Turnbuckles
- Thread starter RichBone
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I'm sure there are equivalents at marine stores and auto parts houses, but I use...
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Pro-Blend-Anti-Seize,1867.html
.....this stuff I got for my...........
http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/bvillecar/bvillecarindexpage.html
.................... race car. Speedway Motors won't warranty some of the items you buy from them unless you use it. I've used it on the boat at places......
http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor/outside-5.html
..... where I have stainless bolts going into aluminum fittings and it has worked great. In fact now that you have mentioned this I'll use in on our turnbuckle also.
Great stuff and very easy to use,
Sum
Our Trips to Lake Powell, UT - Kootenay Lake, Canada - Priest Lake, ID
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http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Pro-Blend-Anti-Seize,1867.html
.....this stuff I got for my...........
http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/bvillecar/bvillecarindexpage.html
.................... race car. Speedway Motors won't warranty some of the items you buy from them unless you use it. I've used it on the boat at places......
http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor/outside-5.html
..... where I have stainless bolts going into aluminum fittings and it has worked great. In fact now that you have mentioned this I'll use in on our turnbuckle also.
Great stuff and very easy to use,
Sum
Our Trips to Lake Powell, UT - Kootenay Lake, Canada - Priest Lake, ID
Our Mac Pages
Mac Links
Brushable teflon pipe joint compound would be my choice. I have applied it to the threads of plain carbon steel bolts and nuts and left them on the ground by my mailbox post for two years where they get salt spray in the winter and dogs lifting a leg all year and the nuts unscrew by hand after two years.
Personally I use Lanokote or Tef-Gel. I avoid anti-seize products for a number reasons, one of which is the horrendous mess they can make, and the other is dissimilar metals galvanic issue. Many anti-seize products, I can't comment on the Pro-Blend stuff because they give no data on their site about it's make up, use copper, graphite or aluminum, which on a boat, can just add to the ongoing dissimilar metals battle we already.
As Ross said a pure teflon pipe dope, like Hercules Real-Tuff can also work very well.
As Ross said a pure teflon pipe dope, like Hercules Real-Tuff can also work very well.
Turn Buckle Lube
Gentlemen,
Sail boat turnbuckles, in their special usage with the buckle housing and their studs enjoy a unique lube problem.
It is called "galling". That is when the metals in the turn buckle rub against each other at the pressures need to reach the strain needed to "tune the rigging" they produce a very high heat level. If there is no lubrication the result is a chattered or flaking working surface "galling".
The lube you want to use is to help prevent the "galling" of the two hardened stainless steel metals as the rub (or work) against each other is one provided by Brion Toss. He sells a dedicated and specialized grease made just for this purpose.
Now I trust that Mr Toss is selling said special grease and not just a tube of auto wheel bearing grease etc etc.
I have used it now for over 10 years and it works extremely well. That is when I put a high level magnifying glass on the stud threads and the threads in the buckle itself they still look good after all these years. My boat was built in 1988 and I have not changed the turnbuckles. Upper studs yes, but not the buckle body of the lower studs to the hull.
BroadReach
Gentlemen,
Sail boat turnbuckles, in their special usage with the buckle housing and their studs enjoy a unique lube problem.
It is called "galling". That is when the metals in the turn buckle rub against each other at the pressures need to reach the strain needed to "tune the rigging" they produce a very high heat level. If there is no lubrication the result is a chattered or flaking working surface "galling".
The lube you want to use is to help prevent the "galling" of the two hardened stainless steel metals as the rub (or work) against each other is one provided by Brion Toss. He sells a dedicated and specialized grease made just for this purpose.
Now I trust that Mr Toss is selling said special grease and not just a tube of auto wheel bearing grease etc etc.
I have used it now for over 10 years and it works extremely well. That is when I put a high level magnifying glass on the stud threads and the threads in the buckle itself they still look good after all these years. My boat was built in 1988 and I have not changed the turnbuckles. Upper studs yes, but not the buckle body of the lower studs to the hull.
