[OP]
Contributor
Sorry for such a noob question but if ya don't ask, you don't learn.
I have some planes with rust to clean up and some people say to use a soft wire wheel on the bits and pieces. How can I tell if my wire wheel is "soft" wire?
Is a brass wire wheel a better alternative?
Contributor
The softness of a brass wire wheel would be dependent on the size of the wire used in the wheel.
A search on > soft wire wheel < will turn up some that aren't even wire.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Contributor
Your other choice is a deburring wheel. But there you probably want a harder deburring wheel for what you want to do.
The best way to get rust off of a plane is to soak it overnight in a derust solution such as EvapoRust. Take the knob and tote off before soaking.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Contributor
All brass wire wheels are not created equal - many are not even brass. I’ve been told that those at the big box stores are steel coated in brass, in other words very hard. True brass wheels and brushes are quite pricey.
Contributor
Forgot to add a hint a machinist gave me: take a small magnet with you when buying a “brass” wire wheel. Brass isn’t magnetic, steel is.
Contributor
I just yell at my wire wheel. If it starts to cry, then I know.
Contributor
When I go shopping for the brass wheels...I do tend to READ the labels....I am also always looking for the "Fine" wire wheels, instead of the coarse wire wheels....
Considering that I never use any "soaking in a chemical bath"... unless maybe a few shots of PBblaster to loosen a stuck bolt....
Just read a label..not rocket science...
[OP]
Contributor
Thank you all for your inputs. I think the confusing thing was that more than one person referred to "soft" steel wire wheel, without correlating that to any other label. And then would contrast "soft" to "knotted" wire wheels which, of course, was another totally undefined term to me
A further complication is that my wife is in multiple Covid risk groups ( and I'm in one or two myself). And with the Covid raging through here right now, we're pretty much avoiding stores and having to shop online. So its no longer simple to get clarity on little items like this. I can no long't just hike down to Home Depot and haul over a salesman to explain all, while I look and feel my way through their collection of wire brush materials like I would have in the past.
So this is very helpful. I shall look for brass, not steel, (and not brass-coated steel, thank you). And look for "fine" as equivalent to "soft", so not "coarse".
[OP]
Contributor
Steve, where are you finding brass wheels for the grinder? Looking on Amazon, I only found one offering for 5/8 arbor, 6 in. wheels with solid brass wire and it was $80 - $100 depending on wire thickness
I did find components with a 1/4 in. shaft that were much cheaper. Is that what you're using? If so, how fast do you burn through them?
Contributor
I usually go to either Menard's ( 1st option) and then to Lowes.....both come with inserts, to fit about any size grinder shaft.....the one now on my grinder is about...3 months old.
Knotted wire is for when you want to remove a lot of metal....plain wire seems to give a little bit better...
grinder I have is a 6" dual wheel.....have a cloth wheel on the other end of the shaft.
[OP]
Contributor
I'm looking for brass crimped wire, right? It looks like to me the stuff at Menards and Lowes here is brass coated steel, but Im not sure?
.
[OP]
Contributor
Maybe I'm over-working this. Going in to this it just seemed like the simple thing to do. Nail down which is the right product, order it, slap it on the grinder when it comes, done. But its not being simple and I don't have that many planes, and most of them don't have that much rust. So maybe I'll start out with the 1/4" drive solid brass cups and wheels and stuff and see how it goes, and maybe grab one of the brass-coated steel wheels and try it on a plane I don't care too much about. Oh, and see if I can fix the arbor on my drill press so it doesn't keep falling off
Contributor
I'm going to echo Mike's suggestion for EvapoRust. I'm not a chemist, but it really does seem to attack only rust. Once you've tried that, if needed, I'd go with handheld brushes. They should be cheaper, not require mounting solutions, and will give you a little more control than a powered brush. They'll be slower, but that shouldn't matter much unless you have many very cruddy planes to do.
Originally Posted by Mike Henderson
[OP]
Contributor
Well, irony. So after I gave up on a 6 inch brass wheel and I was deciding what brass/steel wheel to order, I noticed that I had been looking at a 2-pack! No wonder it cost so much. I checked and Amazon doesn't carry the singletons. So I did a google search and found a company selling it at a good price ... and they have a branch 20 minutes from my house!
Contributor
No matter what wire wheel you choose, MAKE SURE you use eye protection. Those wire wheels often throw off a few wires and they can cause severe eye damage.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
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