Vinegar for Rust Removal - how long?

[Pam Niedermayer]

I don't know much about hack saws in general, but it appears there must be some type of mechanical pin for yours.

Pam

[Jim Koepke]

There should be a pin of some sorts. This is how the saw can accomodate different blade lengths.

jim

[Brian Kent]

Thank you Pam and Jim.

I just needed a little confidence before I went "fishing".

The problem was a piece of spring steel that had been placed in the wrong spot, probably years ago before it was set aside to rust. The spring steel was behind the moving arms, which did not allow the pins to engage in the holes. It took some real leverage to get the spring out. When it finally gave, it was intact and the shape showed me where it was supposed to be - on the inside of the arms to hold the pins in the holes while a blade is being installed. It now works and holds a lot of tension on the blade.

Here's the pics to show the parts and placement. Picture 3 is the inside of the back, with the spring in place. Picture 4 is where the pins engage.

[Charles Bishop]

Interesting thread. I recently used vinegar and pieces of rusted barbwire to make some leather dye. After a few days the wire was clean and rust free. Decided to try cleaning a rusty flea market backsaw blade. After three days it cleaned up beautifully, but has a dull finish. Will try fine wet or dry to brighten it up. Just something else to tinker with. I also bought an old handsaw with a lot more corrosion that I am going to give the vinegar treatment. Cider vinegar is needed for the leather dye. Don't know if that makes a difference for rust removal. I may be trying to re-invent the wheel, but that's OK. It's fun.

Charles

[David Keller NC]

Guys (and gals) - Just a comment from a person with a Chemistry background - do not add salt (sodium chloride) to any solution you plan on using to remove rust from steel or iron tools. The chloride anion has an especially active role in pitting steel and iron. This is partly why certain strong acids can be used for rust removal, like sulfuric or nitric, but hydrochloric is out (note - just because it's possible to use a strong acid for rust removal, doesn't mean it's a good idea - strong acids will also attack native (unoxidized) iron).

If you need to get a citric or acetic acid solution into nooks and crannies in tools, the best way is to add a few drops of hand dishwashing detergent to the solution until it will foam when agitated. This lowers the surface tension of the solution sufficiently to allow it get into tight corners that would otherwise trap air and be un-wetted.

[george wilson]

Re: vinegar and barbed wire for stain; You can make a very good black stain whih crushed oak nut galls,vinegar,and iron filings. We used it in the musical instrument maker film.

We got nut gall powder from Behlen IIRC. I think that oak sawdust would probably work if left to work in the solution for a longer time. The galls worked pretty quick as they have lots of tannin,but,so does oak.

[Kevin Brenton]

Interesting thread. I recently used vinegar and pieces of rusted barbwire to make some leather dye. After a few days the wire was clean and rust free. Decided to try cleaning a rusty flea market backsaw blade. After three days it cleaned up beautifully, but has a dull finish. Will try fine wet or dry to brighten it up. Just something else to tinker with. I also bought an old handsaw with a lot more corrosion that I am going to give the vinegar treatment. Cider vinegar is needed for the leather dye. Don't know if that makes a difference for rust removal. I may be trying to re-invent the wheel, but that's OK. It's fun.

Charles

I have had success with cleaning vinegar which is made from molasses and is a bit more acidic that vinegar made from grapes .I don't know if its available in the US ,but we can buy it here from the laundry section in the local supermarket.
I also use it to sharpen my metal working files .

Kev.

[David Keller NC]

"You can make a very good black stain whih crushed oak nut galls,vinegar,and iron filings."

George - Isn't this the recipe for iron gall ink? I'm curious because I want to make some and collected a bunch of oak galls for the purpose last fall.

[george wilson]

Probably is,David,though I never made any ink. The stain we made was for the film about making a spinet harpsichord. The original instrument we used as a guide had key sharps made of pearwood stained black.In fact,the entire front ends of the sharp keys were stained black.

This made a real black black,not like the black stains you can buy,that reveal a greenish or bluish tint when seen in a thinnish smear.

Thre is another black made with logwood,but I can't recall the recipe. Did use it a long time ago.

[george wilson]

There are electrolytic ways to remove rust also. On the Practical Machinist's Forum the subject has been much discussed.