The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Has anyone ever tried this grease for motor springs? From the description, it sounds like it would be ideal, and the consistency is perfect. Not sure why the photos are sideways - my apologies!

Tacky is not what you want for spring coils to slide* nicely against each other. Tacky is what causes thumping. It'll be interesting hear from anyone who has tried it. I'd be happy to be wrong.

*Yes, I see where it says good for sliding surfaces. I believe the case of sliding spring coils may be somewhat different than what's alluded to on the can.

Last time I did a motor, I used molybdenum-graphite grease. It performed well, but the viscosity was too thin and it seeped out. Perhaps I see if I can find a thicker version.

No to the red and thin.

You’re best using graphited grease or moly grease for long term happiness.

If the moly grease is too thin, add some graphite!

What motor had the moly grease leak out of it? And can you do something to seal the barrel better?

Did the motor stop running well?

There is only a little space for the extra grease in a spring motor barrel, and that is above and below the springs. As the motor is wound, some grease will get pushed from the center up the spring as it tightens, but much of it will try to go up or down, and the excess will get squeezed out of the arbor hole openings. I just wipe that extra grease up and keep using it. Thicker grease isn’t going to keep it in, it will just keep the motor from running as well as it should.

The biggest problem we encounter is in keeping a film of grease on the spring as it is wound. There is immense pressure, pushing the lubricant from between the spring layers. It seems that the best situation would be to have many little dimples for oil/grease to reside in on the spring, while retaining an ultra smooth and level surface surrounding each little dimple. The graphite would provide a bit of a surface for oil to reside around, while remaining slippery in its own right.

Perhaps the ultimate situation would be to increase the slipperiness of the spring itself, so lubrication would not be needed. Watch and clock people have Teflon coated springs. We are not likely to be so lucky to find something like that available. I put in an inquiry to a spring manufacturer about somewhat exotic alloys for mainsprings, and they quoted me about $1000 for a small run of 2-4. I haven’t heard back on the cost of buying 100 or more. And I have not yet asked about Teflon.

Perhaps it has enough extreme pressure additives to do the job? My issue with all sorts of greases, is that the oil is pushed out of the thickener when under pressure. That doesn’t happen with Vaseline because it is naturally thick.

My most recent experiment (and I unfortunately have not done a control) is to mix some of my graphite/Vaseline grease with the valvoline moly grease I have. Doesn’t seem to be doing anything bad as of yet! But don’t know if it’s doing anything better than Vaseline and graphite alone or the moly grease alone.

I just disassembled the motor, and there is still plenty of grease (I used Moly-Graph) in there, so I think just the excess seeped out. Will keep using it, as it makes for whisper quiet operation.

I have use dry Teflon spray lubricant on open spring machines like a Puck, because I didn't want grease or oil to attract dust and make a mess. So far it has worked well, but these machines are not frequent players. I agree that permanently Teflon coated springs would probably be maintenance free for a very long time, but I don't think we will get those anytime soon. For springs in barrels I use the Moly grease from automotive stored and have not had any bad experiences. I absolutely hate the Vaseline-graphite mix, because it creates such a mess and starts drying out and clumping after a few years.

Andreas