From:
don dougan <dondougan@zzzzzzzz>
Date:
Sat, 27 Nov 2004 20:15:42 -0500
Subject:
Question about shapening tools
Hi Dan;
Quoted text begins.RE: the sharpener
End of quote.
I have used a wet sharpener at the school shop (and it is especially good
for sharpening woodcarving tools, but for my own use in my studio I use a
combination of a regular bench grinder with medium and fine wheels for
rough work, and a 10" disc-sander (150 or 180 grit) for the final
touch-up, before 6" wire brushing (removes the burr). But I also have
used a belt sander like Bob recommends, too.
Quoted text begins.RE: ". . . scrape the rust off on the sharpening stone, but . . . prone
to rust there again . . . "
End of quote.
Try to use a wire wheel to clean off the rust rather than sanding or
grinding the rust off. Thouhg it will still rust, it will not be as
rapid. If you want to use paste wax afterwards to retard the rust it
will help, but will not stop it altogether.
One of the many hats I wear is that of "Tool Curator" at the Bennett
History Museum in North Georgia
( http://www.reinhardt.edu/funk.htm )
( or look on my linkpage http://www.dondougan.homestead.com/LINKPAGE.html
for some additional pictures of the tool collection)
where we have on display several thousand antique hand tools. The steel
or iron in the tools are all treated this way:
1) The tool is wire-brushed to remove the loose (powdery or flaking) rust
with 6" or 8" diameter fine wire wheel mounted on an arbor attached to a
1725-rpm or slower motor. On the antique tools it is not desirable to
remove all the rust, leaving bright shiny metal -- but if you want to on
your tools that is your call.
2) All the wire-brushed metal is then coated liberally with a 50/50 mix
of boiled linseed oil and turpentine, which is allowed to sit for 15
minutes or so to insure all the little pits, nooks and crannys of the
tool are completely covered (on simple stone carving chisels this wait
would not be necessary).
3) When the tool has been coated completely, a clean lint-free rag (paper
towels work fine in the studio) is used to wipe off the excess turp-oil,
and the tool is set someplace dust free to allow the oil to dry -- at
room temperature this might be an hour or two.
Any residual rust is locked-in by the turp-oil and gives the tool a dark
brown patina which is stable (non-staining - unlike WD-40 or other
non-drying oils) and long-lasting, preventing any further rust (at least
for tools which are not handled and are put on display).
I also use this method on my own tools (most of which were purchased used
from old/antique tool dealers). The tools that get knocked around loose
in a toolbox will eventually develop rust if exposed to moisture, because
the turp-oil is worn-off.
Though I tell my students not to use steel hammers on mallet-head chisels
or pneumatic chisels, through their ignorance or not paying attention
they always used to mix them up. Sometimes they still do, but I made it
more difficult for them . . . now the tools I let my students work with
are color-coded, so they are easier to discriminate between the different
types. Hammer-head chisels are painted red, mallethead chisels are
painted orange, and pneumatic chisels are painted green.
After wiping the chisel shank clean with acetone to remove any grease or
non-drying oil on the surface to which the paint would not adhere, the
chisel shanks are coated with two light coats of spray paint.
[Krylon is preferred because it drys quickly (lacquer base) and covers
well, but any spray paint will work. Drying time on enamels will be much
longer, and cheap spray paints might require four coats for comparable
coverage.]
About 1" down from the cutting edge is where I begin the coat of paint,
so I only need to worry about cleaning that (with the wire brush) when it
develops any rust -- but since it is the business end of the tool,
usually all I have to brush off is the stone dust. The paint holds up
pretty well even though all the tools are kept in boxes loose where they
bang against each other. Every couple of years I need to recoat the
paint.
Good Sharpening to you;
Don
http://www.dondougan.com
- Follow-ups
- message 00424: Question about shapening tools - Tom Blatt (29 Nov 2004)
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