It's summertime and the living is a bit hectic but exciting with all the current scythe goings-on so not much time for making. Charlie and I are getting close to finishing the cleft-oak signposts and, when I get a spare moment, I fit in some of my own work - more on that another time.My tool-restoration project continues with the discovery that vinegar, as well as being great on chips and for cleaning the windows, is a miraculous rust-remover. I thought that things like my block plane and these calipers were scrap but after a 20 min soak the rust just wiped off with a bit of steel wool.
Steve
ReplyDeleteYou can clean really rusty tools as follows; 12v battery charger, piece of stainless steel, 3 dsp of baking soda. Put rusty metal in plastic bowl or bucket, cover with water, add baking powder. Connect one terminal to rusty metal and the other to the stainless steel plate; suspended vertically away from and not touching the metal you wish to de-rust. Plug in charger and switch on. Check after an hour; rusty metal should have gone black. Move ss sheet closer if no result. When black. Switch off power. Scrub metal with a brush and wash under cold water. ;-) Bob
Sounds interesting, I'll keep it in mind for any future rust jobs. Thanks Bob
ReplyDeleteSteve Just been studying a book on sort of Guerilla Blacksmithing. Suggested battery acid to clean up and "resharpen" old files. Would probably clean rusty tools too! You must do it outside and flush with lots of cold water. Some good tips though. Bob x
ReplyDeletePS Liked the damson spoon article. Spent Sunday at The Greenwood Trust with the Chair Tony N, Andy H, Neil, M and Des the Welsh wizard. Some great fresh cherry etc