NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Oil for Sextants, Chronometers, etc.
From: Ridge White
Date: 2012 Apr 2, 15:29 -0400
From: Ridge White
Date: 2012 Apr 2, 15:29 -0400
Having serviced sextants for 35+ years, I have found that exotic oils are unnecessary and frankly are a waste of money. There is extremely little wear taking place in the operation of a sextant over its lifetime. Imagine how many full turns a tangent screw makes during a sight, and then multiply by the number of sights a sextant is used for. The choice of lubricant does matter in that it should not harden or become gummy, and it should be applied very sparingly so as not to become a blanket where dust and dirt can collect and remain, but while nano-oils and clock oils may make the owner convinced he's used the best, the sextants parts don't know the difference. I have yet to see a sextant damaged by the "wrong" oil.
Robert E. White Instruments
PO Box 775
Medfield, MA 02052
Tel: 617-482-8460
Fax: 617-482-8304
Ridge White
Robert E. White Instruments
PO Box 775
Medfield, MA 02052
Tel: 617-482-8460
Fax: 617-482-8304
On Mon, Apr 2, 2012 at 11:24 AM, WF Jones <wfjones1@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
Has anyone tried a light viscosity "nano-oil" for subject items. It may be a much better lubricant than WD-40.
I use a Nye clock oil for fine mechanical applications, never WD-40. I remember coating some tools years ago with WD-40 while in the tropics and months later found them slightly sticky from the application.
Frank J.
Rochester, NY