doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Hinge-pin lube recommendations

I can't take exception to any comment here...all are good advice. Most important, as noted, is to clean the load bearing (hinge pin) and friction surfaces (locking bolt) and apply a new light coating of lube before each outing. Just like changing the oil in your car it's cheap insurance against damage!
I've used STOS from P/W for years (still do), but also use Tri-Flow Synthetic Grease at the recommendation of Giacomo Arrighini (Mr. Perazzi in NY). Good for the threads on choke tubes too. Both Tri Flow and STOS are easy to apply, and easy to clean off after shooting.
The labeling on the Tri-Flow tube is a hoot - "Acceptable for use in Federally inspected meat and poultry plants" and is Kosher Approved...important I suppose for those who are only allowed to shoot Kosher meats and clay targets. A three ounce tube will easily last for 2 years of weekly shooting. Remember, a clean gun is a happy gun. Good shooting to all.

I apologize for not reading the entire thread before posting my opinion, but, what the heck. My experience in an instrument shop when I was in school taught me about "White Lubriplate". The color was more important than the texture or lubricating properties. In my opinion, anything works on a hinge pin as long as it's slippery, but the whiteness or lack of whiteness tells us when it's time to blow it all out and start over, and I don't mean wiping with a finger on a rag. I mean blowing it all out with brake cleaner and relubricating. Particles show up in white lubriplate and almost as well, but not quite as well, in STOS. However, these thick concoctions do not respond well to a cleaning rag in hidden crevices, so I have given up on them and now use only oil. Oil is much easier to clean out with rags and Q-tips and doesn't build up in corners and crevices. However, as Capt Curl suggests, I still have a jar of grease in each of my trunk cases, just in case. They just look kind of neat. Full oil bottles in trunk cases is a big no no once you have seen one leak.

I thought Vaseline was mainly to prevent the shooter's a$$ from getting "gauld" (galled). Didn't really think it is designed for metal to metal contact!

Curl

Cpt, that is only a partial answer. Preparation H serves both purposes and as an added benefit, does not leak in a trunk case. I got this suggestion from a Virginia vageegee mechanic who is also quite a collector of fine double guns. Murphy

I've always wondered why people will accept the fact that oil can leak from an oil bottle, and thus cause a mess, and then proclaim it as a good hinge pin lube? If you believe the drop of 3 in 1 you put on the pin is still there after the last 100 rounds you shot at the local clay pigeon emporium of choice, in 85 degree or so temps, you are sadly mistaken. Oil, you see, is a liquid. Liquids, by definition, flow. Usually, into the wood at the front in this case, which, unlike a solid metal hinge pin, is happy to warehouse runny oil for you. End of story.
One fact missed by most is that a hinge pin is a perfect example of a part that is stress loaded, and unlaoded, at the shot, and further exposed to radial movement, with further loading and unloading, depending on what type of ejector or extractor mechanism is present. If it was an industrial application, the pin would be drilled, and have a lubrication groove (anulus is the correct term, but, I'm just guessing Prep H isn't an EP, or extreme pressure, lube) around that, with a zerk on one end, and call for lubrication at the beginning of an 8 hour operating shift.
If you aren't using an EP synthetic grease, you are missing out on a superior lube that will stay in place in every weather condition, hot or cold, you can expose the gun to here on earth.
That way, you can leave the decorative oil bottle in your case empty, and avoid the mess, as well.
Best,
Ted

Ted, I did not recommend oil to others, I only stated that I use it and mentioned my reasons. At the beginning of my post, I mentioned the reasons for using White Lubriplate or STOS, and implied that I would recommend these. I agree with you that for a gun used for clay targets in quantity, a grease rather than an oil may be preferred. However, I don't think a shotgun hinge pin is under the type of stress and friction that would require a zerk.

Having spent considerable time listening to lubrication experts and reviewing data on the subject, I would venture to guess that the gun application is a very low pressure and low surface speed, interface and lubrication requirements are not very demanding relative to something like a auto suspension ball joint. Also, zerk fittings don't provide additional lubrication, but rather make it convenient to lube. The actual lubricant is a very thin film between the two surfaces.

I agree with eightbore....oil is the best.

Today, I shopped around our small Western Minnseota town and came up with John Deere Multi-purpose HD Lithium Complex Grease #TY24416, 14 oz. for less than $3 (Tax incl.). Said to be heavy duty long-lasting grease for high temperature and extreme pressure applications (Timken OK Load Rating = 60). I'm still looking for the higher-rated stuff......Cheveron and/or Citgo products, though. If doesn't work out, at least I can use it in my ATV trailer wheel bearings.

Thanks for the stars....perhaps, a vote of confidence.

John