Jim Koepke
01-25-2016, 3:13 AM
The shift key on my keyboard started sticking. My computer is getting a bit outdated. It is only about 8 years old and still seems to work fine. Some web sites are telling me I should upgrade. People also used to tell me that about the old cars I used to drive, but they always seemed to get me where I was going.
Next time I will unplug the keyboard and take it outside before turning it over and tapping on the bottom.
That didn't fix the sticky key. So out to the shop with a cup of coffee and keyboard in hand. Almost had to get a magnifier to see what kind of driver was needed for the three screws on back. Turns out it is a 3/64" hex key. Glad I bought that Chapman set years ago. After brushing it out, the key was still sticky. For some reason I happened to have a few small oilers with different types of oil in them. Just another thing in the pile of stuff in the shop. One of them has silicon oil in it which is one of the slipperiest lubricants I have. It is great on plastics. So there is also an old prescription bottle with a lot of Q-Tips stored in it that came in handy.
I think all the hair I have lost over the years was in the keyboard. Along with a bunch of dust and other stuff.
After a good cleaning and then a very thin film of oil applied to the post on the key and inside the socket for the key on the keyboard with a Q-Tip and less than a drop of oil on it, the key no longer sticks.
Of course the shift key has a little wire bail on it to keep it going up and down straight. That required using a pair of needle nosed pliers I acquired from a former workplace that was tossing a bunch because they were "used up." In reality a little time on the grinder to remove the bent tips made them like new again. Of course in the workplace it is cheaper to buy new ones than to pay someone to clean up the old ones.
It seems everytime I get rid of something a need arises. Now I usually only get rid of something if there are more than one in my accumulation. Though often times one or two isn't enough.
Recently I had need of a large nail. My recollection is it was a 60d, about 3/8" by 8-10" long, yes I had one. The next time Candy and I were in Home Depot I bought another one to replace the one used. It has its own place in one of the cabinets that store fasteners.
The other day Candy dropped the cap nut for her rock tumbler into a bucket of rocks and didn't want to dump it out so she grabbed another one. Of course it didn't fit. It took her awhile to communicate what she wanted since she brought the wrong part into the shop and asked if I had something like it. Finally I went and grabbed the tumbler bolt after she explained that the one she had wouldn't work. Why she brings one that doesn't fit and asks if I might have another just like it is a mystery men will never solve. So looking at the bolt with my screw and thread gauges, it proved to be an odd ball 12-24. (a #12 bolt is a bit odd, 24 threads to the inch isn't as odd as most of my #12 hardware.) Actually I have an accumulation of odd ball stuff. Nothing that would fit, but I did have a tap with the right threads so I made the one she had fit.
All in less time than it would take to drive into town and find that nobody carries such hardware any way.
An accumulation is one thing, not knowing where any of it can be found is when it turns in to being a pack rat.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
jtk
Next time I will unplug the keyboard and take it outside before turning it over and tapping on the bottom.
That didn't fix the sticky key. So out to the shop with a cup of coffee and keyboard in hand. Almost had to get a magnifier to see what kind of driver was needed for the three screws on back. Turns out it is a 3/64" hex key. Glad I bought that Chapman set years ago. After brushing it out, the key was still sticky. For some reason I happened to have a few small oilers with different types of oil in them. Just another thing in the pile of stuff in the shop. One of them has silicon oil in it which is one of the slipperiest lubricants I have. It is great on plastics. So there is also an old prescription bottle with a lot of Q-Tips stored in it that came in handy.
I think all the hair I have lost over the years was in the keyboard. Along with a bunch of dust and other stuff.
After a good cleaning and then a very thin film of oil applied to the post on the key and inside the socket for the key on the keyboard with a Q-Tip and less than a drop of oil on it, the key no longer sticks.
Of course the shift key has a little wire bail on it to keep it going up and down straight. That required using a pair of needle nosed pliers I acquired from a former workplace that was tossing a bunch because they were "used up." In reality a little time on the grinder to remove the bent tips made them like new again. Of course in the workplace it is cheaper to buy new ones than to pay someone to clean up the old ones.
It seems everytime I get rid of something a need arises. Now I usually only get rid of something if there are more than one in my accumulation. Though often times one or two isn't enough.
Recently I had need of a large nail. My recollection is it was a 60d, about 3/8" by 8-10" long, yes I had one. The next time Candy and I were in Home Depot I bought another one to replace the one used. It has its own place in one of the cabinets that store fasteners.
The other day Candy dropped the cap nut for her rock tumbler into a bucket of rocks and didn't want to dump it out so she grabbed another one. Of course it didn't fit. It took her awhile to communicate what she wanted since she brought the wrong part into the shop and asked if I had something like it. Finally I went and grabbed the tumbler bolt after she explained that the one she had wouldn't work. Why she brings one that doesn't fit and asks if I might have another just like it is a mystery men will never solve. So looking at the bolt with my screw and thread gauges, it proved to be an odd ball 12-24. (a #12 bolt is a bit odd, 24 threads to the inch isn't as odd as most of my #12 hardware.) Actually I have an accumulation of odd ball stuff. Nothing that would fit, but I did have a tap with the right threads so I made the one she had fit.
All in less time than it would take to drive into town and find that nobody carries such hardware any way.
An accumulation is one thing, not knowing where any of it can be found is when it turns in to being a pack rat.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
jtk