Oil for micrometer XY stage

[durableoreo]

Thanks!

 

[Winegrower]

As an aside, oil is a terrific mystery to me. I have a high vacuum pump that needs only a very special oil, that last time I looked was $2400 per gallon. Fortunately I found a pint that was HP surplus, should be a lifetime supply.

 

[rwdenney]

By "instrument oil" are you referring to the stuff that, for example, trumpet players use for their valves? Same as key oil?

No. Valve oil for brass instruments will evaporate easily, and it’s too light for machinery. That stuff is made to be fast at the expense of lubricity, and is meant to be applied at every use.

Kroil used to make Microil, which they called instrument oil, and which is probably the same stuff Starrett sells for micrometers. I have a can of that and a bottle of the Starrett stuff and use them interchangeably for micrometer threads.

Rick “brass instrument valves float on the surface tension film with near-zero applied force” Denney