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  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Default What is tool oil & clock oil please ?

    Snipped from another thread

    Quote Originally Posted by SP_Flip View Post
    A little depressed. I saw a set of Moore & Wright telescoping gauges on sale at a reputable tool retailer (who I won't name as this is nothing to do with them). I thought the price was too good to be true. Well, it was. Sigh.

    Opened them and they were stiff and raspy, with two settings: loose or locked like East Germany. I gave them a little tool oil and exercised them well and they aren't much better.


    Phil.
    I googled Tool Oil and got a heap of links to oil for air tools - is that what is meant above ?

    I remember when I bought some micrometers from Ueee approx 6 years ago he gave them a dose of "Clock Oil" before sending them.

    Am guessing Tool Oil and Clock oil are what I might call very thin runny oils - don't know the right words to specify oils - closest I would have might be "Three in One" https://www.bunnings.com.au/3-in-one...icant_p6100773

    What do you use on your micrometers and other delicate fine mechanisms ie the rack on a Dial Caliper Gauge ?


    Bill

    PS. Please don't tell me any oil is better than no oil. Even a thick gluggy one ?
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  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Default

    Light oil if required on mic threads, nothing on the calipers.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
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    Perth, Western Australia
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    Default

    When I was dealing with pneumatic tools, tool oil was a 10w non-detergent based oil. Any oil that has tool oil on the label is going to cost a lot more than just buying a 10w oil. Sawing machine oil is 5w.
    Clock oil I have no idea.

    I never oil my calipers. They can spend time getting coated in grinding dust. Not good to mix with oil. Generally blow them down with air. If they get oily I clean them.

    Tony

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
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    Default

    I've read about clock oil, and all I know is it's super expensive for a small amount but doesn't get sticky over the years.

    I know for sure the 3in1 lasts about 5-7years and then seems to go sticky, as
    I used a little inside some dial gauge's.

    Price wise I'll just use 3in1 or similar and clean them out when they get sticky. At that many years they need a clean anyway.
    Using Tapatalk

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
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    Gippsland Victoria
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    Default

    Thanks for your help.

    I found this LINK for Starret Tool Oil which is expensive in Aus compared to USA

    and there seems to be a lot of info about clock oil HERE quite interesting "Properly selected synthetic motor oil outperforms clock oils"

    Will investigate the 10w and 5w oil that was referred to by Tony above.

    ..... Noted I don't oil the rack on the Calipers. Thanks .

    Bill
    Last edited by steamingbill; 26th Jan 2020 at 05:44 PM. Reason: added a bit

  6. #6
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    Perth
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    Default

    At work for clockwork mechanisms we used something that stank and came from whales. I didn't think it was that good because we always seemed to have to keep oiling some mechanisms.

    Interesting to see that in this presentation https://www.kensclockclinic.com/wp-c...Clock-Oils.pdf
    Ken recommends a synthetic motor oil eg Mobil 1 0W-40 and 10W-60.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    York, North Yorkshire UK
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    Default

    Hi Guys,

    I have and use sewing machine oil !

    Its about a £1 to £1.50p here for a 25 ml plastic screw cap bottle with a short spout. Its very thin clear liquid and spreads all over very rapidly. If it gets a drip on some copy paper it spreads into a circle about 20 times the size of the drop.
    Best Regards:
    Baron J.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
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    Mackay North Qld
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    Default

    My late father was a watchmaker. I can tell you there are bunch of different oils for use in different areas of the watch or clock.

    Use the incorrect oil in the wrong application and it will make it worse,not better.

    What grades are they. Don't know, but recall its very very light oil and its practically smeared on, as a drop might be too much.

    I would imagine dial indicator mechanism would be the lightest type. Tomorrow I will ring my good friend who was a watchmaker and ask him as he fixed my sticky Mercator dial indicator.

    Grahame

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    melbourne
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    Default

    I dabbled in a bit of watch repair over the last 10 years.. Initially i bought a cheap synthetic watch oil that was advertised as doing everything from springs to pallet stones. It sort of works but eventually as I got more skilled, i did get different oils that cost ~$50 for 2ml. Its the sort of thing you wouldn't buy off ebay because there is so much fake stuff. Imagine the profit if you got 5l of 0W40 and plit it into 2ml bottles. I put a lot of effort into getting a watch to run as accurately as possible. For me, watch repair was a challenge to get as good as possible. I actually did see a huge improvement int how evenly a watch runs using the correct oil. I have a a timegrapher that displays each beat so you can tell how its doing, no guesswork or estimating.

    I got a synthetic oil for most of the pivots which was very expensive which made a slight difference. I still just use a mix of waterproof grease and the el cheapo sythetic oil for areas that need a heavier oil. I use slick 50 for mainsprings. The pallet stones are different. These are the two jewels that click into the escape wheel and make the tick tock motion. If you can believe it, the oil which cost about $70 for 2ml, will turn to liquid under the minute pressure of the stones pressing on the escape wheel, and then revert back to a thicker oil so it doesn't run off. Once I had got some experience at rebuilding watches, I tried that expensive oil for pallet stones. its the only place you use it. All i can say is that is the single most effective thing at making the watch run perfect outside of your own skill at rebuilding. It made all the difference. it may be hype about how it works, but it definitely worked for me. Plus, it seems to be a thick oil, so I believe the hype.

    I don't do clocks but an old school jeweller told me that you just need a thin oil for clocks, and he didn't mention these extortionate oils as necessary. I had a very light airgun oil but he said that was too thick, and sewing machine oil would be thicker I'd say.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
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    Melbourne
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    Default

    FWIW Clickspring has a good video on building an oiler, which gives a good idea of how little oil is used in watchmaking:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhYIsbfSbxw

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
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    melbourne, laverton
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    1,910

    Default clock oil

    well I think its a thin mineral oil. that is very Stable doesnt change characteristics depending on temperature..
    maybe.
    aaron

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
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    South Australia
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    Default

    Depends entirely on what you wish to oil and they range in cost from around $30AUD for 6ml

    moebius-oil-chart-2.jpg

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
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    Mackay North Qld
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    Default

    A follow up to my post of the 26th.
    I phoned my mate and quizzed him about clock oil, specifically for its use in machine tool measuring tool mechanisms, ie dial gauge mechanisms and verniers.

    He has Swiss Mobius light but because its so expensive uses something else on dial gauges.He says its about 30 odd year old,so he saves that for the mechanical watches he is asked to service.

    Believe it or not he said he has great success on gauges with cost effective Hoppes Lubricating oil- Attention ! Not Hoppes No 9 gun solvent just plain Hoppes lubricating oil.

    He advises:
    Do not use it on a rack and pinion mechanism,
    Use it very sparingly. He has a thin 1.5mm copper wire with flattened end. He uses a shallow pot that is say 1.5mm deep to dip the pin so only a limited amount of oil is picked up.
    I checked and Hoppes Lubricating oil is available in Australia at some sports and gun shops.between 10 to $15.

    Again ,he emphasizes, not enough is way better than too much.

    Grahame

    Hoppes lubricating oil copy.jpg

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
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    Default

    Well that's good to know what to use now all I have to do is remember how to pull the mics a part.

    Tony

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
    Location
    UK
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    5

    Default What oil

    I repair torsion clocks and I do not use any oil on the pivots,I only use oil on mainspring and it is not very expensive, if you look on that well known auction site you will see plenty of this ( Anchor clock oil )and on the lathe I use HS32.
    Dell

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