PEP BB tool.straw.removerust - Remove Rust, Clean, and Oil a Hand Tool

I have this hammer... er, hammerhead.  My crystal ball tells me it will get a handle soon.



I removed the rust:



so it was shiny all over.  I mean, it had a dull sheen.



Then I oiled it with linseed oil, which smells like fish.



The End.

Got a nice chisel at the auction. Just needs cleaning.

Update:  I did not take a picture of the actual sanding process.  Guess I will try again some other time with another tool.  No shortage of rusty tools in the garage.

Very rusty hammer, I removed rust with sandpaper and steel wool,  then oiled with linseed oil.

These are a pair of linesman pliers I got as a part of my electrical apprentice collection. This summer I left them on the window sill for a few days and they got moist somehow...probably a very humid day followed by a cool one that led to condensation. They weren't covered with rust but they were much harder to open then they should have been. So I put them in a cup of vinegar for about 24 hours, pulled them out and brushed them with an old tooth brush, wiped them, and oiled them with some olive oil. If it doesn't last we have other oils in the garage I can try.

Needed a hammer recently to bang around with, so I found this one in my housemate's garage. Figured he probably wouldn't mind if I used it since it looks like it hasn't been used in years.

Saw Cam's post using vinegar, and since I'm all about doing the least amount of struggle I gave it a shot. Soaked this guy in a bowl of white vinegar overnight. It was pretty cool to watch it start bubbling and the oxidized bits fall off and start dissolving. So easy. Used a light hand with a toothbrush to brush the rust off. There was one tough spot that didn't want to give up its rust, so I took it outside and scraped at it a little with a metal bracket I had sitting around. Rinsed it in the vinegar again, dried it off, then sprayed it down with PB Blaster.

Here's the video of the scrubbing process: Don't mind the hungry kitten crying for dinner in the background.

Looks like this hammer head could use a new handle, so that might be next on my Tool Care list..

I was working on a project which required an auger bit, and saw that the ones I have are a bit rusty (partially from the humid climate, partially because I didn't give them a good once-over when I picked them up secondhand). I decided to be good to my tools and take the rust off. I used a very basic wire brush-and-vise method. I oiled them with grapeseed oil (a drying oil--no horrible sticky residues) and hit them with a heat gun until the oil smoked, ensuring it incorporated in rather than just sitting on top.

Here is my submission for the Tool Care - Straw - Remove Rust, Clean, and Oil a Hand Tool BB.

I used an angle grinder with a wire brush to remove the heavy rust then a vinegar bath to remove the rest of the rust from the head of a hammer/hatchet combo.  I also put a wood chisel into the vinegar bath as there was some rust inside the handle attachment pin-hole.

While researching this project, I noticed that several people advocated using candle wax and melting it into the metal.  I decided to use a few of my organic beeswax crystals leftover from making Wax Cloths.
I put the metal on the stove to heat/melt the wax into the metal.

To document the completion of the BB, I have provided the following:
  - rusty tool
  - rust being removed
  - clean and oiled tool
  - description of oil and cleaning method used

Posting requirements for reference.

To get certified for this BB, post the following as pictures or video (<2 min):
 - rusty tool
 - rust being removed
 - clean and oiled tool
 - description of oil and cleaning method used

Unfortunately I don't have a good storage space for my tools. As a result all of my chisels need care.

I soaked my chisels in vinegar for about 2-3 hours then used a wire brush and steel wool to clean them up. Another dip into the vinegar before a quick rinse in water and a thorough wipe down with a paper towel.

I oiled them with camellia oil. It is the preferred oil for blade maintenance here in Japan.

I left a rake outside for a while as I was intending to use it to forage hazelnuts. In the end I never took it with me (there are plenty within reach near me) and it got a bit rusty.

I cleaned the rust using a wire wheel on an electric drill. This is quick and works really well. It's important to wear PPE though as the wire can fly off and the dust is horrible for your lungs.

I then used a penetrating oil, WD40, to coat the metallic components and prevent flash rust. It also acts as a degreaser. I wiped this off and then applied tung oil, a polymerizing/hardening oil that will protect the rake for much longer than WD40 alone. I also oiled the handle.

My go to hammer definitely need some TLC.
I made a solution of citric acid, wrapped the head in cloth and let it soak for a few hours.
Then I scrubbed it with wire wool.
I finished by oiling with some tallow I made last week.

Just as a question to anyone that would know, I would love to know what this hammers intended use is for? It belongs to dad and I'm trying to get a lot of the Tool Care BB's at his place since I'm still working in my collection of tools!

