Putting oil in there.

[Matt-the-rat]

Shrub i have now looked up on the "Why not put oil in your locks" threads, but I still have questions. Surely a lock is a mechanical system, with MOVING parts. And surely seeing as a lock is a mechanical system, it should be oiled. Whether we are discussing the differences of oil and lubrication, i think does not matter, as a substance that it sticky OR "wet" will get dust or grime stuck to it and will gumm up the lock wether or not? If you left a lock without some sort of oil / lubricant, like any other mechanical system it would wear out, and without the displacement of water, being in a slight electrolytic enviroment, maybe near an electronic lock where leakage currents and eddy currents could be, and having water present would cause the swiss cheese effect on any stainless steel, of the corrosion of brass or what have you. This must obviously make the lock "rough" and hard to operate and eventually lead to the lock, or some part of the lock breaking or failing to operate. So in conclusion to this, and what I have read in the other posts about putting oil or lubrication like WD40, 3in1 Oil, Spray me, or Jayes lubricant spray, I will still and continue to oil and lubricate my locks.

[What]

One word. Graphite.

[Raccoon]

Another word. Teflon.

In fact, there are so many dry lubricants out there, it's silly. And it all really depends on the lock, but in general, any "lock" purpose lube or dry-spray should do the trick.

WD40 is a cleaner and penetrant, but wont lubricate for more than a month. Feel free to use this and get back to us in a year with photos.

[Shrub]

Too much text with no new paragraphs that doesnt make sence, has no point and is worthless on the site as its a statement not a help thread, in other words your having a go on a new thread and it doesnt benefit anyone,

At worst someone will read this and maybe actually mistake you for knowing what your talking about and actually follow your footsteps which could be very worrying,

You should of course continue to oil your locks with 3 in 1 oil, continue to make threads with poor desciptive title and continue to make threads addressed to mods just to see how far you get in this hobby,

I/we can only advise people like you but you obviously know better so thats fine, do as you like i really couldnt care less,

[melvin2001]

I will still and continue to oil and lubricate my locks.

hell yeah, stick it to the man!

[Eyes_Only]

As far as WD-40 goes, they work fine for a while but it is true that they don't last too long. Back in April I took two Kwikset locks and sprayed one with WD-40 and the other with a dry film lube called RZ-50.

I left these two locks outside up untill last week occasionally working the key into them and the conclusion I found was that the WD-40 didn't cause any major problems but it did lose its lubricating properties it had when I first squirted it in there. It felt as if someone had poured a little bit of sugar water in there making the lock feel a bit sticky and gummed up, although it did still work. The lock with the RZ-50 on the other hand didn't show any loss of performance as far as I could tell.

I'm sure there are tons of other variables that will affect the life or performance of a particular lubricant in a lock but this is what I found in my little experiment.

[unbreakable]

Shrub I have now looked up on the "Why not put oil in your locks" threads, but I still have questions.

Surely a lock is a mechanical system, with MOVING parts? And surely seeing as a lock is a mechanical system, it should be oiled?

Whether we are discussing the differences of oil and lubrication, I think does not matter, as a substance that it sticky OR "wet" will get dust or grime stuck to it and will gumm up the lock whether or not?

If you left a lock without some sort of oil / lubricant, like any other mechanical system it would wear out, and without the displacement of water, being in a slight electrolytic enviroment, maybe near an electronic lock where leakage currents and eddy currents could be, and having water present would cause the swiss cheese effect on any stainless steel, of the corrosion of brass or what have you.

This must obviously make the lock "rough" and hard to operate and eventually lead to the lock, or some part of the lock breaking or failing to operate.

So in conclusion to this, and what I have read in the other posts about putting oil or lubrication like WD40, 3in1 Oil, Spray me, or Jayes lubricant spray, I will still and continue to oil and lubricate my locks.

Try something like this man. Your first post looks like you S^#% a word brick.

