Flex shaft lubrication

One and all,

In the "old" CNC forum, there were a number of threads concerning how often and what type of lubrication to use in making sure that the flex shaft stays healthy. I seem to remember someone saying something about a product from Crane. Can anyone help me out with this?

Thank you in advance!

is chain lube with moly. It comes from Gunk and I get it at O'Reailly Auto Parts. Sorry I don't know anything about the Crane product.

this is the Crane Cam lube with molly: Crane 99002-1. http://www.jegs.com/i/Crane/270/99002-1/10002/-1

This is just a web site that I found it on. If you have an automotive machine shop close by you might check with them. They might not have it in stock but might be able to order it for you.

Jason and FW,

Thank you gentlemen for your quick replies.

It WAS the lube with moly from Crane. Thanks for jogging my memory. And no, my local auto parts store did not have it in stock when I initially stopped by, so I ordered it directly from Crane.

Thanks again for the reminder.

If anyone else needs help with flex shaft lubrication, please ask. There were/are all sorts of schools of thought on how or why to do this. I'm sure I'm not the only one with questions and or some answers.

Tell me why - I was in the middle of a carving and the shaft started overheating. So, I took the shaft out of my other machine and put it in, careful not to move the qc. Everything is great now, no overheating. The strange thing is that when I replaced the original shaft later, no overheating then either, it was like magic had fixed it. My thought is that it was allowed to dry a bit more. Any discussion on this would be great.

Jason,

Do you have one of those Rock Chucks installed on your machine?

Jason Allen wrote:Tell me why - I was in the middle of a carving and the shaft started overheating. So, I took the shaft out of my other machine and put it in, careful not to move the qc. Everything is great now, no overheating. The strange thing is that when I replaced the original shaft later, no overheating then either, it was like magic had fixed it. My thought is that it was allowed to dry a bit more. Any discussion on this would be great.

Jason,

It could be as you stated that the lube had dried more. After it heated up and you took it out, the lube might have liquefied some and run into the shaft.

I have observed similar a situation when doing one carve it seemed that the shaft was warmer than normal. The next carve done right after it the temp was back to normal. These were about 1 hour carves each and the machine had not been used for a couple of days..

use my machines for demos so I won't be able to get a Rock until my machine is out of warranty.

Jason,

Oh yes, I forgot. You do have "ties" to LHR. By the way, have you heard any comments from LHR about the warranty issues with replacing the original QC with the Rock?

The reason that I asked was the fact that a lot of the "heat" generated in the flex shaft, on my machine anyway, seemed to have been caused by vibration. Not sure why that is but........... as the flext shaft moved and vibrated it seemed to warm up. This new Rock Chuck, from what everyone has posted, not only cuts down on the noise but reduces the vibration significantly.

Just a thought.

Not sure if it will void the warranty but the way Im looking at it is if I kept my original QC I would more than likely need it, but if I keep my rock in more than likely I wont. Machine as never run smoother than with the rock so Ill keep mine in and take my chances.

Badger wrote:Not sure if it will void the warranty but the way Im looking at it is if I kept my original QC I would more than likely need it, but if I keep my rock in more than likely I wont. Machine as never run smoother than with the rock so Ill keep mine in and take my chances.

Hi Badger,
I appreciate your comments!... It's not my style to "toot my own horn" so to speak, but there are many people here that dont follow the other forums very closely so i wanted to repeat something that was said by a very respected, fellow, carver. "Most of the warranty issues and problems with the machine could be attibuted to either vibration or heat"... "after changing over to the rock chuck my machine has never ran so smooth, and the flex shaft, and spindle runs 10-20 deg cooler" He went on to list problems with door switches, board sensors, bearing spacers falling out, loose connections on the powersupply failing, and probably another 1/2 dozen items could be related to vibration... He has recently talked about reduced chipping, and less cleanup of the carves as well... If you have been folowing the CW forum, i dont know if you have noticed, but the "MY MACHINE IS BROKE AGAIN" posts has went down to very very few. I think the new Rock chuck is starting to make a big impact. I just need to get the word out somehow that this has been a significant key.. I just replaced another QC for a guy that purchased a new "Z" truck, and sent it to me... The QC did not work and it was brand new!... This truly is the weak link of what i consider to be an incredible little machine! I think people are starting to enjoy carving again as a hobby, instead of their new hobby of machine repairman!...

Thanks again for your comments!

Ron

Ron,

You have provided a fine product. Quality all around. And I'm really looking forward to getting mine installed, once I get a new original QC square removing tool that is. Hopefully by following your CarveSpot post on using the "heated rod' technique my original QC will come off easily and I can get my new Rock Chuck installed. I can't help but think that without all of this vibration that at least some of the mechanical issues that folks are having with their machines will just go away.

when it gets to a point where I have to start paying for repairs on my machines I will have Rock Chuck's on them. I have bits that I have been wanting to try, but I thought I might cause balance issue's.

I have used some "Red" bits in adapters and had good luck with them. But, i think I would have much better luck with them with the "Rock " installed. Anything that will make better carvings is a no brainer to me.

Jason,

Totally agree. Can't wait to get mine installed. Just don't make the same dumb mistake that I did on trying to remove the original QC. As soon as I get my new square ended tool from Ron, I'm going to follow his "heating" suggestion to the letter!

As a side bar, I've mentioned your name to a couple of folks looking for a CarveWright machine. Hope you get some business from those recommendations.

all the help that I can get in todays economy.

Jason,

You mention wanting to use some of your "red" bits in your machine in a previous post. What did you mean by that?