I often thought about using coconut scented bar oil on mine. That way the wife will think I spent the day and all my money foolishly at the strip club rather than on my wood cutting obsession. The lesser of two evils!?!
We put used car oil in a small hand pump sprayer. We share it with a friend and sprayer goes where the splitter goes. I believe it was on the manual.
I bought a can of red spray grease and use it everytime I split. Because the newer designed splitter do wear on that beam. It does attract dirt, bark and anything else and also gets wiped away by your gloves when sweeping it clear of the debris but it is better than metal on metal.
Just went through my splitter maintenance procedures in the paper work. Keep the track clean of crud but no mention of oil or grease so I won't. Have put close to 40 cords through it and no sign wear other than the paint gone on contact surfaces. I would think that grease would attract and hold dirt and grit!
OK, I'm ready for the fun!!! Yes, "PAM" yup, PAM! as in the spray canola cooking oil. It keeps my cast Iron Pans "rust free" after cooking and since I've been putting it on the beam surface, not an ounce of rust! I only put it on, "after" I'm done splitting. Get the cheap store bought kind. Works like a dream
If I’m leaving it out for any length of time , I wipe down the beam ,wedge and push plate with a light coat of oil . I do the same when it’s brought in for storage . I did try using a bit of oil on thebeam for splitting . It lasts about 3 cycles then runs down onto everything that doesn’t need oil ,and collects a protective coat of wood chips and dirt .
I have run roughly 1500 cord through my Iron & Oak splitter and have never heard of oil on the beam till this thread
This reminds me of some of the 'what's the best saw' threads. Everyone had their own preference. My splitter has grease zerks and the manual said to use them so I do. I also change my oil on my truck every 5k miles even though I use synthetic oil designed for 10k miles. I sleep better at night.
My old troybuilt splitter said to oil the contact points between the wedge and beam with motor oil. Nothing mentioned in the manual on the TSC splitter. As a side note there was nothing in the TSC riding mower manual about greasing the spindles (hidden under the deck). Luckily I had a back up mower for 2 weeks while it was in the shop getting new ones under warranty.
I used it one time on my snowblower when I ran out of lemon pledge. Yup , Lemon pledge furniture polish work great on snowblower chute and even better on plastic shovels ; and the lemon scent reminds you of a warm day on a tropical island while shoveling.
Best saw = Stihl Best Truck = Chevy Best 2 stroke oil = Oh" I have no clue ; maybe I should start a thread on this ? Seriously , Thanks everyone for the input and thought on this. I do see both sides and why some do and some don't. Guess I will have to flip the coin on this.
Semi-Synthetic 2-Cycle Oil. Been using since it came out! Never an ounce of problem! "My opinion". Not saying it's the best but works well.
I haven't stopped laughing at this guy!!! It's hysterical! If I did that, my neighbors would really think I fell off the turnip truck!
I would think the best option would be to use a dry film lubricant coating on the friction points of the beam/ ram. There's plenty of options that are used on firearms. It's basically a paint that lubricates as well as protects. It's easy to find with all of the black rifle popularity.