As you know we appreciate contributions on this site, as well as controversy. If it weren't for controversy, I never would have made my Get Baked! disassembling a brass padlock thread. Controversy can be very productive! However, there is a right and wrong way to do things.

We never ask for you to have perfect spelling, I know mine isn't, however, just TRY. Paragrphs, question marks, and some proper spelling goes a long way.

Also, before you rip someones idea(s) apart, try doing some experimneting for yourself. This thread would have more merit if instead of just saying "Oils F-I-N-E to use, becuase a lock is a mechanical system" you could try testing out locks with different lubes, an see which works better. This would take time and energy, but it would be very productive.

If I had to do this, here's how I'd do it-

Have 1 lock for each lube
1- WD-40
1- 3 in 1 oil
1- Teflon spray
1- Graphite
1- etc

Place them by your front/back door, which ever one you use more. Everytime you come in, stick the key in the lock, rotate 90 degrees clockwise, return to 12'oclock position, and remove the key. This would take at most a minute each day. At the end of each week, check the locks to see if one is more sticky, etc. Contine on, each week recording your results. Let us know your findings.

Do you see how this is much better, and has more merit? Instead of just ripping someones idea apart just because, you now have some form of proof.

I hope I haven't offended you, I'm just trying to help you. You can't continue on like this forever, the mods on here are very patient, however sooner or later they may get fed up with all the nonsense, and I personally don't want to see you get banned. You have some really good ideas, and maybe if you expressed yourself a little better than people would give your ideas more merit, and be less cross with you.


Unbreakable

[horsefeathers]

Why not try motor oil Matt, Or better still Castor oil. That way should you spill any then at least you can lick it up. Might not taste too good but will keep your insides ticking over nicely!

You are a student. That means you know F*** all.

Listen to the experienced locksmiths/hobby pickers on here and try to take heed of their advice. Yales have been around for over a century, so by now wouldnt you have thought that every lubricant on earth had been tried. Brass can work very well dry (sort of self lubricating!) so makes sense to use a dry lubricant if you have to, rather than a wet one.

But you know best!

[linty]

i get locks all the time in the shop that have had oil dumped in them and the oil ended up turning to sludge and so...i get locks all the time that have oil dumped in them.

But that aside, I haven't ever seen much harm come from wd-40, and even think there is some merit to similar lubricants with teflon additives.

canadian weather i don't think is too graphite friendly.

[Jaakko]

and without the displacement of water, being in a slight electrolytic enviroment, maybe near an electronic lock where leakage currents and eddy currents could be, and having water present would cause the swiss cheese effect on any stainless steel, of the corrosion of brass or what have you.

I think someone should open the book on chemistry and physics and learn something other than this mumbo-jambo. I mean, come on, a few nice terms from here and there and connection to a lock and presto! Swiss cheese

WD40, 3in1 Oil, Spray me, or Jayes lubricant spray

I may have read that "Oh spray me James!"

I will still and continue to oil and lubricate my locks.

Then what the heck are you making these topics for? "Listen guys, what would be best for this? I will continue to use what I use." Ah-ha. Very productive and provides good grounds for a chit-chat.

[/sarcasm]

If you like a lock that doesn't wear almost at all when under heavy use and possibly without a lubrication, try Abloy Classic series locks. 22 years with only the factory lubes in and still works and hasn't weared out like a pin-tumbler would have. Almost any rotating disc lock functions great without a lube for long time to come, but still I'd recommend some form of lubricant as it helps the moving parts.

With an Abloy I have dipped my key in lubricant and used it in the lock for a minute and this procedure I have done once in a year or two. Every five years I have dismantled the lock cylinder and cleaned it with a cloth and acetone bath and lubed it again.

So the choice of lubricant should be some form off dry-film or similar and applied only when needed.

[UWSDWF]

[horsefeathers]

Genius...

[sintekstudios]

Pure Genius!!!!


(I love these threads!)

[zeke79]

Enough is enough guys. If the guy does not want to listen then do not reply anymore. That solves the whole issue without a flame war starting.