My Antique Hand Tool Collection
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- This topic has 18 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 8 years ago by Salko Safic.
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20 January 2016 at 12:48 pm #134026
Hey Everybody,
I recently joined the Masterclasses site and I’m addicted to the great video content. Love it. Just realized there’s a forum 🙂
I’ve been interested in working with hand tools for about 2 years now, although I’ve done very few projects in that time. I had been slowly buying tools online and at flea markets to build up my collection. This past summer I discovered a large chest of tools for sale by a neighbor. It’s a complete set of tools from a woodworker of about 100 years ago. I’ve been slowly restoring a few things for use. Thought I would share a pic of my collection
Take Care,
JoeAttachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.20 January 2016 at 12:51 pm #134028Welcome aboard Joe glad to see more people join our community, you will find this community very helpful and friendly.
21 January 2016 at 6:54 pm #134053Hi Joe,
What a great find. The man clearly had an eye for quality tools. I have an Atkins plow plane just like the one you have pictured. It is one of my favorite tools. Plus, the box is great!
Welcome to our little community,
Bryan
21 January 2016 at 11:02 pm #134064Thanks Bryan. Several people have told me that plow plane is the best tool in the chest. Especially since i have maybe 10 irons with it.
Almost forgot, i made a video a while ago where i review each tool. Please excuse the fact that i don’t have much experience with hand tools and often don’t know what i’m talking about. Lol.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NopNsuXOVaI
Looking forward to tackling a bunch of Paul’s projects down the road.
22 January 2016 at 6:20 am #134065WOW!!! What great fortune to find something like that! Looks like you’ll be having fun with that stuff for some time to come. Probably others have given rust advice or you have your own favorite method, but I’ve had some good results with a citric acid bath, followed by washing and then sanding.
Have fun with it.
22 January 2016 at 6:22 am #134066Oh, and I really love my brace and bits. If you haven’t used them before and get a chance to look into cleaning yours up, by all means do so. They can be fantastic!
22 January 2016 at 12:43 pm #134070Thanks Matt.
I have gotten tons of advice on rust removal. So far I’ve done most of my restoration with “Blue Creeper”, WD40 and sanding. A few people warned me that using some sorts of baths or rust removers could weaken the steel? That worried me a bit and i haven’t tried it yet. I really want to try electrolysis but i read that the resulting waste water is somehow toxic? Still have to do some more reading on that… also have to find an old school battery charger since the new ones seem unfit for the task.
Regarding the brace and bits, i’m still on the fence. So far all my ripping and drilling have been done with power tools. But just in case, I’ll be on the lookout for an auger file at my local flea market.
lowpoly….,
Well, You’ll probably get a whole variety of responses to rust removal, generally based on hearsay and/or personal experiences of the responder.
So….Here’s mine.
First, a couple of things not to use.
Strong mineral acids ie: Sulfuric, Nitric and especially Hydrochloric Acid,or products containing those.
Weak acids like Phosphoric, Acetic and Citric will work in diluted form but if used you MUST rinse thoroughly after use to remove any residual acid in the pits if present on the piece. Although these are classified as “weak” acids and will remove the rust, they will continue to attack the”good” steel if left in the bath too long. Not really a problem if you don’t just “dunk” and forget.Electrolysis isn’t too difficult to set up (lots of directions on the Interweb)and works well for larger parts,but probably isn’t worth the trouble and expense if you’re not already set up to do it.
Commercial products are available based in Chelant chemistry which is relatively safe to use and only attacks the rust leaving the base iron/steel untouched. Evaporust is one brand available and is highly effective and reusable-No affiliation–.
I’ve personally used all of the above. If was doing parts in a machinery restoration I’d use the Electrolsis. For small stuff in hand tool restoration, I’d use the Evaporust.
Hope this helps.
Best,
Craig22 January 2016 at 5:02 pm #134075Great info – thanks a lot Craig. I think a few other people mentioned Evaporust so i may give that a shot.
lowpoly….,
OK, If you’re going that route, I have a couple of tips that may be helpful.
1. Clean off as much rust as possible first- wire brush, razor blade scraper, sandpaper, but not too aggressive with the sandpaper- if you get to clean metal stop with the sandpaper.
2.Degrease the parts with Mineral Spirits then wash with dish detergent and rinse thoroughly.
3.Use either a stainless steel or plastic container-NOT Aluminum to immerse the part.
4.The reaction goes much quicker if the Evaporust is preheated to just steaming vapor, and separately heat the part in the hottest tap water you can get- then immerse the part in the hot Evaporust. I use our cooking pots for this and get yelled at but……:)
5.The parts will be covered with a black sludge that is removed with a scrubbie pad, wire brush and soap and water. Do this in cold water otherwise you’ll get flash rusting (easily removed). Dry thoroughly and apply some type of oil to protect the metal .
6. To get internal threads clean I use gun bore brushes.
Hope this is helpful and not too long winded.
Best,
Craig
PS Don’t throw out the used Evaporust it’s reusable.- This reply was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by Craig.
24 January 2016 at 12:56 pm #134134Thanks again Craig.
I see they sell a 3Gal bucket of Evaporust that comes with a dipping tray. That’s kind of attractive so i don’t have to use any of my own containers. I’m way too paranoid to use any of my pots :). Guess i couldn’t easily heat the stuff if i used their bucket, but i could still follow some of your other advise.
We’re under well over a foot of snow here in NJ. Hope everyone in the Northeast made it through the blizzard OK.
1 March 2016 at 2:32 am #135142I bought a 5gallon bucket of Evaporust a few weeks ago. Just wanted to share my experience. It works very well. Removes the rust, although in some cases, discoloration remains. Some scrubbing with a brass or steel brush is needed to remove some of the crud left over after the chemical has done its job. It takes a while of soaking to get good results, often a few days for me. I’m working in relatively cold temperatures in the northeast of the US. I’ll be curious to see if things change when the summer arrives.
Attached are a few picks of a slick I recently dunked for about a week. After the treatment I can see what appears to be a different type of steel used for the blade area.
Attachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.1 March 2016 at 3:02 am #135156That’s one big chisel, it has done a great job in cleaning it one half looks like it’s been sandblasted but did you know that vinegar does the same thing.
1 March 2016 at 5:03 am #135157I think that is a slick used in log building and timber framing. The Evaporust works pretty good.
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