manicmike

Vaseline is good for motors and only motors like Joe said and for the reasons he said, you shouldn't use it on gears. Vaseline will melt when warm which makes it perfect for motors, but very very bad for gears. Gear lube should not melt when hot or it will run off and leave the gears completely unprotected.
There are two types of Singer grease: The type for motors and the type for gears. The difference between them is huge, and if you read Singer documentation they make the distinction very clear, usually in bold or italics because it's that important not to use the wrong one.

Tri-flow grease is probably what you should use on SM gears, although the 201 requires oil. If I were you or sunflowerzz I'd be heading to my machines right now to replace the vaseline or inspect the damage. I'm worried about your machines now

singerguy

i use THIS SINGER LUBRICANT .
and the nice thing about this is you can also use this on your motor.

manicmike

This is motor lubricant, the melty stuff mentioned above. It's only supposed to be used on motors.

Ad says "use this to lubricate your sewing machine where the metal parts contact with one another."
They're suggesting you use it instead of oil!

singerguy

not so. they are both gear and motor lubricant. went to a LSMG with 30+ experience in fixing sewing machines and this is what he told me to use. since i only got less than a year experience of fixing sewing machines, i guess i'd rather trust him than myself (ha ha ha). by the way he owned his store and he got hundreds of vintage sewing machines and about 20 FWs. and hundreds of newer plastic sewing machines that he's fixing......

manicmike

In that case I might have to stop using mine on the motor and just use vaseline on the motor and oil on the gears. Motors and gears need different lubricants.

mlmack

Good grief. The Singer lubricant in the tube is a "pure non-flowing compound retaining its consistency and possessing high lubricating qualities."

This is what is used in the motor of the older machines, and on the gears of the newer machines.

The older machines used oil to lubricate all of the metal to metal contact points, and the newer machines use a combination of oil for most of the metal to metal contact points, and grease for the gears.

Lubricating the machine was supposed to be done on a regular basis, with the frequency depending on the amount of use.

To add to all of this confusion, some motors have holes at each end where you are supposed to add a drop of oil once in a while in order to lubricate the central shaft.

To further add to the confusion, the manual for my 301 clearly states, in capital letters, to use "SINGER MOTOR LUBRICANT" on the gears.

amcatanzaro

<sigh> Yes. Vaseline in the motor and tri flow in the gears. I was discussing the fact that the Singer lube isn't readily available to me.
Tri Flow in that little tube is way easier to get to those gears.

amcatanzaro

Anyhoo, point is, at least here in Ohio, I can't find Singer anything but oil. Are they phasing it out?
This stuff is what we are talking about, correct?

http://www.amazon.com/Singer-Lubrica...nger+lubricant

I have never in my life seen anything on the shelf besides this (when I didn't need it) and like I said, no one here carries it. What would be the second lube?

J Miller

>The old Singer Motor Lube was for use with both the motors and gears. I have many manuals that so state. Including my 401a and 500a's.

>The current Singer Lubricant is for gears, not motors. It says non flowing. You need motor lube to flow.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]476479[/ATTACH]
The Singer Lubricant ( white grease ), LEFT, is what is currently being made.
The Singer Motor Lube (amber, cream, to light brown), RIGHT, is no longer made. I cannot find any sources of it.

Petroleum jelly is the closest to the old Singer Motor Lube, but I don't think it's the exact same thing. It will work in the motors as it's melting point is the same, but if you've used it for dry skin, scrapes, or make up removal you know it is very easy to wipe off and it will soak in to the skin. There is no surface bonding to it that would make it suitable for metal to metal contact such as gears. And under heat, such as metal to metal friction, it will liquify and run or fling off. Then as Mike said, your gears are unprotected.

That is why I use Tri-Flow synthetic grease on metal gears of any brand, and non Singer plastic gears. For Singer plastic gears I use the white Singer Lubricant.

Now, a caveat about service personal. Sometimes they don't really know what they are talking about. There is a lot of confusion about the Lubricant Singer sells now. Some says it works on motors, others say it doesn't. But if you understand how the grease type motor lubes work, Singer Motor Lube and others such as petroleum jelly, then you can understand why a non flowing grease will not work for motors. And why gears need a non flowing grease. That is why I'm saying the older Singer Motor Lube grease is more than just petroleum jelly.

Motors that use grease for lube like the older Whites and the Singers and others, have a wick that directs the lube to the bearings.
As the motor warms up the grease in the pot, or tube liquifies and follows the wick to the bearings.

There is a thread on this forum that discusses this exact thing. Singer motor lube and petroleum jelly liquify at 115º, while automotive, high temp, and most other greases require higher temperatures to liquify. Synthetics, such as Tri-Flow and others will not liquify at the low temps sewing machine motors normally run, so the bearings will eventually run dry and wear out or fry.

Tri-Flow synthetic grease will not solidify at low temps nor liquify at high temps, it's also sticky so it sticks to the gears. That is why it works so good on them.

In conclusion I would recomend the Singer WHITE Lubricant as shown in my pic above, or Tri-Flow Synthetic grease for the 401s, 500s, and other Singers with gears.


Joe

amcatanzaro

Singer WHITE (in the blue tube) Lubricant or Tri-Flow Synthetic grease for the gears.

What for the motors? I get we need something flowing but what do you suggest, since the Singer product is discontinued. I have to assume there might be something different or more available in other countries.

I've never seen this thread where it was discussed in great detail. I have to assume it's buried.