grant.sam•1d agoProlific Poster

Found out I was oiling my anvil wrong for 3 months

I kept getting this weird sticky residue on my projects and couldn't figure out why. Turns out I was using too much WD-40 instead of a light coat of 3-in-1 oil, and it was gumming up from the heat. Anyone else make that rookie mistake when they started out?

2 comments

2 Comments

paulschmidt22h ago

Buddy of mine did the same thing with his anvil, except he was using that cheap spray lube from the hardware store. Spent weeks fighting sticky crud before his grandpa walked by and just handed him a can of 3-in-1 without saying a word.

the_nina1d agoTop Commenter

That WD-40 trap is really common, but it's a different kind of oil meant for displacing water, not for long term protection. A lot of folks grab it because it's cheap and everywhere, but it breaks down fast under heat. Once you switch to a proper light machine oil like 3-in-1, you'll notice the difference right away in how the steel feels. Another trick is to wipe the anvil down with a rag after you oil it, so there's just a thin film left on the surface. Too much oil just attracts dirt and makes a sticky mess when the metal warms up from hammering. It sounds like you figured it out, which is the hard part.