Sewing machine oil (metal content)

I'd use almost anything *but* way oil (well, maybe not chainsaw bar oil either)--it's way too heavy and the additives that make it tacky tend to clog wicks and such. I think spindle oil would be a pretty close match to sewing machine oil. Light hydraulic oil, light turbine oil, or ATF (though it does contain detergents), in that order IMO, would be also be OK.

Ned Simmons

In article , Ivan Vegvary wrote: :I need to fill the bottom of my Juki sewing machine with oil (approx. 1 :pint). Need it today (holiday) because my daughter is leaving for college :and I promised her that I would make a slip cover for her club chair. :Obviously, holiday and everybody is closed. Can I use the "way" oil that I :use on my milling machine and lathe (required metal content). Could I use :the "way" oil and then replace it later? : :Is there anything special about sewing machine oil? Local Ace is open but I :don't want to buy 20 small tins of "3-in-1" oil.

Sewing machine oil is usually a vegetable-based light colored oil so that any small amounts that get on the fabric won't leave a permanent mark.

Yes. Use the right stuff. Maybe if you have some gyroscope oil, or aircraft insturment oil.

Thanks for all the above advice. I did happened to have a gallon of spindle oil, so I used some of that. Will change when stores open tomorrow.

As you've correctly surmised, way oil is too viscous for this application. FWIW Ms. Mulligan's singer featherweight gets lubed with 5wt ATF on a regular basis. This does not impair the apparent quality of the quilts produced.

Jim

Mary also quilts with a featherweight. Quilters do seem to love that machine. Fitch has two of 'em.

Dr. Willy, the itinerant pretty-good sewingmachine repair and tuneup guy, uses Tri-Flo -- in a little squeezebottle with a very finebore tube rather than the spraycan. He does seem to know what he's doing, surely knows far more than I do about sewing machines. He visits a nearby fabric shop every other Thursday on his route. Other than routine cleaning and lubrication, we entrust the care and tuning of Mary's featherweights and 301's to Dr. Willy.

Ya wouldn't want to use steam cylinder oil either (:

I use the 5wt ATF in a glass hypodermic syringe to lube those machines. It's a great way to get that 'just one drop' that's required in some spots. Plastic syringes degrade and the plungers lock up on them after a while being exposed to ATF though.

Jim

Check with a local sewing or fabric supply place (dry goods, maybe where the ladies go for sewing stuff). Most of them, in the U.S. anyway, carry sewing machine oil, labeled as such.

Mineral oil, as sold in pharmacies, is water clear and a good lube. There are two grades, light for body rubs, and heavy, for a laxative. I found mixing them 50:50 gives a nice viscosity for a quenching oil while the light (in a plastic syringe) is a good light instrument oil. If you want a corrosion inhibiter additive as well then try CRC 3-36.

Ted

I sprayed 3-36 on a couple machines. It tends to dry to a tacky state. Not what I would want on a sewing machine.

I've noticed the same thing, not necessarily a bad thing for a protective coating, but I wouldn't use it as a sewing machine lube either.

I once left a few small oilstones in a pool of 3-36 and it congealed into a sort of waxy custard as it evaporated.

Ned Simmons

ATF. High detergent, non-gumming. Available in handy one quart containers at your local supermarket.

Jim