What are they?

[Dick Welty]

I do not remember when or where I got these. They may have come on an engine. They are stamped THE UNITED STATES METALIC PACKING CO. PHILIA. PA. The caps are just a loose friction fit over the winged needle drip adjuster. The adjuster needle has a spring to maintain friction so that it stays in whatever position you set it. There is also a heavy wire bail ring between the tension spring and the wing adjuster. This bail is connected to the cap with an unusual tripple link chain and a cotter pin. I suppose that they are just drip oilers but they don't have any drip sight or any way of seeing how much oil they are delivering.

I would like any information about these oilers that you can give me. Who, What, When, Where and Why were the used?

Thanks, Dick

[Richard W.]

Do they have a wick in them?

If so it may have come from some old line shaft machine. Like a lathe or shaper.

[Michael Schlag]

These are locomotive crosshead oilers. They are listed that way in my lunkenheimer catalogs. They do not use a wick but you just open the needle valve. These are for the older locomotives, in the pictures that is what the guy was doing with those long spout oil cans. Both of my locomotives still have these on them. It is always possible they are used on something else but this was their original intention. Michael

[Bob Fultz]

Ive seen several of them around here in different sizes. Used on oil well engines and sorts. These are not oilers, but you pack them with grease and the spring tensions feeds it. Most of them had a type of screw in the bottom that you used to turn them on.

[Dick Welty]

Bob,

I know what you are talking about but these are different. They don't have any grease compression device inside and it would be impossible to compress the spring enough to put one in as the spring is very stout and is almost completly compressed by the time the oiler is adjusted to an almost closed position.

I should have mentioned in my original thread that the body of the oiler is cast iron or cast steel machined smooth inside and out. I also should have mentioned that the threads are not tapered like standard 1/2 inch pipe threads found on many oilers. The threads are about 7/16th by 18 threads per inch. Estimated as I can't find a guage right now.

Dick