Electrolysis Anyone?

[Tom LaRussa]

I've been buying a few old planes off ebay lately -- oh 15 or so -- and I've been driving myself nuts trying to clean all that rust. So I finally broke down and tried out electrolysis.

IT'S GREAT!

My "kit" consists of:

a $29 battery charger, (NorthernTool.com);
a 5 gallon bucket;
a piece of flashing I found in the dumpster of our home builder;
some plastic mesh (to keep the tool being cleaned from touching the wrong electrode);
a piece of 2x2 from the scrap bin
a brass wire brush (this is used to brush away the loosened iron particles after treatment)

Just fill the bucket with water, add 1 tablespoon of baking soda per gallon, drop in the flashing and plastic, (as shown), hook up the electrodes, (red one to the flashing, black to the object being cleaned), plug her in and you're in business!

Here's an article with a tad more detail, but what I just told you is really all you need to know. http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/rust/electrolytic_derusting.htm

BTW, I would show some before/after pics, but I derusted all my really rusty plane parts in a single weekend -- mostly without moving a finger -- so I don't have any really good/easy examples left. I'll come up with something, but it'll take some time.

[Louis Bois]

Well Tom, I hate to pull a "TYLER" on ya, but without a photo of those planes, all I see is a plastic bucket with "stuff" in it...perhaps a photo of those planes would be in order...even if it's just the "after" photo:rolleyes:

[Tyler Howell]

Thanks Louis, The beatings are working!

I want to know if this method will work on facial hair? I have long passed the age where the stuff has stopped coming out of my head and is coming out of my ears:o :p :p . Thanks in advance.

[Tom LaRussa]

I want to know if this method will work on facial hair? I have long passed the age where the stuff has stopped coming out of my head and is coming out of my ears:o :p :p . Thanks in advance.
A couple weeks ago my sister came over to visit and saw an article I had printed on electrolysis. She just saw it at a glance and did a slight double take, "Electrolysis? Why are you researching electrolysis?"

Amazingly, (for me, as I am not very good at bluffing), I managed to keep a totally straight face while replying..

It was like one of those VISA commercials...

Printing out an article on electrolysis, $0.12.

The look on my sister's face when I said "I'm tired of shaving and waxing hurts, so I'm going to have my bikini area done with electrolysis."

PRICELESS!:eek:

[Michael Perata]

I have used that method on a number of old planes and it works to a point. While it will get the rust off, you'll be left with a black pitted piece of cast irron still needing some work.

But it is a lot better this way than trying to get all of the rust of otherwise.

[Tom LaRussa]

I have used that method on a number of old planes and it works to a point. While it will get the rust off, you'll be left with a black pitted piece of cast irron still needing some work.
It's not black, it's "the lovely patina of a well-aged tool." :D

But seriously, you're right. Whether it's worthwhile to do really depends on the tool.

For example, the heavily rusted blades I have been doing are from 100+ year-old woodies. They are so thick that I can afford to grind off the pitting in order to flatten the backs.

If a standard Stanley/Bailey type blade were that rusted it would not be worth bothering with because by the time you finished grinding it down to flatten it all that would be left is maybe a card scraper.

Along those same lines, woodie bodies don't rust -- duh -- so that isn't a concern. But a massively pitted cast iron body probably wouldn't be worth bothering with.



But it is a lot better this way than trying to get all of the rust of otherwise.
Precisely! It only took one or two sessions of messing around with Navel Jelly before I decided to chuck the Level IV hazmat suit and try a few electrons instead. :)

[Dave Anderson NH]

For those who are interested in cleaning up cast iron and steel tools without the hassle of buying a battery charger, there have been a number of folks over on the Old Tools List talking about using citric acid. The technique is simple and the setup only requires an investment of a few bucks for the citric acid from the supermarket and a plastic bucket of some sort to lay the tools in. The thread has been going on for a couple of weeks now and results seem to be pretty good, in fact comparable to electrolysis. Check it out at www.oldtools.org (http://www.oldtools.org)

[Bob Smalser]

I prefer phosphoric acid to either electrolysis or citric acid....leaves a protective phosphate coating over those pits.

[Tom LaRussa]

For those who are interested in cleaning up cast iron and steel tools without the hassle of buying a battery charger, there have been a number of folks over on the Old Tools List talking about using citric acid. The technique is simple and the setup only requires an investment of a few bucks for the citric acid from the supermarket and a plastic bucket of some sort to lay the tools in. The thread has been going on for a couple of weeks now and results seem to be pretty good, in fact comparable to electrolysis. Check it out at www.oldtools.org (http://www.oldtools.org)
Well gee, now you tell me! Har-Rumph! ;)

But seriously, I took a look and found it quite interesting. Also did a quick Google and found a pretty cheap source for the citric acid -- 5lbs for $9. http://www.soapsforall.com/misc/citricacid.htm

Hmm... Now, thinking back to my junior high semi-chemistry -- or was it Electricity Merit Badge in Scouts? -- whatever. I seem to remember that lemon juice is a good conductor, due, I think?, to its fairly high citric acid content.

So, I'm thinking, why not use a citric acid solution in the old electrozapper?

[Tom LaRussa]

I prefer phosphoric acid to either electrolysis or citric acid....
Bob, that stuff looks a tad scary to me. http://ptcl.chem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/PH/phosphoric_acid.html

I think I'll stick to tamer methods, followed by a quick squirt of Boeshield. :)

[Bob Smalser]

Bob, that stuff looks a tad scary to me. http://ptcl.chem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/PH/phosphoric_acid.html

I think I'll stick to tamer methods, followed by a quick squirt of Boeshield. :)

Not at all....

http://www.cianperez.com/Wood/WoodDocs/Wood_How_To/Smalser_on_RehabbingPlanes.htm