Homebrew misting coolant system for small mills

I made a pressurized one, a copy of the $300 HenchForth mister. No sore throat from fog in the room.

See "ZeroFogMister" in the drop box, 2001 I think. Also a thread of that subject about that time.

Karl

Karl,

Would you be so kind as to tell me what you use for coolant? I've been away from my machines for several years, but used a product I recall to be named either CoolMist or SprayMist. Worked great, but made clouds of mist that aggravated my throat. I was also not pleased with how the machine felt after use. Often I'd have to wash down the quill on my Bridgeport several times to restore the "feel" due to the sticky deposit that accumulated and migrated into the housing.

I'd gladly go back to using one if I thought I could control that issue. Mean time, I use an acid brush, which is hardly the same thing! :-)

Thanks~

Harold

I use Kool-Mist(sp?) diluted 1:5 with water and dripped on with a hypodermic syringe. I plan to replace this with an automatic dripper. One was written up in HSM or Projects in Metal a few years back. A solenoid is used to give a measured squirt at a setable frequency. This would be more consistent than my present by-hand method. It also produces no mist. A friend loaned me his mister to try out and I discarded the idea for exactly your reason.

A further advantage of the drop method is that the coolant goes on the work not all over so you would not get it on the quill. I found the stuff, even diluted, to be non-corrosive and a good solvent for itself. i.e. Dried up spillage on the machine bench is easily cleaned up by wiping down with a rag dampened with the diluted stuff.

No it isn't but drop into a rural pharmacy (they tend to stock some vet supplies) and pick up a 30 or 60 ml syringe and the largest bore needle they stock. Cut off the sharpened tip of the needle (score and snap) and smooth the edges. This will let you try out the drip method before investing time and money in an automated rig.

Ted

Karl I'm trying to open the DWG file in Corel Draw but it won't do it. My help file says that Corel applications support versions 12,13, and 14 of the DWG file formats.

What version did you use.

Thanks

Lane

I use Kool Mist for the most part. ( I have ten gallons of bio-cool 500 that I bought an auction to use when I run out of this case of Kool Mist) I just pour "so much", about a cup or a pint in three gallons every time I make up a new batch. I use way more coolant than the standard mister, actually blowing chips out of the way and nearly flooding the work right at the cutting tool. I'd guess usage at about two gallons per machine run hour.

I got to where I was hyper sensitive to fog from misters. I think the more you use one the more it bothers you. Anyway, you can't even tell there's a mister running with a HenchForth or my copy of it.

I've not seen problems that you describe with the mister gunking things up. Maybe I'm lucky, or too dumb to know the difference.

Karl Townsend

Must have been AutoCAD 2000. I don't think AutoCAD 2002 was out yet when this project happened. I'll check on converting to an older version and email you a print.

Karl

Karl provided me with two new files for version R13 & R14 of the DWG files. I've posted them to the dropbox, but right now they are in the current dropbox, the original files are in the 2002 archive file. Hopefully Steve will move them there with the rest.

Thanks Karl Lane