# Grease to use on Reeves drive



## Bobholmes33 (Dec 15, 2017)

What kind of lube would you use on a reeves drive lathe?


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## Shady Acres Woodshop (Dec 13, 2015)

When I had one, I would just apply a few drops of very light oil onto the shaft about once per year. It was a 1970's Delta lathe that I owned for twenty years. Never had an issue.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

I just use wax.

Cheers,
Brad


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## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

Lithium spray grease from WD-40


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## JRsgarage (Jan 2, 2017)

i called General when i was tuning up a 160 lathe and was told to use any high quality bearing grease.


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## rwe2156 (May 7, 2014)

I was told by tech for my lathe not to use oil or grease.

They said use a graphite lubricant.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

Pretty much any good lube will work. If the mechanism is exposed to sawdust and other gunk, anything that isn't 'wet' is best, like wax, dry lube, graphite, etc… otherwise, light machine oil is a good choice. I'd stay away from greases, as they are just dust magnets, even in environments where there shouldn't be. Here is a snippet from a Powermatic manual with their recommendation:










Cheers,
Brad


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## OSU55 (Dec 14, 2012)

I use a dab of grease on the sliding pulley area only. Wax just didnt provide enough friction reduction. Wax is used on all other areas. Over 5 years of use that small amount of grease hasnt been an issue with dust or dirt - the mechanism works great.


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