Quote:
<snip>
I have no idea where one might get steam cylinder oil today
Where else but
(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) . I kid you not.
Quote:
or mutton tallow unless you know a sheep farmer.
Sheep farmers aren't too hard to find. Finding one even in suburbanized Connecticut wasn't hard. For a few dollars I got a lifetime supply. Go around Easter when they are, ah, "processing" lots of lambs. Ask for fat from around the kidneys, which is supposed to be best. I ran mine through a meat grinder and then simmered the result in water to extract the tallowy goodness.
Quote:
I am sure powdered graphite can be found.
Gary
Powdered graphite is easy to find, but it's usually of indifferent quality. I believe that Pope's recipe called for "finest" grade Acheson graphite, what would today probably be called colloidal graphite. The finest grade powdered graphite I can find is here
(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) , but you better be sitting down before you read further...Okay, I warned you... it's $450 for a pound; smaller amounts are much more per lb. Acheson makes a product called Oildag, an oil mixed with colloidal graphite, which I believe Pope approved as a substitute. But if you use Oildag, I would think that it might be best to skip the steam cylinder oil, or the lube might be too soft.
Doug