assembly lube

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   he!!o all, I am in the process of assembling a No. 1 Mk III and wondering what to use for a lubricant. Oil or grease?? Thank you ................Daniel

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Boogaloo Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: November 09 2021 Location: Niagara Status: Offline Points: 13	Post Options Post Reply Quote Boogaloo Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: assembly lube Posted: December 12 2023 at 2:48pm
	he!!o all, I am in the process of assembling a No. 1 Mk III and wondering what to use for a lubricant. Oil or grease?? Thank you ................Daniel

Shamu Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 20510	Post Options Post Reply Quote Shamu Report Post Thanks(1) Quote Reply Posted: December 12 2023 at 3:57pm
	If it spins, oil. If it slides grease. I usually oil on pretty much everything, but will apply grease (sparingly) to trigger hump sear humps sear top end striker sear face Oil, I'll be honest I use either "CLP" if in the field, or 3-in-1 electric motor oil. Grease I still have a good sized "bucket" of Moly grease
	Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)

shiloh Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: January 08 2019 Location: Ontario, Canada Status: Offline Points: 3049	Post Options Post Reply Quote shiloh Report Post Thanks(1) Quote Reply Posted: December 13 2023 at 2:49am
	Just my 2 cents, I don`t use grease as it`s nothing but a dirt trap. I do use clp army issue(got a gal of when I was in service), Coat well and wipe off excess. wipe dry when in use. Too much also attracts dirt.

britrifles Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: February 03 2018 Location: Georgia, USA Status: Offline Points: 8404	Post Options Post Reply Quote britrifles Report Post Thanks(1) Quote Reply Posted: December 13 2023 at 4:17am
	Agree with Shamu. Only other thing I will apply just a bit of grease to is the bolt locking lugs. The bolt body gets wiped with a lightly oiled patch. When fully stripping and cleaning a rifle, I will wipe all the metal parts with a lightly greased patch. Just a very thin film. I’ll do this when I get a new to me rifle after ultrasonic cleaning of the parts.

Boogaloo Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: November 09 2021 Location: Niagara Status: Offline Points: 13	Post Options Post Reply Quote Boogaloo Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 13 2023 at 9:51am
	Thank you for your wisdom .......... Daniel

Shamu Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 20510	Post Options Post Reply Quote Shamu Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 13 2023 at 11:12am
	The one thing I'll disagree with is the bolt lugs. I do wipe the entire bolt down with an oily rag, but that's mostly for protection rather than lubrication.I don't want my bolt lugs being too slippery!
	Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)

britrifles Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: February 03 2018 Location: Georgia, USA Status: Offline Points: 8404	Post Options Post Reply Quote britrifles Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 13 2023 at 12:09pm
	Hummm, didn’t think much about this, or possible effects this could have? Are you worried about the bolt handle moving up and unlocking during firing? The cam stud on the cocking piece and cam slot in the bolt body prevents that from happening (which I also put a smear of grease into). My thought were that I don’t want two small sliding surfaces wearing against each other. But, I’m open to hearing reasons for not doing this…

Goosic Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: September 12 2017 Location: Phoenix Arizona Status: Offline Points: 8842	Post Options Post Reply Quote Goosic Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 13 2023 at 1:49pm
	What I was told is that the reason to not oil or grease the lugs it is no different than firing an oiled proof cartridge. Generates excessive pressures. Lightly oil the bolt body and leave the rest of it alone. That is what I was told by a very competent gun smith.

Shamu Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 20510	Post Options Post Reply Quote Shamu Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 13 2023 at 4:41pm
	No, I understand the bolt handle & the cam in in the bolt body. I don't think its pressures but friction coefficient. It needs some, obviously but in the case of the sear tip & cocking piece interface I've noticed a little grease there measurably drops trigger pressure & I assume the reverse is true for the locking lugs & recesses. Its also lightly oiled from wiping the bolt down with the oily rag. My concern is more long term effects than imminent catastrophe.
	Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)

