Oddly the people I know that do clock repair for a living use oil "sparingly.' on the escapement. The typical brass escape wheel takes it's toll on the steel verge......IMO Mike
On Tue, Jul 15, 2008 at 12:29 PM, Greg Bogantz <gbogantz1 at charter.net> wrote: > The issue with using oil or grease on metal parts is whether it dries up > and gets sticky over time. This can be especially detrimental on very > low-torque mechanisms such as the escapement or verge of a clockwork. > Also, oiling must be done with the right formula when applied to > non-metallic surfaces such as the fiber gears on some phonographs. Some > people prefer not to oil fiber gears at all. Some fiber gears are designed > to run dry if they mesh with a highly polished worm gear. But high-torque > gears such as the winding gears where the crank shaft meshes with the > spring > barrel and the output or bull gear on the spring barrel on phonographs > should be lubricated with a heavy oil or grease. These are often > steel-on-steel gears. I restore both clocks and phonos and I usually > grease > the high-torque gears on the spring barrel of phonos and use a 20 weight or > so oil on all the other metal gears, including the high-speed governor > gears > and pivots. I actually use a mixture of petroleum oil and a PTFE additive > such as "Slick 50" for my middle weight applications. The PTFE works > especially well on sliding surfaces such as the ways that support the > reproducer on cylinder phonos. Sliding surfaces lubricated this way hold > their lubricity for a very long time. > > Clocks have considerably lower torque in their spring barrels, so a > medium weight oil is all that's necessary on them. Then I oil the pivots > and higher speed gears with a very light clock oil. These oils are > designed > not to gunk up and won't get sticky. I do not oil the escapement mechanism > at all, whether pendulum or balance wheel type, although I do oil their > pivots with the light oil. > > I agree that 3-in-1 oil is not good for these purposes. And WD-40 is a > BAD idea as it gets sticky quite quickly when the solvent evaporates from > it. > > Greg Bogantz > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ron L" <lherault at bu.edu> > To: "'Antique Phonograph List'" <phono-l at oldcrank.org> > Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 3:03 PM > Subject: Re: [Phono-L] AB's and gear oiling > > > > Why would oil "ruin" the phonograph? Is it an issue of uneven wear with > > dissimilar materials? > > > > Ron L > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: phono-l-bounces at oldcrank.org [mailto:phono-l-bounces at > > oldcrank.org] > > On > > Behalf Of Rich > > Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 2:29 PM > > To: Antique Phonograph List > > Subject: Re: [Phono-L] AB's and gear oiling > > > > You do not oil gears except in special cases. Many people are not > > swayed by sound engineering practices and proceed to ruin good > > phonographs. Clocks have brass meshed with steel and so do most > > phonographs. IF you find similar materials meshed with each other then > > an extremely light coat is beneficial. Use a synthetic oil or a clock > > oil. The 3 in 1 oil is crap. > > > > Mike Stitt wrote: > >> The recent thread about the AB MacDonald brings up a good question. > Among > >> the many things I collect includes clocks. Now in the world of clocks > you > >> never oil gears, no and no. Should you oil gears in phonographs? Would > > the > >> higher rate of speed of the governor be a rationale? Would the presumed > >> higher loads from a larger spring dictate oiling? I do and have oiled > >> phonograph gears. Should we? And break the clock rule? > >> Mike > >> _______________________________________________ > >> Phono-L mailing list > >> http://phono-l.oldcrank.org > >> > >> > > _______________________________________________ > > Phono-L mailing list > > http://phono-l.oldcrank.org > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Phono-L mailing list > > http://phono-l.oldcrank.org > > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > http://phono-l.oldcrank.org >