BroadReach
Just the bolt's, the dog makes too much noise when you try that.The dog's or the bolts................sorry Ross I couldn't help myself :cry:,
Sum
A little more on the Pro-Blend and I'm not saying any of the other products that have been recommended are bad, just adding to why I use this stuff....
c ya,
Sum
Our Trips to Lake Powell, UT - Kootenay Lake, Canada - Priest Lake, ID
Our Mac Pages
Mac Links
I also use some of the other anti-seize products working on cars but really like this stuff as to the ease of going on with the dropper tip and how well it has worked on the dissimilar metal conditions I have on the boat. It isn't a mess to use like some of the other ones I do use also.
c ya,
Sum
Our Trips to Lake Powell, UT - Kootenay Lake, Canada - Priest Lake, ID
Our Mac Pages
Mac Links
My old (28) Navtec turnbuckles which got moved a LOT never had a "galling' issue with nothing more than a few drops of 3-1 oil
My new stuff has open body bronze turnbuckles which are pretty unlikely to have issues
My new stuff has open body bronze turnbuckles which are pretty unlikely to have issues
Lithium Grease
It's great on toast too...!
Regards
Lithium is thick, repels water and you can buy a bucket of it for nothing.
It's great on toast too...!
Regards
Learned my lesson
New to me boat has closed body turnbuckles. I didn't make disassembly and lubrication of them a priority the first spring and paid the price as I left backstay removal to the yard and, because of a galled turnbuckle, they ended up winding a kink into the back stay. After losing a month this season changing it out I lubricated them all with Tef Gel. Tef Gel is not messy and it can be purchased in a syringe.
I met a guy who had his O'day 22 for 26 years. When I observed his rust stained turnbuckles I asked him if he ever lubricated them and got a blank stare in return. It never ceases to amaze me how many people sail without knowing how to maintain their boat, whether it is a $1,000 boat or a $500,000 boat.
New to me boat has closed body turnbuckles. I didn't make disassembly and lubrication of them a priority the first spring and paid the price as I left backstay removal to the yard and, because of a galled turnbuckle, they ended up winding a kink into the back stay. After losing a month this season changing it out I lubricated them all with Tef Gel. Tef Gel is not messy and it can be purchased in a syringe.
I met a guy who had his O'day 22 for 26 years. When I observed his rust stained turnbuckles I asked him if he ever lubricated them and got a blank stare in return. It never ceases to amaze me how many people sail without knowing how to maintain their boat, whether it is a $1,000 boat or a $500,000 boat.
Spray Lithium
I'd avoid the spray on variety though, as it is thin and could be messy to apply. It is typically used in the automotive industry for lubricating hinges. IA thicker version should be fine.
A lubricant that I use almost universally for smaller jobs is Lithium Grease. It is water insoluble, high temp, generally stays were you put it, but can be easily redistributed (within a turnbuckle).
Don't use lithium grease. It is awful in a salt water environment. DON'T use lithium grease !!!!! I tried it and it worked well for a week or two and then it reacted with salt water and made a mess.
Brion's grease is anything but run of the mill. He recommends Tef-Gel.. The stuff is 100% unique and really, really works..
Brion Toss said:
Listen to Maine Sail he is right (as usual).
Tef-Gel is the #1 choice.
Lanocote is #2.
I keep a mostly used tub of lanocote for dipping drills and taps in. It works well as a lube for drill bits and for tapping. Some of the metal bits (the hard to clean up ones) are trapped in the goo and it leaves some corrosion protection in the freshly tapped hole. It is easy to clean up any excess (Tef-Gel is a bugger to clean off unless you use a solvent).
For final assembly of a SS fastener into threaded Alu use the Tef-Gel. You probably won't be taking the fastener out for inspection very often and if/when you want it to come out, it will.
IMO there is only one place for SS turnbuckle bodies ... your boat is not that place.
For proper bronze TB bodies with SS rigging screws Tef-Gel is a luxury item, Lanocote does the job just fine. IMO the rig should come out of the boat for a complete inspection every 5 years. If you clean the TB's and re-coat the rigging screws with Lanocote at that time, you should be maintenance free until the next time.
We used to coat the threads on every new rig we commissioned with Lanocote and never had a problem with galling.
Neither Lanocote or Tef-Gel is what I would think of as expensive. Given the track record of both, I can't see experimenting with alternatives.
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