The groove worn in the race on my Corsair II I figured was the reason
the vernier slipped. New race, balls, and center shaft and it doesn't slip.
A bicycle grease likely would be expected to be replaced annually. So
three years life is pretty good. We wish longer life in the PTO.
73, Jerry, K0CQ
On 3/28/2010 6:22 AM, Mike Hyder --N4NT-- wrote:
> This is good advice from Perry. I'll do that next time. One thing that
> didn't work was to sit my Triton on a steam radiator with the thought that
> the warmth might rejuvenate the old grease.
>
> Bicycle grease by Phil Woods was highly rated, but I think was a natural,
> petroleum-based grease, not the synthetic grease Perry describes. About ten
> years ago a bicycle shop filled a 35mm film canister for me free. There are
> two minor problems with this method: 1. The grease only remained "greasy"
> for about three years; and 2. Finding a 35mm film canister is a "trick."
> (With apologies to East Anglia University's Climate Research Unit.)
>
> A much bigger problem with petroleum-based greases is that most of the parts
> we are lubricating are cut from brass. My clockmaker uncle has warned me
> loudly against using a petroleum-based grease or oil on brass, saying that
> it attacks the metal over time. For a long, long time they used fish oil to
> avoid the problem but he again steered me away from the stuff I take daily.
>
> Once upon a time Steve Ellington's final pronouncement on PTO rebuilding was
> to clean it with EZ-Off Oven Cleaner and lubricate it with PAM. We never
> got a report from anyone who tried his method.
>
> The only PTO I ever thought needed parts replaced was my first Triton which
> also had a groove "worn" in the bearing race. Many times I have wished I
> had not replaced that race because on reflection, I believe the groove was
> probably part of the design which was later omitted to reduce cost. Wearing
> a groove like that would probably require use of the radio 24 x 7 for a few
> centuries of continuous contest use.
>
> In summation, I'd go with Perry and use the synthetic grease.
>
> 73, Mike N4NT
>
>
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