Can I safely clean a lathe's clutch with petrol? The lathe is a Gornati Leopard, and the clutches are sprayed in oil as they run. I suspect that the previous owner has used an oil that is too thick, so I would like to wash out any of the thicker oil and replace with a thinner oil.
Try ATF instead of gasoline.
Gunner
Rule #35 "That which does not kill you, has made a huge tactical error"
Even better is to try either Stoddard solvent or mineral spirits, each of which are truly solvents, not lubricating oils. They'll have a much better cleaning capability, and will evaporate to total dryness if that be your desire. Oils won't do that. Each of them are considerably safer than petrol for cleaning, which is the best benefit.
Avoid gasoline (petrol) like the plague, unless you're fond of setting your shop or home on fire. It's truly too great of a risk to be worth trying.
Harold
I just cleaned my South Bend's clutch with a mixture of mineral spirits and ATF (this is what I have in my parts washer) with a shot of brake cleaner as a final clean up. I lubed it with the proper oil before assembly and it works well. All of the plates in the clutch on my lathe are metal - no fiber. Cleaning fiber disks may require a different approach. If you want to clean it without disassembling it, I'd use brake cleaner. It leaves no significant residue.
Peter
Buy some brake cleaner from a auto supply store.
- - Rex Burkheimer Fort Worth TX
Nick Alexander wrote:
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