rusted Forstner bits

[Steve LeLaurin]

In prowling around my late father's garage, I found a 14+ set of Fisch Forstner bits. They are quite old (I think), the shafts are marked with a fish logo, and they appeared to be made in Austria. They look pretty good to me, but they have quite a bit of rust on them. I carefully cleaned off the largest one with steel wool and a fine grit sanding sponge, but it took a while and that would be really difficult to do for the small ones.

Two questions ... is this a pretty good set of bits, and how can I clean them up (and protect them further)? Any chance to dip them in something, or use naval jelly or other solvent? (By the way, the shafts and other parts of the bits appear to be painted black rather than the more common shiny stainless look.)

Thanks, guys!


Steve

[Lee Schierer]

I would advise against Naval Jelly. I would suggest electrolysis. Here is a link to one method. Rust removal by electrolysis (http://www.antique-engines.com/electrol.asp) is a safe way to remove rust without damaging the tools.

[Bill Keehn]

I use electrolysis to remove rust on my antique planes. It works suprisingly well. Just be sure to dry them off with a hair dryer after you are done and give them a light coat of oil.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Electrolytic-Rust-Removal-aka-Magic/