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Old 08-02-2013, 06:06 PM
  #19  
mlmack
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Location: Kansas City, MO
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Originally Posted by Sheluma View Post
Thanks, Mark for the info from your White manual. I had been wondering if the vaseline would become too runny and somehow get into the motor. I guess Singer's admonitions were based solely on money.

Now I am wondering if the old Singer tubes are made of lead, and if this could be a potential hazard. The metal feels very soft and malleable, like lead. I am thinking things like -- if there are traces of lead in the lube, will it vaporize at temperatures attained by the gears or the motor? If lube gets on your skin, could lead be absorbed by the skin? I confess to being phobic, in case y'all didn't notice that already.
The motor grease/petroleum jelly just lubricates the spindle that runs through the middle of the motor, and doessn't actually get inside the motor. At least it shouldn't. There should be some sort of a wick system inside of the grease cups that efficiently distributes the lubricant.

I guess the real question is whether or not the properties of petroleum jelly have changed since the 1920's?
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