Salvaging flood damaged tools

[rmwarren]

I am just getting to clearing out the workshop and seeing what can be salvaged. We had 3' of water and spent the last few weeks dealing with more pressing issues. Came across my hand planes in the bottom drawer of a cabinet, cannot believe I forgot they were in there until now.

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Any advice on if/how to try to salvage them? There are 2 older Baileys that I have had since I started woodworking, it make me sick to think of trashing them but I am not sure if they can be saved. Any input would be appreciated.

RMW

 

[promhandicam]

Sorry to hear about your flooding problems. If they have only been wet for 3 weeks then the rust will only be surface and should clean up fine. There are plenty of ways from electrolysis to using vinegar or just wire wool and elbow grease - google "cleaning rust from tools" and that should give you some ideas. Personally I'd just do it by hand with various abrasives. 

All the best,

Steve

 

[tjbnwi]

Remove the wood parts, use this;

http://www.eastwood.com/surface-rust-prep-kit-26004.html

The other choice is through electrolysis.

Tom

 

[erock]

From the pictures, it looks like it's just surface rust.

You can sand that off.  Using a sander going thru different grits.  I bought a plane off ebay that looked like one of yours.

I sanded it to a nice polished shine.

I did not remove the original paint.  I just sanded the bare metal.  Then waxed it when I was done to protect the metal.

If the wood handles are bad, then you can buy replacements off ebay.

Or, remove the wood handles and have them sand blasted and completely restore them.   But don't toss them in the trash!!

Eric

 

[promhandicam]

This might help http://www.wkfinetools.com/tRestore/techniques/rust_CitricAcid/rust_CitricAcid2.asp

 

[semenza]

Here is an internet store that sells all kinds of rust removal/prevention products

http://www.theruststore.com/

Seth

 

[rmwarren]

This might help http://www.wkfinetools.com/tRestore/techniques/rust_CitricAcid/rust_CitricAcid2.asp

Thanks - I am going to give the citric acid a try.

As a funny sidebar, when I goggled "citric acid" one source that popped up is http://www.hillbillystills.com/default.asp - a website dedicated to selling you everything you need to distill your own moonshine.  [eek] Gotta love the internet.

Thank again for the input.

RMW

 

[Sparktrician]

Another option is Naval Jelly. 

 

[hockey_magnet]

Heard lots of good things about Evapo-Rust

 

[hobbes]

Heard lots of good things about Evapo-Rust

Yeah, I can say first-hand that this stuff works really well! I learned about this from another fellow who likes to restore old hand planes and it does wonders. Just wipe up all the water from your plane and soak in this for an hour (or overnight if it's very heavily rusted) and then you can take a brush and wipe off your rusts. After you're done, use something like Boeshield G2870 T-9 to layer on a protective coat and you should be good to go. Good luck with everything!

 

[rmwarren]

Ordered both the citric acid and Evapo-Rust from Amazon. I should have both before Thanksgiving and will test each and report back on results.

Thanks for the input.

RMW

 

[JJ Wavra]

Heard lots of good things about Evapo-Rust

Yeah, I can say first-hand that this stuff works really well! I learned about this from another fellow who likes to restore old hand planes and it does wonders. Just wipe up all the water from your plane and soak in this for an hour (or overnight if it's very heavily rusted) and then you can take a brush and wipe off your rusts. After you're done, use something like Boeshield G2870 T-9 to layer on a protective coat and you should be good to go. Good luck with everything!

I will give a third yeah in for evapo-rust.

I used it on two old baileys and they came out great.
Jeff

 

[festooldude]

Throw it in a bucket of coca cola overnight.. Result= brandspankingnew!!

 

[rmwarren]

Throw it in a bucket of coca cola overnight.. Result= brandspankingnew!!

I don't have Coke in bucket quantities...  [wink] wonder if Diet Coke works? Worth a try.

This may turn into a science project, I will document the results and report back.

Thanks,

RMW

 

[rmwarren]

This might help http://www.wkfinetools.com/tRestore/techniques/rust_CitricAcid/rust_CitricAcid2.asp

Big "thanks!" for the tip on citric acid! Ordered 5# on Amazon for $20, started the salvage project this AM. Initially I tried to hurry things by brushing as it soaked, on the second batch (the Bailey) I just dumped everything in and had a cigar and beer with company and when I got back a few hours later the acid had done the job.

Before:

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After:

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I ordered the Evapo-rust but have not tried it yet.

Thanks again.

RMW

 

[Alan m]

wow.  looking great.
did you take them appart or just throw them in

 

[rmwarren]

wow.  looking great.
did you take them appart or just throw them in

Totally disassembled them, then wire-brushed and steel-wooled each part, carefully dried them and wiped a smidge of 3-in-1 oil on the screw threads when I reassembled them. The surfaces are a little mottled but I don't detect pitting from the rust.

After the planes I have a ton of hand tools, wrenches, screw drivers, sockets, etc., that need the same treatment.

RMW

 

[Theshipstore]

RMW  what are the amounts of citrus acid to gallon of water you used. I to have a share of rusted items I would like to change

Sal

 

[rmwarren]

RMW   what are the amounts of citrus acid to gallon of water you used. I to have a share of rusted items I would like to change

Sal

Sal,

I did not measure but guess there was about 1# - 1-1/4# (20-25% of the bag) in perhaps 4 gallons. I used a grey bus tub like you see in restaurants and filled it to about 3".

The acid stings a little in minor cuts and they warn about eye damage so be careful and wear wrap-around safety glasses.

RMW

 

[rmwarren]

I came across an interesting factoid that suddenly made a lot of sense to me. It was in a news article about the Brits recovering a Nazi bomber from the channel and starting to preserve it, to wit: "By washing away the chloride with citric acid, the surface is effectively protected and a barrier to further corrosion built...".

To salvage my hand planes and other steel tools they were soaked in a citric acid bath, then cleaned well and so far they are as like new as they ever were, since most are old Baileys, etc. Other than a slight mottled patina the steel shows no signs of the salt water.

There were some old hand saws that I did not get to until just a few weeks ago, and rather than cleaning them in citric acid I just used the RO 90 to sand off the rust. 2 weeks or less later the surface rust is back, almost as though I never cleaned them, as we have had a lot of rain/humidity.

Now it all makes sense...  [doh] I just need to figure out a tub of some sort that will fit a crosscut saw blade.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/06/10/nazi-bomber-lift-at-midnight/#ixzz2Vr8P0xdU

RMW