yard/...t/IM001763.JPG


And the entire buildup text with pictures:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/yard-lathe-coolant.html

 

Simple and elegant- I like it! I use a spray mist unit myself, left over from when I had my own shop, but they are pretty pricey, and don't recycle the coolant. As you already know, coolant does wonders for tool life and production rates. Thanks for sharing!

 

Frederic you build the neatest stuff!

Does your drill press table have the collection pans and grooves?

Chore girl copper pads make decent filters cheap for the big stuff.

Your "coolant" will stay warm in that "cooler" so watch for bacterial growth.

 

Yes, it sure does. That was one of the purchase criteria when I bought it a few years back. It also has 5/8 or 3/4" t-slots on the table, which I will be mounting a big X-Y table once I figure out how to mount it so that the fluid drains off into the drill press table, and not on the floor (the X-Y table is much larger than the drill press table).

Cool. I was thinking of copying the screen "pod" that sticks into the lathe's drain hole, but maybe shoving a copper pad into the drill press hole (3/4") will be good enough. While the lathe makes tons of tiny chards, the drill press generally makes long spirals since I keep my drill bits razor sharp.

Yeah, though I haven't decided what to use as coolant/cutting fluid. With the drill press I've been using used, but filtered ATF as a coolant/cutting fluid for years, but I haven't had the courage to dump a gallon of it into the plastic coleman cooler tank just yet. Not sure if it will eat the plastic tank, or the plastic pump. I may buy some "official" coolant.

I also have to acquire (or make) the rest of the plumbing to drill press and lathe as well as install nozzles. I was hunting through google trying to find cheap magnetic mount coolant nozzles for both machines.