41 comments on “Oil Rigged”

  1. Ha! I especially like the expressions for Fox Keegan in the first and fourth panels.

    1. Yes! Seley in panel two is also particularly good. Mandy is very good with expressions in general. 🙂

      1. Yep. The punchline expression for Mandy Seley reminds me of the reaction to Fox Keegan using a water bottle to measure shot glass content.

  2. The stuff I work with is so small it’d be hard to get grease somewhere other than my hands. I do, however, try to remove it as quickly as possible if I accidentally touch the stuff. I have tissues on my work desk for a reason.

    2. I’m hoping that’s a line from some reference I didn’t get, where the guy spells it with two Es
      Cosmoline

  4. MMMmmmmmmjm…..Tabletop multi-speed 3/8″ drill press….next to my Dremel and mini-lathe, one of the most valuable power tools on my bench.

    Fox, I like how you think. 😀

    1. Making me jealous Saar. I would love to have a tabletop drill press. Although my Dremel is probably the most important all around tool. Right next to my big orange mallet.

      1. The ‘orange mallet’ comment made me think of a red deadblow hammer I own. I mistakenly classified it in my brain as a ‘mallet’, because it’s plastic.

        Then I hit an UPS with it to dislodge a swollen battery.
        Then I paused to try to understand why there was a large dent in the very strong metal.

        Deadblow hammers defy physics. They contain blackholes. And magnets. Blackhole magnets.

      2. You should look up the Dremel workstation, it literally turns a Dremel into a drill press.
        Or course, the small diameters a Dremel can handle makes it somewhat limited.

    2. And my workshop is still so much of a mess I haven’t had a chance to play with it. I really need to get on it too–I’ve an award I need to make with it that’s way overdue.

  5. Boy, thats familiar….
    Some tools are worse than others for cleanup. But expect to need a shower afterwards once you plug it in and fire it up…Cause anything you missed wiping off will fly in every direction like a lawn sprinkler!

    Maille purchased from India comes dripping with really filthy oil/grease as well.
    You literally have to soak it in a plastic tub of strong degreaser and then hose it down to clean it off before you try to wear it.

    By now I’m used to it… Just part of the price you pay for making cool things.

    -Badger-

    1. Mine keep turning orange after I do that. And I don’t think it’s rust. I still have to roll it through a bag of sand just in case.

      I can’t remember what mine is soaking in right now to stay rustproof, but it was a spray, highly recommended, starts with an F, and smells terrible.

      1. A trick I’ve used for more than 20 years for protecting maille from rust is to spray on several coats of clear engine enamel. (Usually Krylon).
        Its really tough, spreads out into an even coat over the rings, and its actually hard to tell that the maille has been painted.
        On butted maille, it also oozes over the cut ends of the rings and softens the points and edges so that it almost never catches on anything.
        I had an aventale on a helmet for many years that was just tossed into the closet. Never cleaned it, never did any upkeep. Yet it never rusted, and even getting knocked around all the time, the clear spray enamel never rubbed off or needed any touchup.
        I use the 3 pound rolls of black steel wire they sell at Lowes for tieing up rebar for making butted maille. Just have to wipe the oil off if it first, and the enamel adheres very well. It also evens out the color a bit, so the maille winds up an attractive, solid blue/black.
        -Badger-

        1. Oh- Need to spray down each side. I lay the maille in sheets on cardboard, then pick it up after the layer is dry and shake and scrunch up the sheet to break up any adhesions. Then flip it and spray another coat. I connect the maille with loose rings later, and spray down the connection points to get it all even.
          -Badger-

          2. The spray lacquer will make the sheet of maille stiff at first- but the moment you pick it up and start flexing it, bunching it up, etc. the tiny points where the rings are adhered together break off and the maille is as flexible as normal.
            The normal act of moving it around rounds off or wears down any high spots, so theres no spiky bits afterwards.
            -Badger-

        2. Except for riveted maille, why not using any other metal than mild steel?
          I’ve no such trouble with bright Al, stainless, Ti, or even galvy.

          1. Cost is the big factor.
            I can get stainless in riveted or welded, with welded being highly recommended for fighting as its the most durable.
            Titanium riveted is the lightest and most durable of all the choices…But its easily the most expensive option by a wide margin.
            Aluminum is not very durable. Especially when worn under plate for SCA combat.
            Galvanized is not to my personal tastes, as it always looks like galvanized wire.
            Oh, its durable enough. But it just doesn’t suit me.
            I am currently working on a full harness of 14th century plate in stainless steel, and eventually I will need a skirt and voiders of stainless steel maille to wear under it when I want the full visual impact of a complete set of authentic armor to show off.
            (Voiders are the parts that cover the arm pits…You tie them to an undergarment.)
            I actually have a large pile of butted maille from a haubergeon thats made from hardened spring steel.. But it was made in India, the quality control was poor, and it needs to be re-woven to fix all the not quite closed rings that keep slipping loose.
            So I have to go back with pliers and squeeze each ring fully closed. Its a big job, and I have been putting it off.
            -Badger-

        3. I think I tried that with steel for the plate, but it leaves bright white scratch marks

          1. I’ve sprayed lacquer on plate as well. I find though that a coat of Turtle wax for cars is better for preventing rust on mild steel.
            I use green scrubby pads to make an even satin finish on steel. Its easy, can be touched up in seconds, and gives a pleasing finish. I don’t bother using a cloth wheel and polishing compound on my plate armor anymore. If you don’t want to use car wax or museum grade microwax on your armor, a very light wipe with a cloth and just about any form of oil over the scrubby finish works. But even something like rubbing the side of an unlit beeswax candle over the steel and using an old sock and elbow grease to rub the wax on evenly will do in a pinch.

            I just decided in the end that stainless steel was easier to maintain.
            I mostly use mild steel for armor I sell now, or for SCA loaner kit.

            -Badger-

  8. Fox, you are SO mean. LOL. Besides, Mandy, doesn’t Fox hate hugs? That could be why he waited until you hugged him to notice that he was covered in grease. LOL.

    BTW, I looked at last week’s comic again before I came here and I got the same laugh I got when I first read it. It’s going to be a classic. IMHO.

  10. Silly Seley…Don’t you know that the best time to get hugs is when we’re covered in grease?

  13. Did you say “Grease” ?
    …
    You’re the one that I want
    You are the one I want
    Oo, Oo, Oo, the one that I need
    Oh yes indeed

    …Sorry, I had to sing that (also, Fox looks like John Travolta with his black shirt).

  14. Oh look a drill press of scarily tossing things because they aren’t clamped down, because who ever heard of clamping things down, and of course drilling things is the proper way to decommission them rather than using non-dangerous tools made for that purpose. Wait, do I have some grumpy on me? Nope, I think I got it all out. :p

    1. It does that with Firefox and IE, but not Chrome. Dunno why, but been a low priority fixing. On the todo list after a webhost shift.

  16. Hey Fox…..I meant to ask, ‘under the hood’, is yours a 2 pulley speed change system or is there a secondary multi-sheave pulley between the motor and spindle? Give you even more motor/spindle ratios to work with.

    Does this little unit use 1 drive belt or 2?

  17. Fox, I meant to ask, is your new drill press a 1 belt or 2 belt drive setup?

  18. That’s a really nice setup. I didn’t realize it was an oscillating spindle drum sander as well. Mine’s just a straight drill press with 3 pulleys for a total speed range of 350 – 5000 rpm.

    Chinese made, a birthday present some 20 odd years ago. Replaced the spindle bearings once and other than belts have never had a problem with it.

    Thanks for the info and link.

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