Lubricant for wood vice

[Ed Gibbons]

What is the best lubricant for my vice? Obviously I don’t want the substance to become gummy and a source for sawdust to stick to.

Thanks.

[Frank Pratt]

I'd say wax, maybe paraffin. Bee's wax can be a little gummy.

[Andy D Jones]

I've always used a light coating of heavy oil (STP Oil Treatment is thick and has good adhesion to metal surfaces) or grease, and lived with the sawdust sticking to it. It has never bothered me.

There are also dry lubes with Teflon, etc. that might work (I'd have to clean my vise to try them out).

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[Bradley Gray]

paraffin (canning wax)

[Charles Lent]

I use Johnson's Paste Wax. It develops a dry crust that does not allow sawdust to stick. It stays in place and lubricates very well. I apply it with an old tooth brush to the inner workings gears, slides, and trunnions of my table saw and other woodworking shop tools, as well as to my vice. For rust prevention and to make the work slide more easily on my saw and tool surfaces I also cover them with the same wax, but apply it thin with a rag, and then go back with a clean rag after it dries, and buff off the excess. A can of it lasts me about 5 years.

Charley

[Jim Matthews]

I prefer "Slipit" for wood on wood moving parts.

No discernible residue, doesn't attract sawdust.
Apply with a small toothbrush - a little goes a long way.

https://www.amazon.com/Grizzly-G5562-Sil-Free-Sliding-Compound/dp/B0000E6TJ8

[Harvey Miller]

Lee Valley suggests 'grease' on the sides & root of the vise screw (remove it from the thread crown) in their twin screw vise instructions.

[Chris Fournier]

Spray graphite or teflon works very well for me.

[Richard Coers]

Wait, what? "best lubricant for my vice" KY jelly I guess, but should this be posted? For my woodworking vises, I've used nothing for 40 years. None of them are worn out yet!

[John K Jordan]

I use powdered graphite purchased from a player piano rebuilder's supplier, dabbed on with a felt applicator that came with the graphite. IMO, graphite is the best lube for wood-on-wood and not bad for wood on metal.

[Mel Fulks]

I like bees wax, and I'm sure that was the norm. I mean ...what else did they have? Even though the stuff seems gummy
and sticky it is great and will not need reapplication for a long time. And it's the best for metal "wood screws".

[Bill Dufour]

When I bought another machinists vise I noticed many of them have a design problem. The cheap ones have the screw exposed above the guide bar. A much better design has the screw is below and inside the guide bar so no junk falls onto it. Of course this hides the screw and means it has to be unscrewed all the way to inspect,clean and lube it.
Bil lD

[John Gornall]

I like "Specialist Dirt & Dust Resistant Dry Lube PTFE Spray" by WD-40

[J.R. Rutter]

Hey, this is a family forum! Maybe we shouldn't be sharing lube advice for our wood vices. ;)

Or are we talking vises? That's a whole different thing, lol!

Sorry, as a dad, I can't resist a pun invitation like that...

[John Lanciani]

I prefer "Slipit" for wood on wood moving parts.

No discernible residue, doesn't attract sawdust.
Apply with a small toothbrush - a little goes a long way.

https://www.amazon.com/Grizzly-G5562-Sil-Free-Sliding-Compound/dp/B0000E6TJ8

Another vote for slipit, it’s essentially just paraffin with a little bit of solvent to make it a paste but much easier to apply than using a bar of wax.