Oil & Oil Cans

[Rhyolith]

Oil is an essential part of using metal hand tools and machines. I have opted for using old cans for the utilisation of this resource around my workshop, mostly just cause they look pretty Such as the lovely one by Benton & Stone of Birmingham I recently found below:
Benton & Stone Oil Can by Rhyolith, on Flickr

I have a few queries and discussions around the subject so thought I would ask them all in one thread.

1 - I want to clean the can above of all the standard crude you tend to find in old hand tools (dry oil with dust in it), would using white spirit (which is what I usually use on drills to clean the same stuff of those) damage the valves etc... in the can's mechanism?

2 - Is there a mass purchasable alternative to 3 in 1 oil? I really like 3 in 1, but it does not appear to be possible to buy it in more than 200ml bottles... I would like to be able to have a reservoir of many litres that I can just pour into my old metal cans, ideally not in the form of 10+ small bottles. I know you can get WD40 in 5 litre bottles, but I don't consider this an alternative to 3 in 1 really (Should I?). I already have a large vat of engine oil, which I use but it is a bit too thick for most things I need.

3 - The range of different designs in Oil cans is amazing, they are obviously specialised in a lot of specific tasks (such as the singer sewing machine oilers). I would be interested to see photos of peoples favourites/best oil cans. Heres mine (at the moment; could be replaced by the one above once its cleaned up), it contains 3 in 1 and I use it on pretty much all my tools:
Red Oiler by Rhyolith, on Flickr

 

[bugbear]

I know oil cans/oilers have their own world of collectors; see if you can find a forum.

I bet there is one.

BugBear

 

[D_W]

My father, who is not much of a collector of things otherwise, collects oil cans....he often reaches for one of the hundreds of cans that he has and uses the oil in it when he needs to oil something (regardless of whether or not it's 100 years old).

I doubt you'll trouble the seals with mineral spirits if you put the can back in oil, but it seems unnecessary to clean them that heavily. I'd dump the oil out, swish some mineral spirits around in the can - squirt some through the nozzle, wipe it out and then put whatever you want to in it.

A substitute for 3 in 1, if you're just looking for an oil that's excellent for hand tool use, is light mineral oil from a kitchen supply place or veterinary supply (it's used as food safe oil on kitchen machines, and probably a laxative for horses and cows). In the states, it's about $15 a gallon, and there is a multitude of other uses for it (mixing with beeswax, etc, for a nondrying soft and skin-safe wax...).

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Braime of Leeds made some nice, solid oilcans - quite a few on Ebay. During my railway volunteering days, we used a small firm who made and supplied traditional oilcans and oil bottles - http://footplateequipment.co.uk/ - they'll do you a firing shovel and appropriate overalls as well!

As white spirit is a petrochemical derivative, it's pretty unlikely to harm oilcans. There is a chance that old packings in pumps may have hardened or perished, but other than that and physical damage, there's not much to go wrong.

A good general lubricant is a straight hydraulic oil, which is available in a range of viscosities. For general machine use, somewhere about ISO 30 would be a pretty fair all-rounder; Myford lathe users will be familiar with Esso Nuto H32, which is as near to an ISO 30 hydraulic oil as most. One useful source of oils, greases and metal-cutting liquids is Morris's of Shrewsbury - http://www.morrislubricantsonline.co.uk/ - they can supply in quantities from a pint to a tankerful.

Edit to add - one thing worth bearing in mind is the amazing capacity of almost any grade of oil to escape from it's containment. Never assume an oilcan is capable of keeping all it's contents in - the stuff will slither out somehow! Standing oilcans on a metal tray of some sort is always a good idea!

 

[Trafalgar]

Mobile No. 6 spindle oil...

 

[Rhyolith]

I doubt you'll trouble the seals with mineral spirits if you put the can back in oil, but it seems unnecessary to clean them that heavily. I'd dump the oil out, swish some mineral spirits around in the can - squirt some through the nozzle, wipe it out and then put whatever you want to in it.

Thats pretty much what I was going to do, just swill it out with white spirit.

What are mineral spirits?

Braime of Leeds made some nice, solid oilcans - quite a few on Ebay. During my railway volunteering days, we used a small firm who made and supplied traditional oilcans and oil bottles - http://footplateequipment.co.uk/ - they'll do you a firing shovel and appropriate overalls as well!....

...... Edit to add - one thing worth bearing in mind is the amazing capacity of almost any grade of oil to escape from it's containment. Never assume an oilcan is capable of keeping all it's contents in - the stuff will slither out somehow! Standing oilcans on a metal tray of some sort is always a good idea!

Thanks for the links. Yes Braimes pops up a lot in the tool related antiques fairs etc... that I often frequent, in good condition they seem quite pricey which is why I don't have one.

The leaking was the other thing I forgot to ask about. The red can above leaks the least of any can I have, but does still get out if its on its side or upsidedown... so I was wondering if its ultimatly un-avoidable. I have a mild steel thing (don't really know what it is....) that they all sit on in a nice conjealed lake of oil.

Out if interest what qualifications do you need to be a volunteer on the railway? (steam traction I am assuming?).

