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| "Sticky"/ viscous oil to slow down moving parts. |
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| S. Heslop:
Not quite sure how to explain this. I've made a kind of tripod head to make use of an old telescope tripod to mount a video camera. The old tripod already had a pan pivot with that sort of sticky oil inside of it, which makes the horizontal movement very smooth. Which is certainly nice for recording video! heres a photo for interest The part I made includes the tilt pivot for the vertical movement. It's pretty jerky as is though. I don't know much about oil at all, and googling is just getting me stuff on frying pans. But how would I go about finding/ making a thick grease. I'm worried that just trying things out like a mix of hydraulic oil and roofing tar might go hard inside the pivot. |
| vtsteam:
Petroleum based greases won't dry out, vegetable types will, though. Increased temperature will soften most greases so could get kind of messy if it isn't contained -- can't quite tell from the photo where you plan to put it. Particularly messy if your tripod happened to spend some time in a car in summer. You'd probably want something transparent, unlike most automotive greases. I suppose you could try Vaseline or equivalent petroleum jelly -- but again, heat might be a problem. Also any grease will tend to pick up dirt, if exposed. Maybe a wax would be better? |
| Bluechip:
Most grease is stiff anyway. Just made a ball-turner with Castrolease LM in it to put some drag on it. But I would guess any grease would do the same. Just happen to have a tin. If you want a stiff 'oil' nip off to the chemist and get either liquid paraffin or glycerol which is more viscous. And probably less gruesome than mineral 'steam oil' which is thick. IIRC Otherwise stuff like gearbox oil is viscous ...[ EP90 and the like I think, not used it for ages ] Not possible to arrange some sort of friction lock and avoid the subject altogether ?? Failing that ... Golden Syrup ??? Marmalade ??? Have fun ... :thumbup: Dave BC |
| philf:
The stuff you need is Kilopoise grease. I use it on microscope focussing slides. Have a look at http://www.rocol.com/products/kilopoise-high-viscosity-damping-grease From the above page: KILOPOISE damping grease can be used for the lubrication of slides, gears and threads on instruments to impart smooth positive movement with a ‘silky’ feel by providing damping and increased friction/drag. •KILOPOISE greases do not harden due to their extremely low volatility, therefore, adjustments can be continually made •Damping action allows smooth precise movement •Allows larger clearances and tolerances on mating parts •Low volatility, therefore product remains unchanged over long periods •Seals against moisture Cheers. Phil. |
| Bill Stupak:
Chain saw bar oil is pretty viscous. Bill |
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