Sewing Machine Oil vs Air Tool Oil

[Drew7a]

Are Sewing Machine and Air Tool Oil interchangeable and are there any AW in sewing machine or Air Tool Oil?

Other than being a light viscosity what is so special about these fluids it?

I have a bunch of Hydraulic fluid (ISO 32 I believe), can that by used instead?

 

[Astro14]

I would hope that air tool oil has some rust-inhibiting additives, too. I don’t use my air tools as often as a real shop. So, periodically, I add a few drops and run them to keep everything clean/oiled.

 

[Wrenchturner44]

I have used musical instrument or clock oil in the past when I have needed a very light oil for precision instruments or micro solenoids.

 

[bunnspecial]

With my best-that-Harbor-freight-sells(actually no as I usually just buy the aluminum-cased stuff and not the fancy Earthquake wrenches) I put a drop or two of 3-in-1 oil when I first use one for the day.

It's always served me well, and I don't use mine often by any means. With that said, plenty of people seem to buy these and never bother to oil them and they continue to last forever...

 

[MolaKule]

Are Sewing Machine and Air Tool Oil interchangeable and are there any AW in sewing machine or Air Tool Oil?

Other than being a light viscosity what is so special about these fluids it?

I have a bunch of Hydraulic fluid (ISO 32 I believe), can that by used instead?

A typical formulation specification for a synthetic Air Tool Oil might be:

K. Viscosity@100 C 6.5 cSt ( ~ an ISO 46) https://bobistheoilguy.com/viscosity-charts/
PourPoint -50 F
Viscosity Index 197
FlashPoint 435 F

It would contain the following chemistry: Rust Inhibition, Oxidation Inhibition, and Anti-Wear (AW) additives.

Sewing Machine oil is too light, being anywhere from 2.5 cSt to 4.0cSt and contains little in the way of any additives because some additives will stain fabrics.

 

[Drew7a]

A typical formulation specification for a synthetic Air Tool Oil might be:

K. Viscosity@100 C 6.5 cSt (ISO 46) https://bobistheoilguy.com/viscosity-charts/
PourPoint -50 F
ViscosityIndex 197
FlashPoint 435 F


It would contain the following chemistry: Rust Inhibition, Oxidation Inhibition, and Anti-Wear (AW) additives.

Sewing Machine oil is too light, being anywhere from 2.5 cSt to 4.0cSt and contains little in the way of any additives because some additives will stain fabrics

Thanks! Seems like some AW would be warranted on a sewing oil machine lots of metal on metal parts.

 

[JavierH19]

I use whatever oil. It can be atf, hydraulic, engine, power steering in all my air tools from my little air die grinder to my 1" Ingersoll rand impact. No issues after 1-2 decades depending on how long I've had them. The old ones are still good. I only put a drop in my small ones and a few drops in my big tools.

 

[MolaKule]

Thanks! Seems like some AW would be warranted on a sewing oil machine lots of metal on metal parts.

A Sewing Machine has a lot of sliding parts in which most are chrome or nickel plated, reducing friction and wear. Other parts are reciprocating parts which would need some minimal amount of AW but these AW's would be special, non-staining AW's, just in case they migrated down to the fabric platform (Slide Plate, Feed Platform and Feed Dog).

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But the OP is asking about Air Tools which have much higher frictional contacts.