Now that I have a good lathe, proper lubrication is important!!  To properly lubricate a lathe you need two different types of oil: Spindle Oil for the rotating parts, and Way Oil for the bed and other sliding parts.  Before talking to other machinists I was unaware of either type.  Both are specially formulated for their purposes.  The Way Oil is a must for your lathe.  It is formulated to protect the load bearing sliding surfaces from the high loads generated during turning a workpiece.  Both are available from MSC and are relatively inexpensive considering how long a decent sized bottle will last.  MSC has a Web Page at <http://www.mscdirect.com>
    To dispense these I use hardware store pump oilers.  In the picture below you will see three different oilers.  The brass one on the left holds cutting oil for use during threading.  This oiler is several decades old and I inherited it from my Grandfather.  I figure it is at least as old as I am, and it still functions perfectly.  A true testament to quality tools.  The middle and right-hand oilers I recently purchased.  The center one I painted to match the lathe.  This holds, reasonably enough, the Way Oil.  The right-hand one is "stock" and contains the Spindle Oil.  With each oiler distinctly different I do not have to try to figure out which is which while concentrating on the machining operation under way.
    One note about selecting an oiler.  Buy only one whose body is made from one piece.  Every oiler I have owned with a crimped on bottom has leaked, no mater what the quality!!  The two new oilers are of the one piece type (the wide bases are a separate piece, but do not form part of the container itself) and replace more expensive crimped ones that leaked so badly that I had to set them in plastic cups to keep the benchtop dry between uses.  The old and new ones I now use do not leak at all!