Lubricate Your Keyholes
practicalbetterments.com
practicalbetterments.com
But no, this was not an extended analogy. This is really just about applying lubricant to physical keyholes.
While it is possible that this shaves off a couple of seconds every time you use your key, there are a few things it does not fully take into account.
Unless you already have the lubricant at your disposal and understand how to properly use it, you need to take into account the cost and time to acquire it and the time to research how to apply it properly and then actually do the task.
That time needs to be subtracted from the time you expect to save via the intervention. And the thing about time is that its value is not static. The author admits as much: "But some seconds are worth more than others, and some seconds have little worth at all." But the author gets the proportion wrong. In the vast majority of cases, you'll likely find that whether it takes you 1 second or 4 seconds to unlock a door, it makes no practical difference to you. Sure, in an emergency, ever second counts, but outside of that (hopefully rare) case, I don't see high ROI.
I'm not sure lubricating the keyway is my actual problem, I think the the plug itself is bound but yaknow.. maintence is important. Lube your machines.
It's not about time saved (for me), it's about reducing frustration.
Otherwise those keyholes must have been crusty
You would have an aneuryism if you saw how often touchball mouse owners lubed their mice. Probably daily. I literally keep a little graphite lube tube on my desk.
Graphite lube is not a rare or uncommon household lubricant. I could've also used dielectric grease or silicon lube potentially.
All 3 of which I have in my garage and I'm in my 30s. And I rent. An apartment. Downtown.
Imagine how many milliseconds per year can be saved if you refrain from shaking it!
WD40 is so grossly mis-used. In almost all circumstances it makes things worse over time after making them better in the short term.
You're right though, that classic WD40 is intended to get mechanisms unstuck and de-moisturised, it does have lubricating properties but is a very light penetrating oil so it should be followed by actual lubrication of the relevant parts.
In fact misused as a lubricant I assume classic WD40 can flush out the actual lubricant, which leads to making things worse over time.
Should have considered how much time will be lost lubricating the keyholes (including buying the lubricant, applying it, storing it and so on)
> Now, you might argue that the number of seconds required to research, acquire, and implement keyhole lubricant would easily outweigh the amount saved through optimal key insertion — and you'd probably be right.
The feeling that you are keeping things in working order, and reap the benefit every time you unlock your door, isn't something you can capture in just the time accounting.
That said, it might make for a better article to just mention that it took less than a minute to squeeze graphite into the keyhole, as well as an estimate of how often it needs to be done.
This is controlled time. The lost time in the article is about uncontrolled time, particularly when the consequences of a jammed lock are dire.
There's been no problem with the lock "gathering dust", so no need to get graphite powder for this job.
However I was surprised it wasn't really dry. I am now left with more questions then answers. Would this be bad lube for my keyhole?
I used to rent an apartment that had two locks which opened with the same key. Both would gradually become harder to use until one of them eventually broke, at which point I began to regularly lubricate the other. It lasted past the end of my rental agreement and was much easier to use when lubricated.
If some of the lubricant gets around the pins, then one is lubricating the hole in the hole you put your key in.
I lubricate my keyholes with it but there is always some that gets left on the key, and I tend to fiddle with my keys at my desk sometimes.
Occasionally I’ll get some of the graphite on my hands, or possibly even breathe it in I’m not sure. Should I be more careful with this stuff?
Inhalation is not recommended, particularly if it happens often.
Graphite or PTFE-based sprays are much better.
https://practicalbetterments.com/drill-holes-in-your-keys/
Makes sense in an XKCD kinda way.
> Drilling holes in your keys is easy.
> 1. Find a partner whose father is a retired precision engineer who owns a pillar drill.
> 2. Ask him to do it.
> 3. Be very grateful.
Ok, I'm now subscribed to this joker's RSS feed.
Surely we're better than that :(
This is magnitudes better than AI generated content that in covert ways promote affiliate links.
I know it's for keeping water away. I use it for that purpose on my swords. But why isn't it a lubricant? Maybe it's not the best, but it can serve that purpose.
The spray, composed of various hydrocarbons, was originally designed to be used by Convair to protect the outer skin of the Atlas missile from rust and corrosion.[11][12] This outer skin also functioned as the outer wall of the missile's delicate balloon tanks.
> It acts as a lubricant, rust preventive, penetrant and moisture displacer.
and the article is in the category of "Petroleum based lubricants"
So it seems just because it wasn't intended as a lubricant doesn't mean it can't be be.
Ask anyone who works professionally with machines and they'll tell you WD-40 is a temporary lubricant at best.
I do note that lubrication is actually complex. Soap feels plenty slick in general, but if I try to shave with it, certain soaps give very poor results. So, of course, not everything slick and oily is going to work for lubricating machines.
But when I rub soap on wood screws, it works just fine in that context!
Sure professionals use WD40 when appropriate. Sure WD40 lubricates great, for seconds to minutes (before the volatilies evaporate off, thus the WD40 smell), less well after that (somewhat gummy residue) and might well stop a creak. But won't lubricate nearly as well as oil or grease or last as long.
If you take a properly lubricated widget and as part of regular maintenance you spray WD-40 on it, it's less lubricated, might be fine for a bit, but it's mostly a cleaner and water displacer. Ideal in some situations for cleaning, before you apply a lubricant. WD40 does leave something behind, maybe better than metal on metal, but it's gummy and pretty far from what I'd consider a lubricant.
Sure in some cases chewing gum, soil, or sand can reduce friction, I wouldn't call them lubricants though.
I feel like this is one of those internet myths someone once said and now everyone just blindly repeats.
My only thought is that there's cheaper generic brands but regardless it's a great tool for the job.
Btw, about a year ago I read that copper grease is absolutely the best for this purpose but I'm still waiting for a hinge to become squeaky so that I can test that.