Shamu Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 20510	Post Options Post Reply Quote Shamu Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 13 2023 at 4:42pm
	No, I understand the bolt handle & the cam in in the bolt body. Its not "un-oiled" either. I don't think its pressures but friction coefficient. It needs some, obviously but in the case of the sear tip & cocking piece interface I've noticed a little grease there measurably drops trigger pressure & I assume the reverse is true for the locking lugs & recesses. Its also lightly oiled from wiping the bolt down with the oily rag. My concern is more long term effects than imminent catastrophe.
	Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)

britrifles Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: February 03 2018 Location: Georgia, USA Status: Offline Points: 8404	Post Options Post Reply Quote britrifles Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 13 2023 at 7:32pm
	Oil and grease can take a surprising amount of load. In high power transmission gears for example, they would quickly destroy themselves if not for the very thin film of oil that remains on the surfaces as the gears mesh. Aircraft engine gearboxes for example transfer tremendous amounts of torque and very high contact pressures on the gear teeth. Pressure squeezes it all out except for a very thin layer, about .0001 inches. Obviously much more critical in gearboxes where high loads must be transferred as the two surfaces move relative to each other. I’ll look into this some more and report back. I have seen numerous maintenance instructions that call for lubrication of rifle bolt lug contact surfaces, but have not found anything specific yet on the LE action. Not sure why it would be any different. You certainly don’t want any oil or grease to enter the chamber, but that seems unlikely with the rear locking lug LE action.

britrifles Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: February 03 2018 Location: Georgia, USA Status: Offline Points: 8404	Post Options Post Reply Quote britrifles Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 13 2023 at 7:41pm
	Let’s start here… https://www.accurateshooter.com/featured/bolt-maintenance-methods-materials/

britrifles Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: February 03 2018 Location: Georgia, USA Status: Offline Points: 8404	Post Options Post Reply Quote britrifles Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 14 2023 at 5:26am
	From looking thru what books I have and various manufacturers recommendations for bolt action rifles, they all say keep the bolt locking lugs and receiver lug recesses cleaned and a light coat of grease. For the AR, it’s gun oil for the bolt lugs. For the M1, experience in military service with using just oil resulted in continual problems with the action not cycling. The answer was to issue Lubriplate grease with the specific instruction of lightly greasing the bolt contact surfaces and especially the locking lugs. Other M1 reference books repeat this guidance. I’ve not come across anything yet specific to the LE action. But online searches for lubrication of bolt action rifles almost all say the lugs should be greased to prevent galling of the locking lug surfaces. The galling condition becomes more likely with cartridge cases that are a snug fit in the chamber as this forces the locking lug surfaces together while moving. I don’t really know when or how long I’ve been using grease on the lugs. For the first few years, I wiped the lugs clean then wiped them with a lightly oiled patch after every time I shot the rifle. I have probably been using grease for about 20 years now. One thing I’m certain, you do not want dirt accumulating in the locking lug recesses. Such particles will wear these surfaces down making them rough and increase wear and potential for galling.

Shamu Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 20510	Post Options Post Reply Quote Shamu Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 14 2023 at 11:05am
	Rightyho, then! "a little dab of evenly spread grease" it is! Amazingly I still have the bolt recess cleaning tool with its big pack of little cotton bound "cleaning sticks" from my Rem 700 days! I wonder if they'll fit?
	Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)

britrifles Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: February 03 2018 Location: Georgia, USA Status: Offline Points: 8404	Post Options Post Reply Quote britrifles Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 14 2023 at 12:00pm
	I neglected routine cleaning the action body bolt lug recesses for years until fairly recently. Bits of brass, carbon and dirt can accumulate there. I find that the left side is easily cleaned by wrapping a patch around the blade of a small flat head screwdriver, folding the wrapped end over the tip of the screwdriver. The right side is done by hand with a patch as it’s fully accessible. I use a 1 1/2 x 3 inch patch with a bit of Hoppes 9 solvent. Then just a light smear of grease. Don’t forget cleaning and lubing the left bolt lug forward surface as it cams against the forward left lug recess when the bolt handle is lifted to extract the spent case. The reason I’m using 1.5 x 3 inch patches (not a standard size) is that the common 3x3 flannel patches you can buy work perfectly on a Parker Hale style jag for cleaning the bore after I cut them in half.

Shamu Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 20510	Post Options Post Reply Quote Shamu Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: December 14 2023 at 4:15pm
	That's exactly what I do. I have a big lot of 2 1/2 & 3" ones I cut as needed.
	Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)