All You Ever Wanted to Know About Zerks and Their Threads

[CalgaryPT]

I've been a grease gun collector for a long time for some odd reason, and could talk about them all day. It started in my teens when I noticed how many people threw them out because they thought they didn't work, but they actually didn't know how to operate them properly (they are pretty clever tools). Anyways, I was doing some welding repairs on a sluice box and replacing some Zerks when I ran into some problems. It's just a hobby box but was quite old and had lots of fittings. When I pulled them they looked and felt different to me. I do have a grease fitting thread tester so was able to determine they were BSPT threads. I plug welded the holes, drilled new ones and tapped for standard 1/4 -28's. But in the process of looking for my thread tester I found an old catalog in my grease gun collection. When I hunted around online I found an updated link to the catalog and a really cool history and explanation of Zerk nomenclature—such as why a 1/4 Zerk is actually smaller than a 1/8.

It's way more info than most normal people ever want to know about grease fitting threads--but fascinating reading if you are an insomniac like me. It's also a keeper of a catalog...one of those old school sales books that sought to educate as well as sell. The illustrations are so professional as well. I love stuff like that. The good stuff starts on page 6.

https://static1.squarespace.com/sta...3/1464722538074/GL+Huyett+Grease+Fittings.pdf

 

[yycwelder]

I find that really interesting and what an amazing resource! Thanks for the link, I’ll be saving that for reference. I’d love to have a physical copy though. Something about my tactile senses that need to be stimulated. Great post! I love these kinds of super specific details!


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[CalgaryPT]

Something about my tactile senses that need to be stimulated. Great post! I love these kinds of super specific details!

Totally with you on that one...but too cheap to fill Epson's pockets to print out 300 pages. I contacted the company but they won't send one. I printed the first 12 pages or so, then downloaded the PDF for future reference. My son is training me to put stuff like this on Google drive.

 

[yycwelder]

As long as you have a digital copy then not all is lost if they remove the link. A real shame they won’t send out official copies though. I’d love to have one. May have to take the file to staples and get a proper print out. I’m a sucker for this kind of stuff. Technology is great though, it allows for interacting with historic resources and connecting with like minded individuals.


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