I was giggling through out your masterful piece.
...Yes, it has to be duplicated! Sir Esmay, you are BRILLANT and Mensa groups and scientists of all equasions will get your experiment in the e-mail immediately as I have seen to it they all get a copy of this!
BRAVO, BRAVO! (not laughing anymore, I am in a meeting regarding this discovery.)
...Oh, yes we are all amazed...two years, just two years!?! DO YOU REALIZE the many heads turning in amazement, and impact this has on us? Two, just, 2?
I’m skeptical. Where’s the peer review? And the double blind study with placebo WD-40?
But with the help of a decent marketing team (and/or a few friendly government agencies), you probably already have enough data to sell a boat load of “Lock Squeak BeGone”.
Dean - I think you just might be on to something here. I'm going to get a team together and apply for a $10 billion government grant to see if we can replicate your experiments!
As a side note, a locksmith once warned me not to use WD-40 or other petroleum based lubricants on locks. Said it simply attracts more dirt and grit, and recommended a good graphite based lube. (And was even honest enough to point out that the stuff at the hardware store was as good as the locksmith branded stuff he sold.)
Dean, I've been performing reproducible experiments in shoelace-tying for years now. I tie one shoelace. It works. I tie the other shoelace the same. It works the very same way. And the next time I tie my shoelaces as usual, it works the same all over again. I repeat, I can reproduce this experiment at will.
If I had a pet dog— completely unacquainted with shoelace-tying, don't you know— it could perhaps serve as a control in the experiment. Or maybe just someone who ties their shoelaces weird. Though would it be ethical to involve test subjects in an experiment which might lead to them literally tripping over their own shoelaces?
I keep thinking maybe I could qualify for a research grant in this important experiment in applied physics and topology.
We must also reject fundamentalists' shoes a priori. What, do fundamentalists think their shoes are fastened by shoe pixies, or something? Even if that's not what they think, that's what I insist on thinking they think. So there!
I'm sorry Dean, but unless you can point me to the Seminal Paper(tm) which demonstrates the exact mechanism by which WD40 "cures" pesky locks, I'm going to have to regard your experience as merely anecdotal, and of no scientific significance.
Joe: I believe I have just published the seminal paper that can be referred to in years to come by those questioning the ultimate basis for the theory.
I'll verify this works Dean although I never used WD40 which I believe contains lead.
What I have used is a electronic contacts cleaner which is basically a silicone lube and kerosene. It works for your applications and also great for sticky window slides in old houses.
WD40 is in fact a very poor lubricant. In the long run it will form a sticky film, and even if it doesn't trap dirt the problem will return. It is also a very poor penetrant for overtight fasteners. Graphite or silicon for a lube, and B'Laster as a penetrant.
Uh, WD-40™ is not a lubricant - it is a dessicant. But yes, it works wonders!
For more permanent fix, as suggested above graphite might be better.
While I'm at it, do you car doors ingest water/snow and freeze up? I've found a soft-rubber cover with a slit for the key. Don't remember where, but your local auto-parts (or just plain hardware) store may have them.
...Yes, it has to be duplicated! Sir Esmay, you are BRILLANT and Mensa groups and scientists of all equasions will get your experiment in the e-mail immediately as I have seen to it they all get a copy of this!
BRAVO, BRAVO! (not laughing anymore, I am in a meeting regarding this discovery.)
I’m skeptical. Where’s the peer review? And the double blind study with placebo WD-40?
But with the help of a decent marketing team (and/or a few friendly government agencies), you probably already have enough data to sell a boat load of “Lock Squeak BeGone”.
BK
If I had a pet dog— completely unacquainted with shoelace-tying, don't you know— it could perhaps serve as a control in the experiment. Or maybe just someone who ties their shoelaces weird. Though would it be ethical to involve test subjects in an experiment which might lead to them literally tripping over their own shoelaces?
I keep thinking maybe I could qualify for a research grant in this important experiment in applied physics and topology.
We must also reject fundamentalists' shoes a priori. What, do fundamentalists think their shoes are fastened by shoe pixies, or something? Even if that's not what they think, that's what I insist on thinking they think. So there!
I merely await the validation of my peers.
What I have used is a electronic contacts cleaner which is basically a silicone lube and kerosene. It works for your applications and also great for sticky window slides in old houses.
For more permanent fix, as suggested above graphite might be better.
While I'm at it, do you car doors ingest water/snow and freeze up? I've found a soft-rubber cover with a slit for the key. Don't remember where, but your local auto-parts (or just plain hardware) store may have them.
You have a sample size of two. Hardly enough for a meaningful satistical analysis.
Fly sadism for the win!
Windex works great on flies too! (and wasps)
-Gus Portokalos
What with all this talk about "keys" in "holes," "penetrants" and "lubricants..."
Are we still talking about deadbolts here?
And just what kind of dead bolt are we talking about? Hm?
Science is so nasty. Heh heh heh...
John
That'll show 'em.
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI