This is an amazing resource, but it just doesn't beat the feel or utility of having a real slide rule in your hands. Part of the appeal is the ability to rapidly compute at the expense of precision (it's the fundamental tradeoff of the slide rule, though larger slide rules and careful use try to minimize it), but the emulated versions encourage precision over speed by design.
I've bought a couple of slide rules and feel like I still haven't quite gotten it:
- a ThinkGeek one which had an offputting amount of stiction despite not-bad reviews
- a used one which was better, but such that I guess I still need to learn how to clean or lubricate it to the standard these things must've been meant for.
I clean and lubricate my metal and plastic slide rules occasionally. A good wipe down and petroleum jelly is sufficient. Bamboo slide rules seem to be more slippery, so I just keep them clean.
You want it to move freely and without grit, but not so freely that it has a chance of slipping. When necessary, adjustment by loosening the top and bottom scales can be accomplished by using the cursor to fix alignment.
