I have an old machine possibly from the 60's that specifies use of Wakefield V oil in a dashpot. Wakefield was the forerunner to Castrol Oils. Can anyone suggest what viscosity oil this might have been and a modern equivalent. I have tried some SAE30 motor oil and this does not give enough damping action. The problem could be due to wear in the dashpot or wrong oil.
Any info/ suggestions (polite!) would be useful.
The machine is a Kennedy 90 hacksaw made by Chas Taylor and the dashpot is supposed to give blade relief on the backstroke.
Bob seeing as you only need a small amount and possibly the correct oil won't work if the dashpot is worn how about blending a suitable grade using some 80 or 90 weight oil and your 30 grade.
Seems wasteful to buy a drum to find it doesn't work either.
Good idea John, If I don't get any steers on the original viscosity, I'll try that. I'm going to the Heddington & Stockley steam rally over the weekend so I'll try asking some suitably gnarled stationary engine types for clues. Cheers Bob
John, if by 80 or 90 weight you're talking about gear oil which I presume you must be as there is no such thing as 80 or 90 weight engine oil AFAIK then it should be pointed out that gear oil has an entirely different set of viscosity classifications to engine oil. A straight 80 weight gear oil actually has a lower viscosity than a straight 30 weight engine oil so blending those is extremely unlikely to help the OP.
85w gear oil is about the same as SAE30 and 90w is a good bit thicker, similar to SAE50, but not enough so to be worth making a blend. If SAE30 is too thin then go directly to SAE50 or 90w gear oil and try that. Next up would be something like 140w gear oil.
Oil viscosities cover a considerable range for each classification but very approximately at 40c the viscosity in centistokes is about as follows. Gear oils have a wider range per classification than engine ones but I've indicated the mid point for simplicity.
It is a common misconception to think that gear oils are much thicker than engine oils, mainly because of the higher classification numbers, but it is not so. Also because most engine oils nowadays are multigrade with a very low cold number we are used to them being thin at room temperature compared to gear oil but of course they thin out less at higher temperatures than straight weight oils.
I hope the above is of use to the OP. I'm sure any oil company would be able to help him further.
There is in fact 80 and 90 weight motor oil! It's used in aircraft engines. At one time it was also available for older Harley Davidson motorcycles. They still carry SAE 50 and 60 oils. Failing the Harley dealer, go to you're local airport, and get some Aeroshell where they service light aircraft, or from the airport fuel supplier.
Steve R. Former private pilot, and Harley Davidson owner/mechanic/salesman.
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