Lubricating swivels

The Formula 98 I'm building has these swivels from Wildman:


I'm having a problem. With 5 lbs weight on them, they don't swivel. I've tried two lubricants that are not oil-based since they will be subject to ejection gasses, but the Y harness still winds up when I hold the swivel by hand and spin the fincan.

Is there a good lubricant that will allow it to smoothly swivel under pressure? Or should I have a ball bearing swivel?

Thanks...

Get a can of Super Lube Spray. Have you tried powdered graphite?
Cheaper than ball bearings.

Have you tried powdered graphite?

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No... thought about it but was concerned about making a dusty mess. Thanks for the reminder, though! Do I need to clean off other lubricants before using graphite?

Will also look for Super Lube Spray at Ace, where I'm going now. Every year or two, a roll of blue tape eventually gets used up.

What about silicon lubricant spray?

What about silicon lubricant spray?

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Tried that... no joy. Just bought some white lithium grease at Ace. It is working the best so far, but there's a tough spot in the rotation. It's like the swivel needs to be broken-in under weight.

Don't mix "wet" lubes like oils and greases with dry lubes like graphite or you'll get a lumpy sludge that is worse than no lube. Clean either fully before switching types.

My answer, get a bearing swivel and hit it with a spray silicone lube.

My answer, get a bearing swivel and hit it with a spray silicone lube.

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That seems like the best answer.

Thx re sludge, I seem to recall the advice, which is why I asked. Lube doesn't make up for so-so mating surfaces vs. a real bearing. If wishes were fishes, somebody makes a swivel with a thrust bearing.

Well a dry/wet line is not always a no-no. Molybdenum disulfide grease is a mix of moly(dry powder similar to graphite) and grease. And it’s fantastic stuff! That would honestly be my recommendation.

Molybdenum disulfide grease...

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Redline 80319 has good ratings but I haven't found it in Sacramento. I'd prefer to pick up something locally since LDRS is a week away. Any other good brands to recommend carried at a big-box or auto parts store?

I agree with heada, ball bearing is the way to go.

I've got one with +45 flights on it and it's never been cleaned or lubed, but still spins freely.

Rockethound said:

Redline 80319 has good ratings but I haven't found it in Sacramento. I'd prefer to pick up something locally since LDRS is a week away. Any other good brands to recommend carried at a big-box or auto parts store?

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I’m not sure what we use at work but I know it’s expensive (anything aircraft related instantly goes up 10 times in price) because it contains a LOT of really high quality moly. But you can find large tubes of a decent quality at any auto parts store.

I don't know if anyone still makes it or not, but I got some lube with teflon in it, in tubes about 1/2oz at Menards some years back.
Came with a needle like applicator. I used on the bearings on my seam roller (extremely heavy use) and it worked wonders.
And it was cheap...well...back then it was .99

Woody's Workshop said:

I don't know if anyone still makes it or not, but I got some lube with teflon in it, in tubes about 1/2oz at Menards some years back.
Came with a needle like applicator. I used on the bearings on my seam roller (extremely heavy use) and it worked wonders.
And it was cheap...well...back then it was .99

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Tri-flow. Aerosol. Not cheap but good stuff.
https://www.triflowlubricants.com/category/lubricants

Thanks, all. Nice to see so many helpful people. I go in search of new lubricants today.

Before I leave to get the lube, I want to ask a question. The swivel in the OP has a clear "ridge" or "hot spot" in its arc. The spinning fincan winds the Y up 3 or 4 times, then the swivel spins out 2 or 3 of the winds. This is with me holding the top, so if it was just the Kevlar harness it would be even less likely to unwind.

Is this something that might be improved by breaking it in?

More ideas will come as I drive, but I can envision jigging the top half of the swivel into the drill press, then hanging a 5 lb weight on it - something long like a plumber's wrench, so its rotation can be stopped with an obstruction like a heavy cardboard box. Let the drill run for an hour and see what's happened. Does anyone see a downside to what appears to be a helpful concept?

You might be able to "break in" that ridge so it doesn't give as much friction. Mounting it in a drill press like you're suggesting would work. You might then be able to insert a sheet of fine grit wet/dry sand paper with some light oil on it(3-in-1 oil, WD-40, etc) into the grove between the sections to try and sand that ridge out.

It ran for an hour or so... didn't get warm, but didn't improve, either. I scratched some 2200 grit from wet/dry sandpaper and put that in the joints with some Vaseliine. It ran about three hours and the ridge was pretty much gone. Went to AutoZone, got some Valvoline Moly Grease and the swivels now do a decent job. They'll never be ball bearings, though.

These are good swivels...

https://www.ownerhooks.com/product/hyper-ball-bearing-swivel/


These particular ones are on the small side, but there are larger, equally high quality ball bearing swivels used in offshore fishing. It is not difficult to find them.

KY is good at lubricating tight spots. From the peanut gallery.