 

[Trafalgar]

Mineral spirits are the same as white spirit.

 

[Jelly]

White spirit, mineral spirits or lighter fluid are the least likely of all solvents to cause damage, as they're just lighter fractions of the same material an mineral oil (white/mineral spirits are usually the 60-100°C fractions, Light Hydrotreated Naptha; lighter fluid is more likely the 40-60°C fraction, Petroleum Ether 60-40; base oil for lubricants can come from fraction anywhere from 120-300°C depending on the desired viscosity and intended additives).

With regards to buying lube oils, you can buy just about anything you want, as long as you know the viscosity required; If you buy a 25lt jerrycan of it, you should be able to get a lid with a tap.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Out if interest what qualifications do you need to be a volunteer on the railway? (steam traction I am assuming?).

Steam traction it was - though there are quite a few heritage diesels about, too. No formal qualifications are needed, just enthusiasm and a willingness to make reasonable commitments (a sense of humour helps, too). All the training needed for safety-critical posts (footplate work, guard's work, signalling etc) will be arranged by the railway, to a level satisfactory to the HSE. For footplate work, that's a mix of practical experience and some more-or-less formal classroom training, starting as a cleaner and progressing to fireman and ultimately driver. It's likely to take several years to pass out for driving on most heritage railways. It's physically quite demanding, and days can be long.

One thing my involvement brought home to me was how fast technology (and working conditions) have advanced in a relatively short time. Bear in mind that in the UK we didn't stop building steam locomotives for mainline revenue-earning service until the early 1960s, about the same time Concorde was being designed and the Apollo space programme was getting under way. I've often spared a thought for the poor beggars firing those Apollo rockets; they must have been shovelling like h*ll to get those things into orbit.

By the way, lighting up a locomotive needs a lot of wood before the fire's hot enough to burn coal. It's a good use for old pallets, we found.

 

[ED65]

1. I too doubt that white spirit will damage anything on the can. But, I do want to caution that one shouldn't assume it won't simply because it's a lighter fraction of basically the same thing as paraffin/mineral oil itself, it's a volatile fraction after all and that makes for quite a difference in what it can and can't do – some things will dissolve in white spirit but won't dissolve in oil (easily or at all).

But still, white spirit is a non-polar solvent so it's unlikely to do anything untoward here. However, if you wanted to err on the side of caution you could try baby oil. Baby oil's a surprisingly good grease-cutter. And if you want to increase the cleaning action warm the oil before use.

Normally I'd recommend you use a hair drier or heat gun to heat the item itself but with solder best not to take the chance of overheating any seams.

2. It's not mass-purchasable but still something I'm sure would work out cheaper than 3-in-One: baby oil or liquid paraffin, or a mix of both to the desired consistency. Getting the hydraulic oil Cheshirechappie mentions seems likely to be the cheapest alternative though.

Just to expand a bit on the fractions stuff, petroleum jelly/Vaseline is lower down on the same spectrum and it's no different to the basis for machine greases so you can also sub those in for grease if you ever need to.

3. Are you planning on cleaning it only or were you going to polish the copper as well? It would look amazing bright!

 

[DTR]

My trusty oil can

It belonged to my late grandfather so I'm quite attached to it. As you can see, it lives behind the lathe so it's invariably covered in swarf 8) I will echo CC's comment that oil has the Houdini-like quality of escaping whatever vessel you put it in!

For general cleaning I use liquid WD40 from the 5l bottle. It also a good honing fluid [cue argument about sharpening].
On the lathe I now use H32 oil. There was a thread about that recently here.
For the small tools (i.e. hand drills) I use 3in1, but for me a 200ml bottle normally goes a long way.

 

[ED65]

Wow that's in good nick for the age and seeing regular use DTR.

For general cleaning I use liquid WD40 from the 5l bottle. It also a good honing fluid [cue argument about sharpening].

People argue about whether WD-40 can be used as a honing oil, seriously?

 

[Rhyolith]

Thanks for the photo DTR! Seems like a lot of the nicest oil cans were made in Birmingham, mainly Wesco and Benton & Stone.

I thought pretty much any oil can be used for honing...

I have gone ahead and cleaned the B&S can with white spirit, seems fine after a lot of gunk came out. I have not treid oil in it yet (still need to buy some) though. To answer your 3rd question ED, yes I do Intend to brasso the spout and brass/copper bits, though I am in two minds whether to repaint it (the whole thing was originally red); as the curent rusty patina is quite nice.

 

[Jamesc]

Finally as promised here is my Kayes collection as it stands at the moment (I know I have a few coming for my birthday in another month).

I also have quite a few other makes if anyone is interested

James

 

[Trafalgar]

Those would certainly take the drudgery out of lubricating something.

 

[swb58]

I decided to treat myself at the local car boot on Sunday and bought an old oil can, I can see Birmingham on the label but not much else.
The dry dusty interior was outweighed by the long perfectly formed metal spout, much easier on the eye than an old fairy liquid bottle. I didn't look closely enough at it though, there's a hole in the bottom of it! Now I've got to spend ten times as much on some solder . . . . . happy days.