Thread: What lubricant to useon machinery

The only problem I can see with bicycle chain lube is that it's pretty thin and you'll need to re-apply it fairly often; which may, or may not, be a problem depending on how accessible the drive chain is. A liberal coating of thick general purpose grease should be good for the next 50 years.

Personally, I would avoid grease - it tends to pick up dirt/dust etc and depending on how fast it works could end up splattering grease into areas you don't want it to go.

I would suggest a motorcycle shop which has special chain lube which is used on dirt bikes and is designed to stay on the chain, provide lubrication and pick up as little as possible.

You can purchase dry lubricants for applications in dusty environments. A PTFE lubricant like Dry Lube would do the trick and would not pick up dust.

After reading a few bicycle chain threads I'm really wondering whether it is necessary to lube the machinery chain at all. A wet lube is probably just going to gunk up with saw dust eventually and the bicycle chain threads all seem to talk about using lube to keep grit out of the chain joints which seem to be mostly sealed anyway.

There is no grit in the woodworking environment so where is the need for extra lube if it sounds like a near impossibility to actually get lube into the working parts of the chain joints??

Originally Posted by Fuzzie

After reading a few bicycle chain threads I'm really wondering whether it is necessary to lube the machinery chain at all. A wet lube is probably just going to gunk up with saw dust eventually and the bicycle chain threads all seem to talk about using lube to keep grit out of the chain joints which seem to be mostly sealed anyway.

There is no grit in the woodworking environment so where is the need for extra lube if it sounds like a near impossibility to actually get lube into the working parts of the chain joints??

The reason I suggested thick grease is that it essentially provides a sealed environment for the chain; even if the outside picks up sawdust, the chain is still protected and lubricated inside.

I'm basing this advice on the drive chains in the thicknesser and spindle moulder power feed at work. Had to pull them apart recently and all the chains were covered in thick grease; the same grease that was put on in the factory around 60 years ago. It was covered in dust, but under the surface the grease was totally clean, as were the chains.

Grease will work it's way into every moving part over time and will seal dust out. Running a chain dry is unwise, metal on metal will wear and if any dust gets in between the chain plates or into the pins it'll wear even faster or possibly seize.

Don't run chains dry. Metal on metal is never good and although you may think wood dust is not abrasive, it contains silica, iron and other impurities that will wear the chain and sprocket. Also, just the tension on the chain links will cause wear. PTFE is a good dry lubricant and is used in the food industry, cycle industry and automotive industry. It will not attract dust and will provide a layer of lubrication preventing metal on metal.

Paul.

Thanks guys. It's hard to argue with 60 years of empirical evidence although I guess 50+ years ago they wouldn't have known what PTFE was. I think I'll just slap on some of what I have on hand which is labelled Marine Grease. It should at least keep the humidity up here from rusting things while it's not being used, which is most of the time.

Have a look at Tac2, a spray lube designed for similar applications.
it is a thin grease carried by an evaporating agent.
Applied thin it carries the lube into the rollers etc and then dries.
Good on wire ropes also.

Bob