Stainless Steel Threads

[mynewrapide]

What's the best 'stuff' to put on stainless threads to stop them binding up?

 

[hrd.blackshadow]

"Three-in One" Copper grease from Halfords. Works like a charm.

 

[Clive Harrison]

S/S threads

I use copperslip most of the time but on threads that need to stay tight I use loctite, this also prevents "picking up".

 

[john998]

S/S Threads.

Hello,
In the offshore industry the S/S pipe fittings made by Swagelok can be lubricated by a product supplied by the same company called Silver goop.
It is silver based, working on the same lines as silver plating on big end cages.
Another product is PBC grease, this is the only grease that stops alloy threads corroding in the salt atmosphere. It is good on S/S too. John.

 

[clevtrev]

Initially the threads need to be machined or formed for the correct tolerance.
For the home user, what can be done to help is to reduce the crest of the male thread, and increase the internal diameter of the nut. All seizing is caused by the friction generated where the depth of the thread fouls.

 

[nkt267]

If i get you right you are saying to run a die down the thread and a tap through the nut?Plain English please for the non engineers out here

 

[clevtrev]

If i get you right you are saying to run a die down the thread and a tap through the nut?Plain English please for the non engineers out here

What I am saying, is reduce the outer diameter of the screw, and increase the hole in the nut. Truncate the thread form, leaving the flanks as they are, providing they are right in the first place.

 

[clevtrev]

What I am saying, is reduce the outer diameter of the screw, and increase the hole in the nut. Truncate the thread form, leaving the flanks as they are, providing they are right in the first place.

Further to that, yes all threads on your machine should be assembled with a barrier of sorts. I suggest wet or dry molycote. Even parts together need a barrier. Think hinge brackets on rear mudguards, a smear of lanolin or chromate solution, will stop the galvanic reaction. Spoke nipples in alloy rims, is another place to protect.

 

[daveinnola]

hold onto your hats boys we are going high tech in the ship yard i work at we have found a great product its called thread smart by logix its got every thing its a lube and anti vibration good to 2100 old degrees its safe on rubber and all metals its a non conductor too you can gall treads and this stuff just slides right through the gall its hard to belive but check out the web site at www. logix.mrop.com

 

[daveinnola]

i forgot to add we use it on titainum piping thats got a safe working load of 3200 psi , so its a great sealant too instead of teflon tape that does tend to ball up in the fittings and block the 1 micron ports we are blowing water through

 

[timetraveller]

Do not rely on Copperslip type products. One of the things which I make are fibreglass astronomical domes, 4, 5 & 6.4 m diameter. There are several hundred stainless steel nuts and bolts in each one, the exact number depending upon the size. They vary in size from M10 to M6, all with nylock nuts and 'penny' washers. All domes have to be preassembled and then partially dismantled prior to delivery which means that some of the nut/bolt combination have to be dismantled. I have never asembled one dome without loosing 6 to 10 nut/bolts. Generally they bind on first assembly and the only way to remove them is to snap them with a sufficiently long spanner. I have tried normal grease, moly grease, copper slip type grease, silicon grease and just normal oil. None of it makes any difference. I always loose a few. The nuts and bolts are all sourced from the same source and are commercial grade stainless steel. The silver based lubricants are meant to work but are so expensive, at least to me, that I prefer to write off a few nuts and bolts and do the body building on snapping off the ones which bind. If there is now a reasonably priced source of 'silver gloop' I will be a happy man.

Cheers to all

 

[daveinnola]

timetraveler knows his nuts , i totaly sold on nyloc nuts , best thing sinse sliced bread the only problem with them is they are realy one use nuts , working on govt contracts we replace them if we ever take them off , but we use power tools which does tend to tear the insert up , they last much longer if you use hand tools that being said iv never had one back off on me in ten years of use thats why we use power tools to take them off they dont give up till the last couple of threads , ok so heres the quick fix for anti stick on bolts pepto bismol ok i know theres cheaper brands and you have to supply a brush but we have been using it in turbines for years and it works great under heat