Rust removal from teeth of dovetail saw?

[Kevin Perez]

I inherited a LN dovetail saw that was stored in its leather case. As you can imagine, there are spots of rust in several places, but just along the teeth and a 1/4" or so up the blade. I've read several posts about removing rust here, but they were all related to restoration of large areas. What would you recommend for tiny areas on an otherwise pristine saw? (I know it's a tool, but it is a beautiful tool, and I'd like to keep it that way if I can.) Thanks!

Kevin

[Ron Kanter]

I have the same question related to other larger saws.

[Curt Putnam]

Oil the teeth and then cut scrap with it. Then sharpen the saw and re-oil all the steel.

[Jim Koepke]

Oil the teeth and then cut scrap with it. Then sharpen the saw and re-oil all the steel.

My only variance on this would be to saw some wood before oiling, oil and then saw some more. Repeat, sharpen if necessary and wax the saw plate.

Satisfactory results will always be relative to what condition the object was at the start.

Also lose the leather storage.

jtk

[Robert Engel]

The little sanding blocks they use for cutlery work pretty good I use them on my saws all the time.
They are like little erasers with some grit.

Me, I wouldn't worry about it too much yet. I would start sawing wood.

[Kevin Perez]

Thanks. I have done some sawing already, without oil. I'll do some with oil next, and then wipe and wax it. The case is definitely not being used any more. Since I don't travel with it, I imagine I'll sell it on an online auction site...

[Stew Denton]

Hi Kevin,

If the small rust spots are up above the teeth just that small amount so that using the saw after oiling it will not remove the rust, I use a red type "A" very fine or a gray type "S" ultra fine Scotch Brite pad when restoring planes. Cut a small pad, maybe 2 inches square and just use a small part of that touching the rust area. The gray is less aggressive, works slower, but also leave a finer finish. If you use both the red and gray, of course start with the red.

One of the guys on this site had a plane he had restored, with pictures, and he used a very fine stainless steel wire brush and very very lightly brushed the rust area. Use almost no pressure. It takes a while, but I adopted that technique also, while restoring planes. That technique will take virtually all of the rust off, while leaving the rest virtually untouched. It will remove the rust from mild pitting....but it is not a fast technique. The brushes I use come from Ace Hardware, and have an actual brush area about 3/8 to 1/2 inch wide, and maybe 1.5 to 2 inches long or so, and again are very fine bristles. To remove rust from pits you sometimes have to brush the spots from more than one direction. To make sure that I don't brush too hard, I hold the brush only with the thumb and first two fingers.

To make the cleaned spot shine again I sometimes hit the spot, but to make things uniform sometimes need to hit the whole surface of the plane with 400 or 600 grit wet or dry paper. If you do such sand very lightly and only in the direction parallel to the saw teeth. To make it uniform you may have to lightly go over the whole face, again very very lightly.

Stew

[Tom Blank]

Kano Lab's Kroil is an excellent penetrating oil. Wet the rust spots and let it soak overnight or a day. Then follow up with any of the abrasive/polishing methods above.

Tom

[Ron Bontz]

+1 on the gray scotch brite pad. I keep the maroon as well as the gray pads handy.
FWIW, chances are the corrosion problem was most likely not caused by the leather, but rather the dirt and saw dust left on the saw when it was put in the case. Teeth protectors of any kind will do the same thing if you do not clean the teeth off after use. A cheap paint brush, rag and jojoba oil can be your friend. If you use the saw every day, it will not be as much of an issue. Best wishes.

[Stanley Covington]

Scotch-brite pads or sanding sponges will indeed do the job. Spray the teeth with WD-40 or some other non-oily light lubricant. Use the pad or sponge in short strokes (.25") directed down towards the teeth's points to remove the rust from the teeth's side.

Next, use the same lubricant and pad along the length of the blade to remove rust on the body. Don't touch the teeth. Stroke in one direction only, lifting the pad at the end of each stroke, or running it off the end of the blade. Don't drag it around for a return stroke. The idea is to avoid creating circular swirls.

You can repeat working along the blade's length with finer grits if you want a finer finish. If you want a really nice finish, switch to wet or dry sandpaper with a softwood backer (not your fingers). 220, 400, 600 (and maybe 1200) grit is probably a good progression.

If you want a mirror finish, follow this with a metal polish. A high polish is a good thing on a quality sawblade because it reduces friction, and significantly reduces the area for rust to get a foothold.

On the other hand, if the sawblade is tweaked, kinked, oil-canned, hammered or rippled, a mirror finish will show all the zits and defects, so be forewarned.

During the golden age of handsaws, only the very best saws were given a high polish, while blades that were adequately functional, but judged unable to endure the careful scrutiny a high-polish would invite, were used for working-class blades.

After you are done with the sanding and polishing, wash and scrub the grit and polishing compound out of the teeth using a toothbrush and light spray lubricant like WD-40 (not much good for anything else, IMO, but it excels at this job). This often overlooked step is important because, if the grit and compound are carelessly left on the teeth's cutting faces or in the gullets, some of it will be wiped from the teeth and become embedded in the wood the first time the saw is used, and the teeth following in the kerf will strike this grit dulling them unnecessarily.

While the clean teeth are still wet, crosscut some softwood to remove the last of the grit and compound. If you check the cut, you can confirm with your own eyes the grit and compound that remained even after your careful scrubbing.

I have not tried it, but I have heard from reliable sources that metal polish and aluminum foil are also very effective at removing rust, and non-abrasive, to boot. The results I have seen were indeed impressive.

There is probably some rust on the cutting face of the teeth that can only be removed by filing. Also, the pads and compounds were not good for the teeth's sharpness, so you will need to resharpen them before the saw will be at the top of its game again.

Note that if the side of the teeth were deeply pitted, the smoothness of the cut the saw can make will be limited until the blade is worn and filed past the pitting. Probably quite useable, but not as smooth or efficient as it would be otherwise.

Stan

[Dave Parkis]

I had the same issue with a LN Independence saw I picked up at an estate sale recently. As luck would have it, Thomas Lie-Nielsen was conducting a seminar at the local woodworking club. I showed him the saw and asked what the best way to correct the problem was. His advice was for me to send the saw back to them (actually, he took the saw to save me the postage) and let them fix it. They also sharpened it for me. I'm not trying to discourage you from doing the work yourself, I'm just tying to tell you about another option.

[Kevin Perez]

Thanks all for the tips. I tried the light oil and sawing method with no results.

Dave Parkis--what did Lie-Nielsen charge you for the repairs?

Depending on the cost, I will either try some abrasive pads or send it in. I don't need to be a hero (if it's cheap!)

[Dave Parkis]

Kevin, the repairs cost nothing. I would call first, but I suspect all you would pay for is the shipping to get it there.

[James W Glenn]

I use a hard graphite pencil to rub as much rust off as possible before using any sort of abrasive. Its a trick i learned for polished knife blades.