[TheForge] Subject: Re: Garlic & Olive oil, again

[xlch58 at swbell.net]

On 8/27/2011 6:28 PM, David E. Smucker wrote:
> When a mechanical engineering student in the mid 60's I learned that "EP"
> additive was very important for gear case oils.  EP being Extreme Pressure.
> At that time it was made only from sperm whale oil.  I still remember the
> professor of my machine design course talking about how important it was and
> that there was no known source except whale oil.  Turns out that with the
> pressure (pun intended) that we stop killing sperm whales the same compound
> was found in a desert plant.  That is were today's EP additive comes from.
>
> Dave Smucker
>
I have an 1890's Browne and Sharpe mill.  The original owners guide 
specifies a good grade of sperm oil to lubricate its total loss system.  
At the time I figured an hour running that machine might kill me ;')     
I also heard the the old Dextron auto transmission oil used to be sperm 
oil, but Dextron II was a synthetic replacement.   For a while I used 
that for my mill.

Charles