Morning Ron

Somebody with more knowledge and experience will be along shortly I'm sure but I have realised that for any 'particular' lube application there will be a 'particular' type or class of oil best suited to it BUT if you haven't got any then 3 in 1 will probably get you through until the box arrives in the post. Had exactly this situation when my new machines arrived recently; cleaned off the preservative and wanted something to oil the surfaces and 3 in 1 was there Took the advice in JasonB' on lube (in the milling for beginners article in the last MEW) and now have a particular lube for a particular use.

My ancient gallon can of 3 in 1 (priced £3.80) just list ' a blend of refined light oils' and ' a polar rust additive' . Kept in company with my jerrycan of 'Pink Paraffin' and a Buck and Hickman tools catalogue all from my ironmongery days!

I use anything oily as long as its less than three quid a gallon from the beneficent boot.

Rik

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Good question ^^^

Here's one version of the MSDS : **LINK**

https://www.technologysupplies.co.uk/downloads/msds/SDS0098.pdf

Unfortunately "Pale Spindle Oil" doesn't mean much to me.

MichaelG.

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… and this site doesn't exactly narrow things down:

https://3-in-one.co.uk/data-sheets/

Multiple products, all called 3-IN-ONE

[shades of the Loctite nonsense]

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 13/06/2018 09:56:27

I used 3 in 1 oil in my first couple of models and found that it does indeed go gummy after a fairly short time. I ended up stripping a couple of engines that were only a year or so old to get rid of all the residue. I only run my engines on compressed air.

I have no idea what is in the oil to make it gum up, I only know I don't use it now.

Jim

Somewhere, I still have the ME article on the best rust prevention 'oil' available.

In the trial , 3 in one was far better at keeping rust at bay, for longer, than any other similar product.

No idea how good it is as an lubricating oil though.

It's lubricated Many thousands of Mowers, Sturmey Archer 3 speed cycle hubs etc and kept them running smoothly for many decades. I still use it around the workshop, albeit the old original maker's (E.R Howard of Hull) Thick Grade of 3 in 1 .

Never had any issues with gumming. Spindle Oil was specified for use in Textile Mills. Pale version reduced risk of staining. Being light grade, it drains, so requires regular replenishment, especially where the textile fluff tended to 'Wick' the oil away from the important bits.

And an example of the TV commercial in the 70s- Silence is Golden

Edited By Richard S2 on 13/06/2018 13:47:58

Wikipedia description.The formula consists of pale spindle oil with a small amount of corrosion inhibitor^[which?] and citronella oil (which gives the product its distinctive sharp odor). Mike.

Here's a link to a more up-to-date (2014) version of the MSDS, I'm not sure that "Severely hydrotreated heavy naphthenic oil" is castor oil – sounds rather like a distillation product from crude mineral oil.

Keith

Interesting, apparently 'spindle oil' doesn't go gummy, yet going gummy (a characteristic of vegetable oils) is something I have associated with 3in1 since I was a teenager.

I was once told it had castor oil in it, although it doesn't smell of it.

Neil

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I'm grateful for your contribution to my education, Monoman

I have sought and found a document which explicitly states itself to be : Safety data sheet according to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006, Annex II Revised on / Version: 12.02.2014 / 0001

**LINK**

https://www.flints.co.uk/pdffiles/3in1_msds.pdf

[ quietly amused by the fact that its filename includes msds ]

Unfortunately this contributes almost nothing to expand my understanding of the product.

I must be missing something: Could you please try to explain explain the advantage of this SDS over the MSDS.

MichaelG.

I don't rate the spray 3 in 1 very highly (that did seem to have little efficacy in the long term). But the regular squeezy bottles of it do seem to maintain their oiliness for a long time.

I would say things like linseed or vegetable oils are a no go, on the basis that they definitely do dry out quite quickly. 

It's probably a little bit thicker than machine oil (not the slideway stuff, which is very thick), but I tend to use neat industrial cutting oil for most jobs now. So its use is mainly limited to mechanisms and the like for me rather than a cutting lubricant. WD40 is pretty good for most things mechanical and a superior rust remover. 

3 in 1 also has a very low flash point, which probably means it's not the best for use as a high speed cutting aid. 

Michael W

Edited By Michael-w on 13/06/2018 19:58:38