lube or not
- Thread starter Mack
- Start date
Dave London
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Hi Mack
Most of the ball vices I am familar with have bearings similar to the wheel bearings in a car, and are packed with a light grease. Also some of them have a drag adjustment. Hope this helps
Most of the ball vices I am familar with have bearings similar to the wheel bearings in a car, and are packed with a light grease. Also some of them have a drag adjustment. Hope this helps
This one is a Victor and is very old. The top half has a steel shaft with a screw in the bottom of the shaft which doesn't seem to do anything eccept hold on a fitted washer. The bottom half has a hole for the shaft with a brass sleve. At the bottom of that hole is a hole about 3/8 that goes all the way through. There doesn't seem to be a bearing. I had to make a U shaped piece to keep the vise part centered since it would slide back and forth and not stay in place. I also had to make a key to adjust it. It came without the doughnut so I made one from a piece of wood I cut in a doughnut shape and stretched leather over it. I got it from a jeweler who in turn got it from another jeweler. Sad as it is, it works and I am glad to have it. I was just wondering if the shaft or the two mating surfaces should be lubed with something. Mack
Dave London
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Humm
Sounds like a bushing system and not bearings. So I would go with a light grease like Phil brand sold in most bike shops comes in a tube and is green in color. Or if I am right you are a jeweler try the fordom flex shaft grease.
Sounds like a bushing system and not bearings. So I would go with a light grease like Phil brand sold in most bike shops comes in a tube and is green in color. Or if I am right you are a jeweler try the fordom flex shaft grease.
FL-Flinter
Elite Cafe Member
If you don't want anything sticky like grease or oil to catch chips/dirt - I strongly suggest disassembling and cleaning all the parts to spotless clean. Make sure they're dry and apply several thin coats of Moly Mist made by Jet Lube. http://www.jetlube.com/jetlube/productdetails.aspx?productId=147 Allow each coat to flash over before putting the next one on (there are other similar dry moly film products but the Jet Lube brand has performed best in my custom industrial machinery business for about 15 years) MM does not inhibit the action of any lubes either liquid or dry that are applied over it, before re-assembly, give everything a good spray of dry film silicone lube - any common brand name is good as long as it's "dry film forming". If it gets a little stick over time, give it a good blast of the silicon spray, wet it good, work it around while wet and you'll be good to go for a long time.
Moly Mist and dry silicone can be used with pillowblock material like nylon, Teflon, ceramic, Babbitt ect. I'll warn you about overspray of the MM - it's tough to get it off of things you don't want it on once it dries (less than a minute). A good chemical solvent like lacquer thinner, toluene, MEK, Tetra, Xylene, ect. will remove it but may also remove/damage what's under the overspray too. MM is an excellent long-term corrosion inhibitor too, a built-up coating will protect materials like steel from rust as good as most paints but the coating is more easily damaged. I use it on almost all the tooling in my shop to keep them from getting surface rust - good protection that doesn't cause operational problems with Morse tapers, collets and such - and no greasy/oily fingers every time you touch something.
If you want a liquid lube that is very easy to apply, has superior penetration and won't dry-up into a mass of wax & crud, get yourself a spray can of Lubriplate Chain & Cable fluid. http://www.lubriplate.com/products/spray-lubricants/chain-cable-fluid.html This is a fantastic product I can't brag enough about, been using it at least 20 years - don't over do it, a little squirt goes a long way.
Moly Mist and dry silicone can be used with pillowblock material like nylon, Teflon, ceramic, Babbitt ect. I'll warn you about overspray of the MM - it's tough to get it off of things you don't want it on once it dries (less than a minute). A good chemical solvent like lacquer thinner, toluene, MEK, Tetra, Xylene, ect. will remove it but may also remove/damage what's under the overspray too. MM is an excellent long-term corrosion inhibitor too, a built-up coating will protect materials like steel from rust as good as most paints but the coating is more easily damaged. I use it on almost all the tooling in my shop to keep them from getting surface rust - good protection that doesn't cause operational problems with Morse tapers, collets and such - and no greasy/oily fingers every time you touch something.
If you want a liquid lube that is very easy to apply, has superior penetration and won't dry-up into a mass of wax & crud, get yourself a spray can of Lubriplate Chain & Cable fluid. http://www.lubriplate.com/products/spray-lubricants/chain-cable-fluid.html This is a fantastic product I can't brag enough about, been using it at least 20 years - don't over do it, a little squirt goes a long way.
Well right now I have Johnsons paste car wax on it. That is what I put on my dresser drawers to make them slide smooth. It seems to make the ball vise turn smooth but I was wondering if there was something special. Where can I get that Molly Mist.
Last edited:
FL-Flinter
Elite Cafe Member
Mack,
A local industrial lubricant, power transmission or tooling supplier should have it or be able to get it, look in the yellow pages under "oils" or "industrial". If you can't get it locally, it is available through several on-line retailers. Like I said, there are other dry moly film products out there but I haven't personally used them so I can't comment on their performance.
Good ole Johnson's paste wax, I use it myself, it's one of the few remaining products that hasn't fallen victim to the bean counters. Actually it's a very good choice for a low-pressure anti-friction clean dry lube. The only draw-back it has is that it doesn't have sufficient film strength on smooth non-porous surfaces to withstand a great deal of use but in cases where the load is very light, it'll last quite a while. I use it on the manual fiberglass pull-out third stage of my derrick boom - it lasts for about 10 cycles but it's clear & dry so it doesn't trap dirt or visually hide a potential problem, I take the trade-off and just apply it more often.
A local industrial lubricant, power transmission or tooling supplier should have it or be able to get it, look in the yellow pages under "oils" or "industrial". If you can't get it locally, it is available through several on-line retailers. Like I said, there are other dry moly film products out there but I haven't personally used them so I can't comment on their performance.
Good ole Johnson's paste wax, I use it myself, it's one of the few remaining products that hasn't fallen victim to the bean counters. Actually it's a very good choice for a low-pressure anti-friction clean dry lube. The only draw-back it has is that it doesn't have sufficient film strength on smooth non-porous surfaces to withstand a great deal of use but in cases where the load is very light, it'll last quite a while. I use it on the manual fiberglass pull-out third stage of my derrick boom - it lasts for about 10 cycles but it's clear & dry so it doesn't trap dirt or visually hide a potential problem, I take the trade-off and just apply it more often.
Dulltool
Elite Cafe Member
Mack,
I use a few drops of a very high tech oil on my bearings called Three in One. My well used 1912 Victor has been running on it for two generations!... it still runs perfectly. You need your missing bearings.
I use a few drops of a very high tech oil on my bearings called Three in One. My well used 1912 Victor has been running on it for two generations!... it still runs perfectly. You need your missing bearings.
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