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Off Topic: Garage door opener lube in dusty environment

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Bill D

Diamond
Joined
Apr 1, 2004
Location
Modesto, CA USA
OT: I do a good bit of sawdust making in my home garage.
I have a screw drive garage door opener. It is supposed to have the screw lubed once a year or so. Maybe the rollers and track as well.
Normal lube most recommend is white lithium grease or spray on chain lube. Any thoughts considering the sawdust will stick to grease and make a nice lapping compound. I see powdered Teflon and graphite in spray cans but those do not seem like high pressure lubes for a screw jack.
Should I try to clean the old lube out before applying new? How?
Bill D
 
Moly disulfide might be effective in reducing wear caused by contamination.

Mind you it makes a hellacious, tenacious mess if it comes into contact with fabrics.

Mobil Centaur™ Moly Series

Otherwise maybe an open gear and chain lube?

Extreme Duty Open Gear and Chain Lube 12 Wt Oz

(Incidentally also contains moly)

As far as cleaning out the old lube, I've seen people run half a lap of shoe string, felt, pipe cleaner, etc. along the threads of lead screws while they're turning. Probably not the safest way of doing it, but seems to be effective. Spraying down with a penetrant like Kroil first and letting it soak would make it an order of magnitude easier.
 
i dont think this need extreme pressure lubrication. what i use in such cases is dry teflon spray. the coating is really dry and solid, nothing sticks. (im not convinced its optimal lubrication, but sure is better than dry.)
 
I think I'd be more concerned about having a dust collection system. Most (all) wood dusts are harmful if they collect in the lungs, which are more important than the area equipment.

Are you at least wearing a respirator during your work?
 
I've heard that MDF is the worst of all...the fibers are just the right size for the body to not know how to handle.

I would do one of two things:

1) Don't lube it at all, and plan to replace it when it wears out in 20 years.
2) Replace it now with a cogged belt drive opener
 
Bill D said:
OT: I do a good bit of sawdust making in my home garage.
I have a screw drive garage door opener. It is supposed to have the screw lubed once a year or so. Maybe the rollers and track as well.
Normal lube most recommend is white lithium grease or spray on chain lube. Any thoughts considering the sawdust will stick to grease and make a nice lapping compound. I see powdered Teflon and graphite in spray cans but those do not seem like high pressure lubes for a screw jack.
Should I try to clean the old lube out before applying new? How?
Bill D
Click to expand...
Try the PTFE dry lube. It seems to work well. I actually use it on table saw, bandsaw, and planer/jointer tables and beds. Cuts way down on the drag when you're feeding. I've used it on a lot of stuff and it seems to work fine.

I guess another thing you could do would be to put wipers on either side of the nut.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 
GregSY said:
I've heard that MDF is the worst of all...the fibers are just the right size for the body to not know how to handle.

I would do one of two things:

1) Don't lube it at all, and plan to replace it when it wears out in 20 years.
2) Replace it now with a cogged belt drive opener
Click to expand...
I imagine it has more to do with the adhesive in the MDF than the particle size. Particle size has more to do with how fast you cut and the blade TPI/RPM.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 
I don't know 'why'. All I know is I heard it!

But I don't agree that particle size is a result of the cut. Not entirely. A 'wood' made of millions of tiny fibers will cut into ...millions of tiny fibers. A wood made of long, stingy fibers will cut into long stingy fibers. Try cutting western red cedar, then try cutting MDF and you'll see a huge difference in the dust.

In my yard, there are a variety of artisinal grasses, aka weeds. I can mow them all at the exact same time with the exact same mower, with the blades spinning the exact same speed. Some grass cuts cleanly, other grass shreds, other grass lays over and doesn't get cut at all.
 
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