Robert Hart
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- Feb 26, 2012
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Does anyone have any clue as to what is in the Vinten fluid for the thin-film heads.
Much of the magic brew had undertaken an escape and evasion exercise in an old Vinten 22 I have been repairing. What remained appeared stained by fine metal particles or nylon particles from the friction contact surfaces. In a separate sealed area of the head, the friction material was clear.
For the time being I am using a high temp silicone grease which seems to have adequate viscosity.
Being a grease, when friction is wound in, the friction material tends to wipe off as a clear path on the stainless faces and not immediately draw back under the narrow nylon friction circles in the common clutch plate. So after friction tension is wound back off, it does not initially restore.
A more fluid solution would but then it would drain out. The trick it seems is to find a blend which creates that happy compromise of viscosity and flow so that capillarity causes the material to wick back into the fine opened clearance and hang on the edges of the thin nylon contact surfaces.
I wonder if microscopic solids which would tend to linger on a surface and draw fluid around them might be in the Vinten brew. I will try separately some fine zinc powder as blended into cosmetics and sunscreens and silicon microspheres, also a cosmetic blend product of about 5 micron grade.
If anyone has any information of blend ratios, this would be appreciated as it would save me a lot of dismantling, cleaning and re-lubing with different blends to find that happy medium.
Much of the magic brew had undertaken an escape and evasion exercise in an old Vinten 22 I have been repairing. What remained appeared stained by fine metal particles or nylon particles from the friction contact surfaces. In a separate sealed area of the head, the friction material was clear.
For the time being I am using a high temp silicone grease which seems to have adequate viscosity.
Being a grease, when friction is wound in, the friction material tends to wipe off as a clear path on the stainless faces and not immediately draw back under the narrow nylon friction circles in the common clutch plate. So after friction tension is wound back off, it does not initially restore.
A more fluid solution would but then it would drain out. The trick it seems is to find a blend which creates that happy compromise of viscosity and flow so that capillarity causes the material to wick back into the fine opened clearance and hang on the edges of the thin nylon contact surfaces.
I wonder if microscopic solids which would tend to linger on a surface and draw fluid around them might be in the Vinten brew. I will try separately some fine zinc powder as blended into cosmetics and sunscreens and silicon microspheres, also a cosmetic blend product of about 5 micron grade.
If anyone has any information of blend ratios, this would be appreciated as it would save me a lot of dismantling, cleaning and re-lubing with different blends to find that happy medium.
