Lube Job

[Jim Hilburn]

Drew has been complaining about the Schallers on his mandolin being too tight and hard to fine tune. So today, we pulled them and dis-assembled them and and all I had around the house was some lithium grease, so we lubed them up with that and sure enough they worked much better.
I'm guessing theres better choices than lithium, so I'm wondering what others would suggest.

[sunburst]

I'm told sewing machine oil is good because it:
1. stays in place
2. is good in a wide range of temperatures
3. doesn't attract dust too bad

also gun oil for some of the same reasons.
(I have gun oil, but not sewing machine oil, so I haven't tried it...anyone?)

[amowry]

I use sewing machine oil for new tuners, trussrods, and lots of other small things around the shop, and it seems to work fine. It seems to be true that it doesn't attract much dust.

[mikeyes]

I use lithium and teflon grease making sure that it doesn't get on the finish. I find that a little grease goes a long way and is less likely to leak out. The small amount that I have is about ten lifetimes worth.

[Bandersnatch Reverb]

The BEST ... blue Diawa reel grease. Absolutely stays put. Does not harden. Slippery stuff. Its blue, thick and slips like to tomorrow.

http://www.charkbait.com/cs/csracComp.htm

look at the very bottom of the page... its great stuff on tuners!

[Salty Dog]

I second the reel grease, although I used a competitive brand to Daiwa containing teflon.

[Mando Medic]

I use a drop of Kroil under the gear and that is usually al that's needed on them. I haven't tried the Diawa grease but will. Kenc

[Bob DeVellis]

I've used vaseline -- an idea I think I got from Frank Ford's site -- with excellent results. It's cheap, available, slippery, and doesn't run. Wipe off the excess, though.

[Chris Baird]

I use gear oil (without the stinky additives). Makes sense to me.