Right oil??

[mikesc]

I was not saying that olive oil is a mineral oil, only that ANY oil of the right viscosity will lubricate the machine properly, organic or inorganic, olive oil included.

I know that you weren't :) ..I posted that clarification for the benefit of anyone reading who did not know that. :)

Now how to get pure refined mineral oil when in an area without a sewing machine dealer, and not pay 20 bux for 8 ounces in the crafters size bottle at Michaels.

Buy it from a company who sells oil for oil line units for compressed air tools, cost will be around €15.oo per litre ( 2.2 UK pints ) if bought per litre..around $10.00 to $12.00 per litre if you buy a 30 litre container.

Edited October 21, 2016 by mikesc

[TinkerTailor]

Interestingly that book recommends neetsfoot oil for lube because it doesn't go rancid like olive oil.

[mikesc]

Yeah, problem is that "neetsfoot oil" is a"bit like "megilp" ( fine art term often seen , no true chemical definition ) ..the name can actually cover a multitude of sins..
How many feet has a Neet got, cloven or solid like a horse, or pads like a dog ? ;)

Edited October 21, 2016 by mikesc

[gottaknow]

I pay $14 a gallon for my Lilly White. We buy volume of course, but it's the same oil that most will pay twice as much for. On the other hand, the price of my Silicone thread lube has jumped up to $60 in the last few years, a good $20 more than I used to pay. Not really sure for the cause of that increase, but we have to use it on several high speed joining operations to keep down needle heat. It does stain, so we test it on everything first.

Regards, Eric

[Constabulary]

Eric - I`m not sewing at high speed and don´t use the mentioned oil or lubricant but when the Lilly White Oil does not stain can´t you use it as thread lubricant as well?

[gottaknow]

9 minutes ago, Constabulary said:

Eric - I`m not sewing at hight speed and don´t use the mentioned oil or lubricant but when the Lilly White Oil does not strain can´t you use it as thread lubricant as well?

Believe it or not, it's not slippery enough and doesn't evaporate. As a footnote, cleaning up a spill of silicone is an all day project...

[mikesc]

Eric, despite the fact that normally any silicone contamination in paint spray equipment gives "fish eyes" and is something paint sprayers dread, there are additives ( "anti-fish eye" ) types that are sold to paint sprayers, you add one or two drops per pint of paint or clear coat ( half litre ) and no "fish eyes" :)..they are all of them actually nearly pure silicone with around 1% or 2% of chemicals added to affect the surface tension of the paint and in particularly the way it atomises and flows through the air and lands and spreads out..It evaporates and doesn't stain textiles ( you'd have to test it on leather to be sure , I never did, and I have some , but it is in storage ATM ) ..The brand names would not be the same ( mine was supplied by Herberts paint, a German company , the people who make the paint for Mercedes and BMW )..but the equivalent should exist in the USA..Cost here is about €8.00 per litre, ( bought in 5 litre containers ) so around $6.00 per pint ?..Could be worth an experiment, car body shops who do a lot of upmarket metallic paint work keep it around to add into the clear coats.

Edited October 21, 2016 by mikesc

[dikman]

I've been involved in several oil threads on other forums over the past years (usually guaranteed to start a heated debate ) but this is actually the most interesting. Beats reading about why my car/bike will blow up if I don't use brand-x oil!

Mike, the oil used for air-tools was also mentioned in various posts I came across while researching oil for my lathe. It is pretty much the same thing as hydraulic oil. I'm pretty happy about using my ISO 68 oil on my machines, although if I lived in colder climes I'd probably want ISO 22 or 32. Now to start figuring out how to clean out the other oil I used and replace it with the new stuff.