tool find and rust removal

[jcs0001]

I located this 8 in. starrett machinist's level at a recycle centre today for $5.  Probably my best tool find in a long long time.  A couple of photos.

tool find and rust removal

tool find and rust removal

Questions:

The main vial does not have any lines other than the two either side of the bubble - is this an old model of level or would that mean the vial has been replaced?

There is some rust on it, mainly stains but that on the bottom is a bit more than just surface rust.  Ideas on removal would be appreciated.  I thought about using emery cloth (400 on up or so) on a flat surface and working it slowly till the rust was removed but don't want to do this if there is a better way.

Thanks for any ideas.

John.

[Pete]

http://www.evaporust.com/evaporust.html#Anchor_buy

This stuff is great - inexpensive and can be shipped via mail.  Search the net - it may be sold locally through harbor Frieght.  It will only eat iron oxide - it will not eat any metal, only rust.

You dont have to disassemble the level - get a shallow tray ) shallower than the vial but taller than the base and let it soak in th evaporust - in a couple of hours all the rust will be gone.

[HS93]

in the uk these are avalable I think they will be avalable in Canada

http://www.axminster.co.uk/page/find/?name=rust remover&page=1

peter

[jcs0001]

Pete and Peter:

Thanks for the ideas.  I have been reading about electrolitic rust removal using a weak solution of water and washing soda and will likely experiment with that first (on non critical items).  I have all the components so it's easy to do.  Will keep your ideas in mind in case the electrolitic solution doesn't work well.

John.

[jcs0001]

I put together the components for electrolytic rust removal and tried it out on some unimportant pieces of steel.  Worked very well so I dissembled the level and wired it up.

tool find and rust removal
Old battery charger, container and water with a bit of washing soda.  Steel wire used to attach level and another piece of steel.  The negative to the level and positive to the sacrificial piece.

tool find and rust removal
After about 40 min. and a light rub down with 0000 steel wool.  Turned it a couple of times in relation to the sacrificial piece.

tool find and rust removal
The bottom - compare to the photo at the top of this thread.

tool find and rust removal
Very small pits at the end - rust was heavier here.

The charger was putting out about 10 V and 0.4 amp.  I used well under a tablespoon of washing soda for about 3 quarts of water.  Baking soda works as well from other info on the net.

The top of the level has black stippled paint - this was not effected by the solution but a couple of very small areas near the edge lifted due to rust working it's way underneath.  They were touched up with gloss black paint.

The method works well as it is not destructive and easy to do.  The water solution should not be toxic - I put it on some weeds so will watch to see if anything bad (or good) happens.

The only problem I see is that a dark staining remains on the metal - will experiment as time permits to see if this can be remedied (perhaps rubbing with vinegar).

John.

[ieezitin]

Wow what a great result!.

I would have never thought that would work with a superb outcome. I wonder what else could be achieved with this little setup, electroplating maybe?
Well-done John now you have a great restored prize for a little effort.

Happy days       Anthony.

[dickda1]

Very nice result.  I assume that the steel wool was hardly needed.

I have watched workers in salvage yards in the early 1960's merrily polishing (perhaps grinding) the ways of old metal lathes with a heavy wire wheel attached to drill.  The lathes looked clean, but of course the ways would need to be reground.

I am going to give your method a try!  Thanks for sharing.
-Dick

[jcs0001]

Gentlemen:

I was pretty conservative with the steel wool as I didn't want to scratch it up.  A plastic scouring pad would perhaps work as well.

Frank Ford on his Frets website has more information if it is of help to you:

http://www.frets.com/HomeShopTech/QuickTricks/RustRemoval/rustremoval.html


John.

[Jonny]

Yeah they work well with old phone chargers too, just takes longer.

[jcs0001]

Jonny:

I think what you are referring to would be what we call "wall warts" over here.  Usually low voltage and amps - here are a couple of examples:

tool find and rust removal
That's a good idea as they are very easy to come by.

Couldn't leave the level without a case so build one out of some scrap oak and some purple heart reinforcement for the mitre joints on the corners.  Coated in clear coat to resist dirt and grease.

tool find and rust removal

tool find and rust removal

John.

[Bernd]

John,

Nice job on the wooden box. 

Bernd

[AR1911]

Nice job on the refurb, and excellent on the box. I could never get that sort of result with wood. I'm envious.

But I gotta give a +1 on Evaporust. I've done many pieces both ways, and ER is by far the easiest and least fussy way to get results at least as good.
I can disassemble a lathe, load up a bucket with parts, then add ER to cover it all, put a lid on it and go away for a week or so. When I come back, it's rinse, dry, then oil or paint.
And the ER is poured back into the jug for the next time.

[jcs0001]

Thanks Gents:

Will keep the ER in mind as it may be a lot easier when there are lots of parts to do.

The box is pretty simple but I must admit that having an excellent and accurate table saw is the key.  Before getting this one I couldn't get sufficient accuracy - jam gluing pieces that are "close fits" together just does not work. 

Small boxes are nice because I almost always have some scrap around so the cost of mistakes is very low.  They do take time as I rarely make more than one at a time so I can't "amortize" the setup time.

John.

[hopefuldave]

Very nice work on the level, I too use an EGBERT (Electrolytic Gungey Bubbling Encrustation Removal Tank) (TM) for removing rust, with a 30A start+charger that came out of a skip... with a large enough workpiece and sacrificial anode it does get up to 30 Amps, too :0

One caution on the box, though - good thing you varnished it, oak has a nasty effect on iron + steel, the tannic acid in the wood is a great rust promoter, hence all the copper nails and rivets in traditional buildings, ships and the like!

Dave H.

[kwackers]

I don't think anyone answered this.

I have exactly the same level and it has just the two lines. When level the bubble just touches both.

[Shadow]

Nice work there John.

In repairing instruments I used to paint small damaged areas with a toothpick and blended the wrinkle finish by waiting a short time and sticking my finger in the paint. It hid some of the shine and made a fairly good "wrinkle". The length of the actual air bubble will change with temperature differences and wait for a while if you wipe the vial with your finger before adjusting. Ballpark figure for large temperature changes is 5 minutes for every degree of difference.

[jcs0001]

Kwackers - thanks for the info on the vial.  Any photos I've seen show a couple or three lines on either side of a centred bubble so I wondered what was going on with this.  Good to know.

Dave - I thought about the oak tannins back a while ago but after reading your info decided to give it another coat of finish inside and let it bake in the sun to harden - it's being done right now.  I will also wrap it in a very lightly oiled cloth inside the box so it should be ok.

One note on machining equipment and supplies.  I live in Canada in a medium sized city and it is often very difficult to get supplies other than by mail order.  Even within Canada some supplies just aren't available (I could not locate case hardening compound in Canada at all a few years ago, for example).  Most are available from suppliers in the USA but the shipping has become a real killer.  Often the shipping is equal to or more than the product itself.  Shipping can also take a long time as Canada Customs becomes involved when items are brought into the country.  Some may not mind but I do have a bit of a budget to meet so often it is better to work around a situation than to spend a lot of money to throw at a problem.  Those of you who can easily obtain supplies should be thankful.

Thanks for all the comments and ideas - appreciated.

John.

[AR1911]

Case hardening was traditionally done with ground up bone.
Grind some old animal bones to a powder
place in an old tin can
Place part in the powder so it's completely covered all sides
Crimp the can tighly over the contents
Toss it in the fireplace coals
Retrieve the next day from the ashes.

[bry1975]

Very impressive 'Box Work' John!

Bry