Our hand axe usually only comes out of the shed a couple of times a year to split a few logs for firewood. This BB was my motivation to get it ready to sharpen and then use it to start carving my first spoon.

It was rusty on both sides, but I only photographed one side to start. I used sandpaper by hand when we were away on holiday and then used the sandpaper around a sanding block once we were back home. That made it far easier to handle. I oiled it with vegetable oil.

To get certified for this BB, post the following as pictures or video (<2 min):
  - rusty tool
  - rust being removed
  - clean and oiled tool
  - description of oil and cleaning method used

I worked on an old hatched I found in the Red Cabin.  I used a wire wheel on a bench grinder to derust it and linseed oil to protect it.  If I could've removed the head from the handle it would have been easier but it was on there pretty good.

Hello all

Found a hoe in mij local second hand/thrift shop.
Cleaned the handle and oiled and waxed the handle with scraper and sandpaper, linseed oil and self made paste wax, cleaned the hoe with wire brush a bit and sharpened it. This is my first submission for a badge. Let me know if I missed anything.

Cleaned this lovely old traditional belgian tool with vinegar and an inox sponge
Gave it a vinegar bath for a total of around 3 hours, without having the handle in the vinegar.
To get closer to the handle, I wrapped an in vinegar soaked cloth around the blade so it would also get the vinegar treatment.

I had no patience, so every now and again I went to do some scrubbing, but everytime I found out I was too early.
After those 3 hours, I was happy with the end result. Dried it with a paper towel, let it sit in the air for a while, and then oiled it with linseed oil.

Can't wait for this baby to be sharpened :-)

The past couple days I finally tackled a project I've been saying I should do for years now.  I got this crazy old metal forming, raising hammer for $5 at a flea market a long time ago.  It was in crappy condition, rusty, with a cracked handle, and broken hammer face.  I've fixed this up to working condition again and did a couple BBs in the process.  Repairing the handle will be a different submission for the make a wedge style handle BB.  For this submission I have refurbished the hammer head.

This involved a lot of rust removal initially.  I started with a diamond abrasive sanding sponge to get the worst of it, then moved to a wire brush on a flex shaft tool as well as an 80 grit radial bristle brush on my Foredom bench lathe.  

After this I set about refinishing the faces of the hammer.  They were deeply pitted which is not a good thing for the sort of metalwork I do.  Any mark or pit on the surface of the hammer face will get imprinted on the metal I'm forming with it over and over again.  Initially I tried just working with my coarsest diamond grit sanding sponge, but that wasn't getting me anywhere significant.  The hammer face was well hardened and deeply pitted.  So I did break out the 4.5 inch angle grinder and went to town on it, being careful not to overheat the metal while also keeping the proper head shape.  With the broken corner on the boxing face there was no real repair possible.  I opted to just blend that back a bit further, softening the edge, so if I do use that side I can hopefully avoid that corner making unsightly hammer marks from a ragged edge hitting.  Then I finished up the hammer faces with sanding sponges which conform nicely to curves and brought it down to a suitably smooth finish.

There was still some rust in crevices and the hole for the handle so I decided to try the vinegar trick which I learned reading the BB submissions of others!  That seemed to work.  Finally I applied a thin coat of some old, rancid canola oil I have.  Copying M Broussard's trick I then heated it up with a fuzzy torch until it just started to smoke to set it as a better finish.

Finally, once the handle was made I got it all mounted and restored to working order.  In cleaning this up I could see this is an old hammer that has seen a lot of use.  I have to wonder what its history really is.  What stories could it tell?  I doubt I'll actually use it much as it's designed for a style of raising I don't do, not to mention larger scale pieces than I generally do as well.  Still this was somebody's workhorse hammer at one point in the past.  Hopefully I've revived it well enough that it can be for someone else in the future after me.

klara stinders wrote:Cleaned this lovely old traditional belgian tool with vinegar and an inox sponge
Gave it a vinegar bath for a total of around 3 hours, without having the handle in the vinegar.
To get closer to the handle, I wrapped an in vinegar soaked cloth around the blade so it would also get the vinegar treatment.

I had no patience, so every now and again I went to do some scrubbing, but everytime I found out I was too early.
After those 3 hours, I was happy with the end result. Dried it with a paper towel, let it sit in the air for a while, and then oiled it with linseed oil.

Can't wait for this baby to be sharpened :-)

What is this Belgian tool used for? What is it called? Thanks.