So, what is the big deal with using Hammond oil?

[K0LTZ]

The title says it all. Of all the lubricants available in the world today, why do you HAVE to use Hammond oil? What on earth is it made of? Is it blessed before it's packaged? Someone please help me understand.

[Tim_at_Jonas]

Many oils have additives that will gum up the oiling threads. When that happens, the bearings will run dry. You don't want to hear what the sounds like. (It makes fingernails on a chalkboard sound good.) A bottle of Hammond oil will last for years. Bite the bullet and get the right stuff.

[geoffbrown]

The Hammond organ Company went bankrupt in 1985 but stopped making twg hammonds by 1975 so any hammond oil from that period is far to old to use now,there's lots of vendor's online selling hammond oil but how do you know for sure what it's composition really is without getting it tested, could be anything from vegetable oil,engine oil or hydraulic oil, none which would be suitable.
Singer sewing machine works well for lubricating TWG's, has been used all around the world for decades, with no known ill effects and even better its content can be verified by downloading the MSD sheet ,that's why people should reconsider using so called Hammond Oil

[voet]

I cannot speak to using Singer sewing machine oil in organs, but it should not be used in sewing machines built in recent years. I used to work for a sewing machine store and we would often get older machines in for repair where the oil had gummed up and the machine quit working. The technician would use gasoline to remove the gummy oil. Today many sewing machine manufacturers recommend synthetic oils and warn users NOT to use Singer sewing machine oil to lubricate their machines.

[hank]

It's not all that expensive, Probably if you value your investment, it''s best to use the recommended type........and, it IS made of the finest snakes.

[Hoaxel]

Here we use Pressol 10596 instead, same viscosity and most important, free of resin.Oil for sewingmachines will work better than none

[enor]

Here we use Pressol 10596 instead, same viscosity and most important, free of resin.Oil for sewingmachines will work better than none

I use a 50/50 mix of Pressol 10596 and sewing machine oil (the pressol itself is a bit too thick)

[kziss]

The title says it all. Of all the lubricants available in the world today, why do you HAVE to use Hammond oil? What on earth is it made of? Is it blessed before it's packaged? Someone please help me understand.

Hi KOLTZ.
The suitable oil for Hammond organ tonewheel generators is a wax free light industrial turbine oil with water repellent and preservative qualities, and the Military Specification is: MIL-PRF-32033.

The Military Specification MIL-PRF-32033 is equivalent to the older era Hammond organ oil Military Specification which was VV-L-800

Some oils with the MIL-PRF-32033 specification are:

Royco 308

Castrol Brayco 300

Shell Aeroshel Fluid 18 (now discontinued).

Singer Sewing Machine oil and the clear version of Zoom Spout oil are also mentioned as being OK for Hammond organs.

I have also read about Mobil DTE SUS 24 and Mobil DTE SUS 32 oils being used in Hammond organs but I do not know whether or not these oils fit under the suitable requirements for Hammond organs.

All the best.
Kon.

[dunderola]

Or use Nujol from Standard oil... :)

[Tonewheel]

NOW this is getting interesting.

Nice going, you guys. (wonder if I can get this in Canada...)

[geoffbrown]

In my part of the world after the Hammond dealers died out and online sales had not really started, ., people turned to alternatives, out of necessity, decades ago, with no ill effects reported.

[David Anderson]

Maybe we should have a stickied post on Hammond oil since this is probably about the 20,000th time we've had this discussion :-)

[Hoaxel]

May be you are right, some questions come back like a clockwork, but nevertheless they aren´t unimportant

[KC9UDX]

Is that intended to be a tonewheel generator pun?

If not, it should be.

[K0LTZ]

Due to the inability to calm my inner child when I brought my M2 home the other day.....I used the best I had on hand. My wife sews, and owns a Juki industrial machine. The Juki sewing machine oil is crystal clear, near water consistency, odorless, and non staining. This machine that wouldn't start due to lack of oil for 25 years...3 hours later was running but noisy. When I get paid on Friday, I will buy a bottle of Hammond oil from the local dealer.

[Goff]

Granted there should be a sticky for the oil quest. And I think Kon pretty much sussed the matter above.

The other thing to consider is by getting TG oil from Hammond parts dealers, you're helping keep them afloat to sell the other parts we need.

But the gist of the matter is if the oil has some paraffin to clog up the capillary threads inside the generator, where over time the bearings will not receive oil for the cotton threads being all clogged up. And then you have to pay someone a lot of money to replace that spaghetti bowl of cotton threads. This is where the adage, penny wise and pound foolish comes to play.

To miss this point alone is the folly of the perennial question about TG oil.

The oil used was designed for many other devices. It's not a vice grip being oiled so a deep understanding of the mechanics of a Hammond TG is important.

Yes the organ belongs to the owner but in reality he/she is only a custodian of the organ which will more than likely outlive the owner.

And if you own a Hammond TG anywhere on the planet, it should be your responsibility to render proper care for the organ and not try and cut corners because of the costs of shipping and import taxes. Bluntly, owning a Hammond TG organ in the 21st is not for the faint of heart and comes with certain expectations of the owner who is merely taking care of the organ until it's time to pass it on to the next hopefully knowledgeable owner.

Keep the organ intact and protect it for those that will own it in future.

The last thing a TG organ needs is to be abused for lack of proper information.:-B

[tiredoldgeezer]

There are many oils that will work.
If oil is a subject you have to ask about, then stick to Hammond Oil. It's a nice, safe choice that you can't go wrong with.
If, on some other day that you've studied tribology; understand the specs; and have access to solid certified sources, then sure, pick a more suitable replacement with better performance. They do exist.

I'm down to two organs, now. One gets Hammond Oil. That might be all it's ever had. The other got Hammond Oil for a bit, until I needed to do the whole underbelly gum-out solvent cleaning. Now it gets something else, that I will keep to myself, but it's been mentioned. It might have been 'oiled' with WD-40 or who-knows-what before I got it. Now, it's very slick. I'll throw in a vial for the next guy.