Poll
Question:
What band saw blade lube do you use?
Option 1: Diesel
votes: 15
Option 2: Soapy water
votes: 14
Option 3: Vegetable Oil
votes: 1
Option 4: Other oil based
votes: 3
Option 5: Other water based
votes: 6
Anyone here use vegetable oil for band saw blade lube?
I'm using canola oil in my chain saws. Cheaper than buying it pre-coloured and labelled enviro-chainsaw oil.
On the pro side it's less stinky than diesel and better for the environment - and my lungs.
On the con side is the glycerine gets sticky and gooey after sitting a while. Would get stinky too once the bacteria sets in. A little brake cleaner un-gums my chainsaw blades if they get sticky.
Use cold pressed oil only. It will say on the jug. You are setting yourself up for misery otherwise
Since "Rendered Chicken Fat" was not an option...
Diesel then
water and cascade.
I've started adding methanol/denatured alcohol to my dishwashing detergent water lube. For 2 reasons: 1) to reduce freezing temperature and; 2) methanol cuts the sap a bit better than dish detergent alone.
Methanol is the active ingredient in windshield washer fluid. Buying undiluted means I'm not buying 50% or more water.
So Apple juice is made from crushed apples
Orange Juice is made from squished oranges
Canola oil is made from crushed canola (cold press anyway, the other stuff is chemical expelled)
What is baby oil made from? :D
The stuff that comes out of the back end of a baby.
Ok Southside, but before you go squeezing the oil out of a baby can you explain what a canola is?
Not veg oil .. was recommended by gas hedge trimmer maker for blades .. did it a couple of times but dried like glue cementing blades together .. and sticky .. NOT for sawmill blades!
A cannoli is a desert I had back when I lived in NY! :D :D :D
This reference has a pic of southside as a baby.
baby oil (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_oil)
Well, at least he came into the world with hair...
I never had that much hair, they used a body double for that picture. Canola is the PC name for the plant otherwise known as Rapeseed.
Quote from: NaySawyer on November 23, 2023, 10:03:09 PM
Not veg oil .. was recommended by gas hedge trimmer maker for blades .. did it a couple of times but dried like glue cementing blades together .. and sticky .. NOT for sawmill blades!
A little brake cleaner does the trick
We used vegtable oil for lube on the Cooks AC 36 making food grade wood products a few years back. It worked well the drip on the steel wheels can be a heavier flow especially using Diesel. and it's true shelf life with the vegetable oil once opened doesn't last very long. Especially if you store it in cold weather.
Didn't have success with other mill that has belted wheels, blade slipped .