colloidal graphite

I've used about a pint of oil over the last few days using my shaper as a choppy uppy machine and wasn't happy about the mess etc this makes as well as the general wear and tear on the unit

Anyway, the Gods led me to this old article on a rather useful substance

colloidal graphite

It's good for constantly running machinery, cast iron, steam engine cylinders aero engines, casting, clock wheels etc etc

Anyhow. I thought I'd share

It can be oil OR water based, so could be handy for the choo-choo people

If you DON't want solder to stick to a particular surface then an application of this stuff goes a long way towards achieving that aim

Edited By Ady1 on 22/04/2015 10:49:31

There used to be a motor oil containing this stuff. A friend used it in his vintage motorcycle, when he stripped it down, the big end oilways were completely clogged with graphite.

Edited By RJW on 22/04/2015 11:44:41

I've had some fine graphite powder for years. It's very good used dry as a lubricant for locks but I certainly wouldn't use it on my clock wheels!

Russell.

The Graphite used in engines was called, 'Filtrate' and was quoted to be used as a running in additive but as daveb says would collect in the centrifugal gallery in the M/cycle crankshaft. Better to use a graphite grease/ oil when assembling rather than running for a long time with it in the engine.

Clive

I've done a bit of reading up on this collodial graphite stuff and if it's the real deal they claim it should never clog any part of a machine up, the particles are so small they can't even be seen with an ordinary microscope, the centrifugal build up issue sounds plausible though

I got a small can of it this AM and it's like a goopy black oil, will try it out on my shaper and lathe spindle

A part can also be soaked in it before fitting, the graphite cannot be removed by normal cleaning processes

Test spindles soaked in it lasted for over 200 hours when the oil supply was cut while a test spindle without it lasted 36 minutes

I'm quite a heavy user of my machines so anything which extends their life is a good thing for me

Edited By Ady1 on 24/04/2015 10:06:56

I opened up my ancient flymo this am to sharpen the blade, the old girl is starting to sound her age and been struggling since last year

Drizzled a bit of this graphite stuff down the spindle and put her back together

She's been turned into a howling whirring dervish with rather a lot of power compared to previously, only took 10mins to do too

Used to be called Oildag and used on Strowger telephone switch mechanisms. Very good too. Handy also for anointing apprentices privates when they had done their time. Not allowed now.....

.

I have no hard evidence to support or dispute this ... but this correspondence is worth reading.

MichaelG.

It was stated that the collodial graphite attached itself to the metal and made a life long barrier to wear. I always use it when assembling engine parts but do not use it in the normal engine oil as the detergent properties nullify the use in the sump. In fact a better item is Molibdenum diasulfide as an additive. (Spelling)

This is used extensively in universal joints with ball bearings, I recently changed a rubber gaitor on the car and the Diusulfide grease is suppled in a sachet to work between the balls in the shaped body.

Clive

I have an error to report from the OCR software

The mineral oil survived for 36 minutes

The colloidal graphite survived for 26.75 hours, not 261 hours

link

.

Ady,

With wry amusement, I note that NPL's presumably meticulous reporting can be so easily destroyed by an OCR error. ... There's probably a lesson in there, for us all.

Whatever: I think you might also find this report interesting.

MichaelG.

I noticed in another article about grease that CV joint grease shouldn't be used in wheel bearings as the rollers can skid due to lack of friction and this leads to premature failure. So much for the "what'll do a lot will do a little" saying

Steve

I remember being told never to mix graphite grease and molybdenum disulfide grease. We used to use moly grease in the bearings on the tailwheel of our Cessna 185 aircraft (and any other tail dragger). Apparently if the two are mixed in a ball race, before long an extra ball will form, next the bearing will burst.

Ian S C

The build up of graphite in the big-end of a motorcycle crankshaft was probably a deliberate mis-direction by people that didn't sell graphied oil. Having drilled out the deposits from several Triumph crankshaft big-end galleries, my belief is that the build up consists of carbon combustion products. (The process involves, unscrewing the threaded plug, usually started with an impact driver, drilling into the deposit in the removable inner tube to make room for a coarse tap, winding the tap in as far as possable and then using the thread cut as a purchase to jack the tube out. Then all that remains is to remove the hardened deposit that was around the outside of the tube..... and a trip to the grankshaft grinder!)

The introduction of an oil filter on the later Meriden Triumphs, when it happened 1969/70 ish, was about 30 or 40 years overdue.