When someone has only ever seen "one-shot oiler systems" installed on bf20-type machines that are comprised of cheap plastic pneumatic fittings and/or other parts that are just not designed/meant for use in an authentic one-shot oiler system, and they have therefore essentially been trained to erroneously believe that the parts for an authentic one-shot oiler lubrication system should only cost a few hundred dollars at most, it's no small wonder that they baulk when they see the actual price of an authentic and professionally engineered one-shot oiler system for the first time, even if the price of that system is a relative bargain.
Although authentic one-shot oiler systems of the type that are installed on these types of milling machines are not that expensive compared to other types of lubrication systems, they are as a general rule more expensive than homebrew systems who's design and functionality are usually questionable at best and just plain wrong at worst. This is just a fact.
The only other authentic and professionally engineered one-shot oiler parts kit that we're aware of for any type of milling machine is the Bijur #K1099 Bridgeport 1-Shot Lubricator Kit (
Bijur #K1099 Bridgeport 1-Shot Lubricator Kit). Now, what is the cost of that kit you might ask? If you follow the link you'll see that it's currently US$673.29, or nearly US$100 more than what we're asking for our kit. (Oh, and by the way, if anyone out there still believes that whether something is an authentic one-shot oiler part is subjective, the existence of the bijur kit along with the one-shot oiler parts that are sold by the linked website should dispel that belief quite quickly. Also, if you doubt that One-Shot Oiler Shop is selling authentic one-shot oiler parts, just compare our parts with those on the linked website and you'll see the similarities.)
Now, for that sort of money, what do you get? From what we've seen, you only get sufficient parts for installing a one-shot oiler system that has one specific configuration and extremely limited installation options. The kit doesn't provide parts for contingencies (e.g. variations between machines that may necessitate a change to the way in which the system is installed) or to allow the installer to exercise some discretion and/or creativity so that the system is installed in a manner that may better suit their machine and requirements.
Moreover, the kit doesn't include filters, pressure gauges and other important parts that can make the difference between an okay system and a great system. In other words, the Bijur system is very bare bones.
Additionally, as far as we know, the instructions provided with the Bijur kit are minimal. This is probably because there's only one installation configuration so there is no need to provide details of other configurations and installation options. It's probably also because Bridgeports generally have all of the necessary lubrication oil grooves and oil passages machined in the factory when they're made so it's usually only necessary to drill and tap a few mounting holes for a few components (e.g. the pump and junctions/junction bars). Consequently, there's no need for the instructions to explain how to correctly calculate oil groove dimensions, detail what an acceptable oil groove profile is, etc. In short, the instructions are nowhere near as detailed as the information provided in the guide included with each of our kits.
Now, you may say that it's a Bijur kit. That's true, but if you compared our parts with the parts from the Bijur kit you would see that there is no discernable or actual difference in quality.
If you're someone who's been having difficulty seeing the value in our kits, hopefully what I've written above is at least beginning to change that.
If you're still fixated on only spending a few hundred dollars on a so-called "one-shot oiler system", all I can say is that our kits are not for you. However, I would just remind you of the old saying about the poor man having to pay twice (i.e. once for a cheap but inferior product, and then again to fix/replace the inferior product in order to address its problems).
However, if you want to install an authentic and professionally engineered one-shot oiler system on your machine that works properly, and you want to know how to install, operate and maintain the system correctly, our kits will allow you to do this with a minimum of fuss.
As for gofa23's question regarding why there are two pressure gauges, they're there so that the correct operation of the system can be monitored at a glance. When the system is operating correctly, the pressure indicated by the head-mounted pressure gauge must be within an acceptable range of the pressure indicated by the pump gauge. The guide explains more about this, including what the acceptable range is.
lcvette, there should be a photo of an installed kit on the homepage of our website:
https://www.oneshotoilershop.com