Large leather hydraulic cup seal still rock hard after 2 day oil soak, too hard to install

[deltap]

Soak it in alcohol.It becomes pliable and dries quickly without problems of water.

 

[deltap]

Rawhide was a common material for seals when they were first developed. The CR stamped on the metal part of many lip seals today stands for Chicago Rawhide. Could one of the more modern materials be substituted for your old technology leather seal?

 

[MrWhoopee]

The term is NEAT FOOT OIL!

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

We used to wind apprentices up by telling them they were going to have to soften seals like that by chewing the edges !

On a more serious note we used tallow to soften them.

Regards Tyrone.

 

[Ultradog MN]

The term is NEAT FOOT OIL!

Neat is used to imply PURE

Pure foot oil.

Good stuff for leather!

Ummm, No.
It is neatsfoot oil - one word.

As to his leather seal...
The piston seal on the 3 point lift cylinder on a Ford tractor is a leather backed oring.
The recommended procedure to get a new leather seal onto the lift piston is to boil it in water first.

 

[awander]

Be aware that Neatsfoot "Compound" oils also contain petroleum oils, and are supposedly very harmful to leather.

Pure Neatsfoot oil is supposed to be the way to go.

Of course, for a seal that will then be used to work with a petroleum oil, it doesn't matter.

 

[Bill D]

Neats foot oil is made form the feet and shin bones of cattle. that oil is more fluid and less likely to freeze in cold weather. The stuff in the core of the body, that does not get as cold from standing in deep snow, freezes sooner
Neat is an old English word for cattle. I assume cattle is a imposed french word? Most english farm words are french but the food on the plate retains the english names.
Bill D

 

[IceCzar]

Cattle
mid-13c., "property" of any kind, including money, land, or income; from Anglo-French catel "property" (Old North French catel, Old French chatel), from Medieval Latin capitale

Neat (2)
"oxen, bullocks, cows, bovine cattle collectively," Old English neat "ox, beast, animal," singularly or collectively, from Proto-Germanic *nautam "thing of value, possession" (source also of Old Frisian nat, Middle Dutch noot, Old High German noz, Old Norse naut), from PIE root *neud- "to make use of, enjoy."

(PIE / Proto Indo European)

 

[IceCzar]

Now you done got me curious

Cattle
mid-13c., "property" of any kind, including money, land, or income; from Anglo-French catel "property" (Old North French catel, Old French chatel), from Medieval Latin capitale

Neat (2)
"oxen, bullocks, cows, bovine cattle collectively," Old English neat "ox, beast, animal," singularly or collectively, from Proto-Germanic *nautam "thing of value, possession" (source also of Old Frisian nat, Middle Dutch noot, Old High German noz, Old Norse naut), from PIE root *neud- "to make use of, enjoy."

(PIE / Proto Indo European)

 

[tomjelly]

Spoke to the manufacturer and they said it was made to size, just grease the cylinder entry and the seal and force it in there, thats how they do it. The cylinder entry was machined with a large bevel to aid in this. I figured worst case I ruin the seal and get another. I got everything aligned and rested my forklift fork on the assembly for help and wacked it with a big rubber mallet and it popped in, surprisingly. Haven't applied pressure yet because I'm still waiting for other parts but I think it will be fine.

 

[Bill D]

I would use. a piston ring compressor or a big hose clamp with protection so it does not cut the leather. The other method. I have used for washerless faucets, is to make a short cylinder of the correct bore and put the seal in backwards. Then use a pusher to push the seal into the permanent cylinder.
Bill D

 

[gbent]

... the food on the plate retains the english names.
Bill D

Unfortunitely, it also retains the English flavor.

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Unfortunitely, it also retains the English flavor.

Don’t you mean “ Flavour ” ?

Regards Tyrone.

 

[Milland]

Don’t you mean “ Flavour ” ?

Regards Tyrone.

We're machinists, so doubtless it tastes of aluminium. Or aluminum. Whichever...

 

[Scottl]

Temp might explain it, my shop is 50 f. The seal is factory formed ready to install but came dry, with a stiffness and hardness similar to wood. As I understand they are made wet over a wooden male/female form and allowed to dry in the mold. I'll try the hot oil treatment next.

I don't think it needs to be hot, just warm as in maybe 100°F or so. You might want to wash it with Stoddard solvent first as this manufacturer suggests just in case there is a coating that needs to be removed.

Leather Seals Available From Orinoco Bearings Ltd. Leeds, England - If it's a Leather Seal you are looking for - Contact Us.

If it's a Leather Seal you are looking for - Contact Us./

leatherseals.co.uk

 

[Bill D]

I think leather is designed to be most flexible at body temperature, no need for hotter.
Bill D

 

[tomjelly]

It went in with some whacking with a mallet. If there wasn't a generous bevel on the cylinder edge I don't know that it would have gone in without damage, but all is well