Some new old tools

[schnable]

I recently bought a bunch of rusty old tools on ebay - my $40 brought me 4 braces, 1 egg beater drill, various bits, a block plane, and various wrenches. I decided to let science help me out in the de-rusting process - I started with two volunteers from the lot:



A Miller Falls no 7 hand drill



A Stanley X3 6 inch brace

I wired them up like Frankenstein's monster, filled a tank with water / soda solution, and let the current flow:
Wired up!
Boil, Boil, Toil, and Trouble!


After several hours of hydrogen generation, I cleaned off the tools, scrubbed them a bit with nylon scrubbies and finished with a light wire brushing to take care of the stubborn bits. I repainted the eggbeater red, and sanded, oiled the wooded parts on the eggbeater, and sanded / reapplied an ebony finish for the X3. I think they came out pretty nice:

and .

I did another of the braces yesterday (a 12 inch Millers Fall with nice rosewood handles). I am ready to make some holes.

 

[rsaucedo]

Those turned out great. Is he process for doing this out there on the forum? I'd like to try this sometime.

Ras

 

[schnable]

Oh sorry - probably should have mentioned that. Do a search for electrolysis - you will find lots of hits.

 

[MtnWing]

Wow, those look great. Makes me want to work on some of the tools that I inherited from my grandfather.

 

[dupont6480]

Those Heirloom tools turned out great. Outstanding job.

 

[Carl Fisher]

Beautiful restore. Both look new and ready to put to work!

 

[ReynoldsJay]

this looks awesome. great job on restoring these old tools. good to know this process of how you did it. thanks for sharing.