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Milling head Maximat V10 first inspection: grease and oil

 

Hello everybody,

?

I am new to the group.

I just got Maximat V10 milling column attached to a very heavy metal base connected to Sweden made xy table. So no lathe.

?

I have a no much experience in metal working, but nevertheless I like to start good and new. Recently I started to inspection the mashine, I opened the gear case and I found 2 things:?

1 - the small squared brass piece (used for transporting the gears up and down) was laying inside at the bottom of the case (see pic).

2 - part of the grease inside seemed to be old (see pics)

?

1 > At that point I put back the brass on the arm and everything worked just fine. Actually I was able to change the gear position even without the brass, even thou I think it wasn¡¯t the best. Does anybody know why this actually happened? I can¡¯t really understand how this little piece of brass could came out from its arm, because the position it has ¡°locks¡± it against its spot on the gears post.?

One thing to say: the milling column has been transported and stored horizontally inside a wooden box. Might it fell down during this time?

?

2 > Regarding the grease, I was now thinking to remove as much as possible from the 2 lateral windows without disassembling everything, and filling in a new one. Now, I already read many threads regarding which grease to use. I wanted to stick to the NLGI 1 lithium-based one advice on the manual, but I actually can¡¯t find fine one like this that is synthetic. The only SYNTHETIC and LITHIUM based I found is a NLGI 2. The NLGI 1 I found comes always as MINERAL and LITHIUM based. Can somebody recommend me a NGLI 1 synthetic and lithium-based? Or would the NLG1 mineral and lithium based work as well? Or is it crucial to actually put NGLI 1?? Would the NGLI 2 work as well?

?

3 > Regarding oil for the vertical leadscrew and vertical column, SAE 10 motor oil, correct?

?

Thanks in advance

old grease 1.jpeg
old grease _ brass laying at the bottom.jpeg
arm.jpeg
brass back in position 1.jpeg
brass back in position 2.jpeg

 

If nothing is broken, the most logical explanation is that someone was in there before you and managed to drop the brass block in the process. It's pretty much impossible to remove the thing by shaking (or even force) when everything is in place.

NLGI 1 and 2 are not far apart. If you use the thicker one you'll lose a bit of power and make the mill heat up a bit more. But it doesn't have to be synthetic or mineral, and since you're removing the old stuff, you can put in whatever you like. Some grease bases don't like to mix, but if you stick to lithium base you should be fine either way.?

If you really want to clean the thing you can strategically wash out areas with a bit of kerosene, mineral spirits or similar solvent after you remove whatever you can of old grease. I'd be mindful not to flush out the grease from any bearings though, and especially not from the spindle, so don't drench the thing.

Regards

Vedran


On Thu, May 15, 2025 at 2:27?PM esimonee via <esimonee=[email protected]> wrote:

Hello everybody,

?

I am new to the group.

I just got Maximat V10 milling column attached to a very heavy metal base connected to Sweden made xy table. So no lathe.

?

I have a no much experience in metal working, but nevertheless I like to start good and new. Recently I started to inspection the mashine, I opened the gear case and I found 2 things:?

1 - the small squared brass piece (used for transporting the gears up and down) was laying inside at the bottom of the case (see pic).

2 - part of the grease inside seemed to be old (see pics)

?

1 > At that point I put back the brass on the arm and everything worked just fine. Actually I was able to change the gear position even without the brass, even thou I think it wasn¡¯t the best. Does anybody know why this actually happened? I can¡¯t really understand how this little piece of brass could came out from its arm, because the position it has ¡°locks¡± it against its spot on the gears post.?

One thing to say: the milling column has been transported and stored horizontally inside a wooden box. Might it fell down during this time?

?

2 > Regarding the grease, I was now thinking to remove as much as possible from the 2 lateral windows without disassembling everything, and filling in a new one. Now, I already read many threads regarding which grease to use. I wanted to stick to the NLGI 1 lithium-based one advice on the manual, but I actually can¡¯t find fine one like this that is synthetic. The only SYNTHETIC and LITHIUM based I found is a NLGI 2. The NLGI 1 I found comes always as MINERAL and LITHIUM based. Can somebody recommend me a NGLI 1 synthetic and lithium-based? Or would the NLG1 mineral and lithium based work as well? Or is it crucial to actually put NGLI 1?? Would the NGLI 2 work as well?

?

3 > Regarding oil for the vertical leadscrew and vertical column, SAE 10 motor oil, correct?

?

Thanks in advance
 

Thanks for the reply Vedran.
I will re-check properly when I will remove the grease and clean the gear box. At the first inspection, everything looked intact and the gears moved freely.
?
Thanks for the explanation, I will do that!
?
Regarding the oil, is there something to take in consideration? Is there any oil to refill or check in the mill head?
Any SAE 10 motor oil would work just fine, right?
 

As far as I remember, 4 speed mill takes no oil anywhere. For sliding surfaces like leadscrew and column you can use any oil, but way oil (usually ISO 68 thickness) should cling well and make as little mess as possible. I oil mine with ISO 32 hydraulic oil simply because that's what I have a lot of. It drips down into the chip tray over time so I reapply it more or less every time I use the mill (which is sadly not often).

I don't think your mill will care which oil you use as long as you use it. While no oil is beneficial for you, plain hydraulic oil will likely contain the least additives that might be harmful for you (or stinky). Using gloves near this kind of machine is generally frowned upon, so those factors might be considered when choosing the oil as well. That being said, you shouldn't be handling those surfaces directly anyway so it might be moot.

Regards

Vedran


On Thu, May 15, 2025 at 6:43?PM esimonee via <esimonee=[email protected]> wrote:
Thanks for the reply Vedran.
I will re-check properly when I will remove the grease and clean the gear box. At the first inspection, everything looked intact and the gears moved freely.
?
Thanks for the explanation, I will do that!
?
Regarding the oil, is there something to take in consideration? Is there any oil to refill or check in the mill head?
Any SAE 10 motor oil would work just fine, right?
 

Great!
Thanks again
Looking forward!
 

Regarding: "Any SAE 10 motor oil would work just fine, right?", the answer is NO.
?
Typical "motor oil" (for cars) includes detergents to suspend dirt & particles to be removed by a filter as the oil is pumped around.? I'm not sure about the geometry of the mill, but for lathes, you want any debris to settle into the bottom of the gear box.? It sounds like the V10 just uses grease, so that may not be an issue.
?
I have also heard there can be additives in some motor oils that don't play well with the bronze or zinc components used in some machine tools gear boxes.??
?
The safest bet is to use hydraulic oil, which doesn't contain much in the way of additives, beyond rust preventatives.? If it's just for exterior sliding surfaces (ways, column, quill), "way" oil is specifically designed for that.? Vactra #2 oil is the classic that has been around for at least 60 or 70 years.? It can be hard to find in small quantities, but large shops use it by the gallon.? You could probably talk them out of a cup worth in trade for a box of donuts.? There are also some vendors that cater to hobbyists that re-package it and sell it in small quantities.
?
The one caution about way oil is that it tends to stick, and then slip.? That's fine for things that are moved by lead screws & such.? I have a mill with a round ram, and when you try to rotate it to get it adjusted so the spindle is vertical, it is almost impossible to get it to move in small amounts if you use way oil.? Hydraulic oil works much better for that..??
?
Doug White

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