Saw restore and cleaning
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Over the past few weeks I’ve managed to locate and purchase some nice old saws. All of them are in the usual condition of grime, rust etc. I plan on stripping them down and refinish the handles, clean the saw plates, etc. Going to use WD-40 and elbow grease to remove the grime from the steel but I’m not sure what grit of sandpaper to end with. I’ll start with 120 then 220 but is it advisable to take it to 400 or beyond?
15 November 2014 at 7:36 am #120977If you want to go to higher grits there’s nothing stopping you. I don’t think it will make too much difference to performance though. I’ve done a few recently myself. I found that by removing most of the rust first with vinegar its much easier then to use abrasive to clean up the plate and give it that nice brushed metal look. Just be sure to remove all traces of grease using degreaser or scrub with dishwashing soap. Rinse then pat dry before fully immersing in the cheapest white vinegar you can find. I found a cheap kitty litter tray to be perfect for this. Keep an eye on it and scrub every so often with a brass brush as you see all the bubbles forming. Make sure they are immersed fully or you might get corrosion lines where the metal is in contact with the air. Takes about 20 hours. Maybe longer if its cold or the saw is in really bad shape. Here’s some photos. Some people might find this removes too much patina but Im a user not a collecter so I prefer them like this. I’ve tried electrolysis in the past as well but I think I’ll just use the vinegar from now on. It might work a little slower but its less mucking around.
Oh and be sure to thoroughly wash away all the vinegar with soap then dry well before immediately using a rust preventative. I find G15 works so kuch better than WD40. WD40 is one of the worst in preventing rust according to results of some tests made by Jim Davey, a tool restoration expert here in Australia. I then put mine out in the hot sun upright length ways just to make sure all the moisture comes out of the spine then spray some more G15 down there.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.15 November 2014 at 11:54 am #120985I am another fan of using vinegar, but before that I will take a razor blade and try to scrape off as much rust as I can before the vinegar bath. After I rinse really well and use a hair dryer to dry off, then I use MS or WD40 with the sandpaper and usually go no higher than 600 grit wet/dry.
A good wipe with a 3 – in – 1 oiled rag and then a couple coats of Johnson paste wax and you are good to go.
Steve
15 November 2014 at 1:18 pm #120991Don’t forget to add salt to the vinegar. I don’t know just what it is adding but I do know it helps. Tea spoon to a qt
Sand to 400 w/d use oil for the 400 rub. Keep an oiled rag in a can and wipe down the tools at the end of the day as you put them away. You will never have problems if you do this.
FrankjFinally got them finished. I didn’t have a tub big enough to fit handsaws to try the vinegar bath so I just applied wd40 and used wet dry sandpaper, 220, 320, 400 and 600. I got the plates to a usable condition. Next was the handles, they were pretty grimy so I scraped and sanded them down and stained them. Applied 3 coats linseed oil and waxed them down. I even took the time polish the brass screws to make em look perty š
Now to sharpen them…
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You must be logged in to view attached files.17 November 2014 at 11:40 pm #121072They look fantastic! Must have been a lot of work to get them to look that good.
I have tried the vinegar bath, but you need a lot of vinegar given the size of the tub and then you need to use sandpaper anyway.Dave nice job. Did you stain the handles before the BLO. Red Mahogany perhaps??
I used minwax red mahogany on my Philadelphia D-8 handle and it looks identical to your saw handles. I am jealous you have 4 really nice saws.
Best of luck with the sharpening. I just recently filed one of my saws from rip to cross cut. Don’t be afraid after you got a good handle on rip filing to try the cross cut filing it is so rewarding, I like having one panel saw filed cross cut to break down my rough stock. Don’t over think it, choose a rake and fleam and go. Also, I find set to be the more important on saws.Rusty, the stain is General water based stain – Black Cherry and was applied prior to the oil and wax. Honestly, I don’t know how durable the color is going to be after a few years of use.
I learned how to sharpen saws when I was a kid 30 years ago but since then haven’t really had the need until now. These saws are all over set so I need to knock them back. For example
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You must be logged in to view attached files.I just tried a new (to me anyway) method of cleaning up a rusty, grimy saw. I recently ordered a set of 3 “rust erasers” from Garrett-Wade (US). The set contains 3 different levels of abrasive. I tried them on an Ebay purchased Disston panel saw and I must say, I was really impressed with the ease of rust removal; basically it was a 5 minute job. And, from what I can tell, it didn’t seem to damage the etch at all. I wish I had taken before & after pictures to post. I will next time.
[quote quote=121121]just tried a new (to me anyway) method of cleaning up a rusty, grimy saw. I recently ordered a set of 3 ārust erasersā from Garrett-Wade (US). The set contains 3 different levels of abrasive. I tried them on an Ebay purchased Disston panel saw and I must say, I was really impressed with the ease of rust removal; basically it was a 5 minute job. And, from what I can tell, it didnāt seem to damage the etch at all. I wish I had taken before & after pictures to post. I will next time.[/quote]
I have just one grit “rust eraser” that I got off Ebay, and I also find it very useful. I should try out the full set, as I think the one I have is rather fine and a step or two coarser would be nice for more heavily rusted items.
23 November 2014 at 11:24 pm #121376Another pristine job Dave.
I watched the two hour saw sharpening video and re-profiled my Disston 7tpi with the PS method – came out very well. I recently made a T-shape saw vise from pine which made things alot easier – closer to the eyes and no bending always helps I guess.
I definitely need to get those rust erasers, WD40 makes me feel sick and nauseous.
John Meaney
Hey guys, thanks for the comments, got them all sharpened up, rip and cross cuts.
Thanks for the tips on the rust erasers, LV has them for about 5 dollars each. They work excellent and the best part no lubrication needed. You can clean saws very easily with these, any metal tool for that matter.
The fellow I bought these from called and said he found some small 18 inch saws for me to look at…so I’ll have to investigate….
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