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Tool restoration

wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
in The potting shed
Ok restoration might be overstating it a bit but I'm cleaning it up. I was working on an empty property earlier this week and found a couple of rusty tools left by the bins that the new owner said I could have. The trowel is a really nice shape so I'm hoping to clean it up to use.

The handle is toast but I managed to remove it intact so I can use it as a pattern for a new one. A bit of work with the wire wheel and sander and it's starting to look promising. Some of the deeper pitting will have to stay but the metal is nice and thick so I can lose a bit from either side without making it too thin. It's now sat in a vinegar bath to remove the last of the rust and I'll see how it looks on the weekend before sanding anymore metal off and squeezing the handle back together.





If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
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  • FlinsterFlinster Posts: 883
    Wow that’s great work Wild Edges! Hope it becomes your favourite! 😀
  • RubytooRubytoo Posts: 1,630
    Agree, quite a transformation, I was going to suggest just using it would clean it :D
    Good Luck, and good job on managing to save the handle shape.
    The few I have tried to replace never seem to fit as well as the original. I never get them right.
    It is a lovely looking old tool, nice shape.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    According to the owner of a "junk"/antique shop I used to frequent in Brussels, coca cola is very good for removing rust from, say, wheels on furniture which can then be cleaned and oiled.   

    Good luck with the sharpening up and handle replacement.  It is a good shape.  I use mine often for weeding out deep rooted specimens in beds.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • TheveggardenerTheveggardener Posts: 1,057
    Obelixx, My son cleaned up an old vice using coca cola came up a treat. It's nice to see old tools brought back into use, I have a cultivator and scythe and son said he will do them for me.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Ha ha :D ! I was once told that coca-cola is good for cleaning toilets (but I think toilet cleaner smells better!)
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • TheveggardenerTheveggardener Posts: 1,057
    I'm with you on that one JennyJ but it makes you wounder what it does to our inside if it cleans so many things.
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    That's not a bad idea actually. Coke might be a bit cheaper than vinegar if I get the value stuff. I've got some heavy duty rust remover here that I bought for the landrover but it's a bit expensive to use for this kind of work. I'll be using it for inside the handle though as it leaves a coating that prevents further rust.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    I suspect cheaper but stickier if you don't rinse it all off properly.   Good for your drains too I expect.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    I wonder if the zero sugar stuff works as well? Vinegar is only £3 for a 5L drum though so the expense won't kill me. o:)
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Back before I went off Coca Cola for ethical reasons, I only ever drank the diet stuff.  It certainly stripped the varnish off the desk when I spilt some one day at the office........
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
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