Lock lube

[chawbeef]

Is it necessary to lubricate the internals of a lock. If so, what does one use??.............Chawbeef

 

[rich pierce]

I use axle grease because it stays put. Applied with a q-tip where the mainspring tip slides on the tumbler, where the sear spring rides on the sear, a light touch on the sear bolt, and on tumbler axles. Use a cloth rag to wipe off any grease that would be close to the wood mortise.

 

[Zonie]

Is it necessary to lubricate the internals of a lock. If so, what does one use??.............Chawbeef

Yes. It is very important to lubricate the internals of a lock.

There are several places where the pressures on contacting surfaces that move relative to one another are extremely high and these should be lubricated.

Usually, a good gun oil will provide sufficient lubrication.

Don't forget about the tumbler shaft where it passes thru the lockplate.
To lubricate this just about requires drenching the interfacing surfaces between the tumbler and the lockplate and the hammer and the lockplate and then working the hammer back and forth while you hold the sear so it doesn't catch on the half or full cock notches.

 

[don hepler]

I read an instruction that came with a Jim Chambers lock. He said use oil on the parts that rotate and grease on parts that slide and are under pressure.

I can't remember his exact words, but that was the jest of it.

 

[rowdyjoe]

A few weeks ago I read a post (can't find it now) that recommended against using lubricant heavier than light machine oil. The reason was the heavy lube attracted dirt and unburned powder and tended to gum up the works. Following that advice, I applied a light coat of light machine oil to the lock. I'm pretty confident I know what a "light coat" is but, it turned in to a mess anyway.
So, I have now tried a very light coat of Hornady One Shot Case Lube and it appears to be working well so far. I applied a tiny bit extra to the "load bearing" parts. It can be easily removed with a light solvent or Iso. Alcohol if necessary. I haven't shot the rifle much since I applied it but, during a recent disassembly I noticed it is still on the job and has not collected a bunch of crap ....no cleaning required.
The jury is still out on whether I'll continue to use this lube and the only way to find out how it holds up is to use the rifle. There's another excuse to take it to the range.

 

[rushlake1]

light lube on all moving parts after each water-soap bath after shooting.

light lube... your choice..prefer bear oil.

too much is not good.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I use white lithium grease on everything in my lock, I bought my small tube (like a tube of duco cement) at an autoparts store at least 40 years ago, I still have about half a tube left.

I don't shoot as much as most folk here but have a tight fit lock to barrel as well as tight inletting on my locks and don't get any crud in my lock after a day of shooting.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Personally, I am not fond of the various greases. I have used white grease, RIG and others and just don't like them.
Mostly, I use WD-40, Tri-Flow which is Teflon based or other gun oils. Despite all the cussin' it gets, WD-40 has worked well for me.