Pure silicone on the quadrant??
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Pure silicone on the quadrant??
Nick, in one of his videos on Maintenance of the headstock uses pure silicone on the quadrant. Pure silicone to my understanding is used to keep rubber seals soft. So I'm kind of confused about using pure silicone on the steel parts of quadrant. I hope someone can enlighten me on this reasoning. Thanks for the help in advance. The forums are an invaluable resource when it comes to working on the Shopsmith.
wow
Personally, I would not like any silicon in my 'shop' since it drives finishes nuts. I know it is used inside, but it has to outside at some point.
Forrest
Forrest
Forrest
Huntington Beach, CA
1985 500->510->520, bandsaw, jointer, planer, PowerPro, double-tilt, 3" casters,(now obsolete) speed increaser
Huntington Beach, CA
1985 500->510->520, bandsaw, jointer, planer, PowerPro, double-tilt, 3" casters,(now obsolete) speed increaser
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Ed in Tampa
- Platinum Member
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- Location: North Tampa Bay area Florida
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trainguytom
- Gold Member
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- Joined: Sat Feb 10, 2007 7:22 pm
- Location: Central WI
Silicone is slippery, but I agree that it should be kept away from the finishing process.
My dad's 1951 10er, 2 more 10er's, same vintage, a Goldie MK5, a 510 shortie with 34inch tubes, bandsaw, jointer, jigsaw, belt sander, a ton of small SS goodies and still looking...you just can't have enough Shopsmith stuff
I have used silicone on the table quadrants. It works for a while, but the slippery benefit disappears in a few days. I've never had a problem with contamination of any wood finishes.
Shopsmith recommends graphite for lube of the quadrants. I've had better luck with silicone than graphite. Easier and less messy.
I probably would never need lubrication of the quadrants if they were perfectly adjusted, but the lube is a whole lot easier - less time consuming and frustrating - than re-alignment for a slight rub when rotating the table to drill press configuration.
Shopsmith recommends graphite for lube of the quadrants. I've had better luck with silicone than graphite. Easier and less messy.
I probably would never need lubrication of the quadrants if they were perfectly adjusted, but the lube is a whole lot easier - less time consuming and frustrating - than re-alignment for a slight rub when rotating the table to drill press configuration.
Octogenarian's have an earned right to be a curmudgeon.
Chuck in Lancaster, CA
Chuck in Lancaster, CA
godavid2 wrote:So why would it be used on the quadrant? Because it is slippery? As a lubricant? The pure stuff has no petroleum products in it.
I haven't seen the source you mentioned but I know I don't do it that way. I also followed some un-named source and tried to use bee's wax. That worked OK in the summer but when I tried to use my machine when the temperature was like 50 degrees nothing would move. Ended up chipping the wax off to get thing moving.
I went back to the stick grease I've always used. I went from 1976 until last year without having any issues on one of my machine... then I upgraded to a powerpro. The gears still have years on them. In fact I'm going to use them to repair one of my other machines.
Big thing is to keep things cleaned and lubed. Saw dust is not your friend and when it combines with things you get crud, that is even less of a friend.
Ed