Sewing machine oil question

[Silentkilla01]

I got to thinking about this earlier. Say SHTF tomarrow and 6 months down the road you run out of gun oil. All you can find is a store that's got sewing machine oil on hand. Could you use this and would it be safe to properly lubricate your fire arms?

[NAPOTS]

I got to thinking about this earlier. Say SHTF tomarrow and 6 months down the road you run out of gun oil. All you can find is a store that's got seeing machine oil on hand. Could you use this and would it be safe to properly lubricate your fire arms?

you can realistically use just about anything, hell motor oil would be my go to if I had to choose from household chemicals and I was out of rem oil, hoppes, 3-in-1, tetra, etc.

I have used waterproof bearing grease a number of times with good results.

[FunkyPertwee]

My uncle uses sewing machine oil already.

Not sure why really. He probably got used to it back in the day when there weren't many stores around here.

[Dr. Gonzo GED]

Motor oil from a junked vehicle if SHTF.

Heck, you could probably get away with straight grease in an AK.

[NAPOTS]

Motor oil from a junked vehicle if SHTF.

Heck, you could probably get away with straight grease in an AK.

I have heard of guys that swear by automatic transmission fluid for gun lube too.

Grease is actually a great gun lube for many guns provided it is used sparingly. It is intended for high pressure high temperature applications. I have greased ARs, garands, 1911s and they all worked great. Just don't get carried away with how much you use.

[jojo]

The last WWII Japanese hold-out in the Philippines used pork fat and he was shooting people with his Arisaka and storing his ammo in mayonnaise jars up until the 70's so...............

[Viking350]

I have heard of guys that swear by automatic transmission fluid for gun lube too.

Grease is actually a great gun lube for many guns provided it is used sparingly. It is intended for high pressure high temperature applications. I have greased ARs, garands, 1911s and they all worked great. Just don't get carried away with how much you use.

I use hi temp bearing grease exclusively to lube my AR.

[Silentkilla01]

I use hi temp bearing grease exclusively to lube my AR.

Does it work good? I mean as in you don't pick up any other debris in your rifle because of the grease?

[Viking350]

Does it work good? I mean as in you don't pick up any other debris in your rifle because of the grease?

As NAPOTS said, use it sparingly. You just lightly coat the bearing surfaces. When I got my first AR a few years back, I found this video. You may or may not like JY, but I've not had a problem following his advice. I'm just a hobbyist, so I'm not marching through deserts or sloshing through swamps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXIsKEHo-4g

What I like about the grease is it is cheap: my can cost around $4 at Wally World. It is the size of a can of peanuts. With the amount I use to lube my AR, it will last me, my son and my grandson our lifetimes. Also, I like the viscosity of the grease. I think it stays in place and lubricates better than oil. JMO.

[Silentkilla01]

Cool thanks for the link bro

[Viking350]

Cool thanks for the link bro

My pleasure.

[Silentkilla01]

My pleasure.

One more question instead of bearing grease will axle grease do the trick?

[Viking350]

One more question instead of bearing grease will axle grease do the trick?

I would think so. Some guys swear by that white lithium grease.

[ready]

Ive used white lithium, moly grease for cams, motor oil, gear oil, tranny fluid and regular old gun oil. It all works. Only thing I would caution against is use it sparingly in very dusty environments especially with ARs. Not such a big deal with other platforms.

[jojo]

Heard stories of Korean War Veterans that used hair tonic lubricate their firearms.

On a side note since you are interested in grease. I took a Sako Vixen (.223) to the range one winter to verify zero. I had fired it many times during the summer and was just confirming the zero on the scope. I squeezed the trigger and it didn't fire. As I was raising the rifle off of the rest to jack the shell out it. It fired. Tried it again. Same thing. Turns out that the bolt had an orange factory grease inside of it that was thickened by the cold weather. Flushed it out with Chemtool and lubed it with Breakfree. Never had a problem with it.

[Silentkilla01]

Heard stories of Korean War Veterans that used hair tonic lubricate their firearms.

On a side note since you are interested in grease. I took a Sako Vixen (.223) to the range one winter to verify zero. I had fired it many times during the summer and was just confirming the zero on the scope. I squeezed the trigger and it didn't fire. As I was raising the rifle off of the rest to jack the shell out it. It fired. Tried it again. Same thing. Turns out that the bolt had an orange factory grease inside of it that was thickened by the cold weather. Flushed it out with Chemtool and lubed it with Breakfree. Never had a problem with it.

I'll be damned. That's good to know!

[ready]

I can see that. Ive seen it with carbon build up too where it either fails to fire or slam fires because the FP isn't moving freely.

[Silentkilla01]

Ive used white lithium, moly grease for cams, motor oil, gear oil, tranny fluid and regular old gun oil. It all works. Only thing I would caution against is use it sparingly in very dusty environments especially with ARs. Not such a big deal with other platforms.

Thanks for the info ready!

[NAPOTS]

Thanks for the info ready!

The thing I really like about grease is that it stays where you put it. The teflon grease is really nice because you polish it into the metal and don't leave much residue that will attract dirt. It may be my imagination but it seems to clean up easier too. The problem with oil on ARs is most people drown them in oil and it runs all over the place. There are only a few spots on the bolt carrier that touch the upper the rest of it does not contact. Put a little dab of grease on those spots and rub it in and you are GTG, actually most of the bolt doesn't contact anything either. There is that ring on the bolt in front of the cam pin hole and behind the extractor retaining pin. Notice how it gets a little worn and the rest of the bolt doesn't? dab of grease there and a dab around the gas rings. Put a little dab of grease on the cam pin and on the sides of the square part of the cam pin where it rides in the charging handle channel in the upper. put a little bit on the bolt locking lugs.

You don't need to hose down the entire bolt carrier.