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Cleaning up old dies

I scored a bag of assorted dies (about 30) for $5 at a garage sale. The condition is variable. Thick grime, old chips etc.

I gave them a bath in varsol today which got rid ot the worst and some of them cleaned up quite nicely. I used a pipe cleaner to remove the old chips.

Now, some of them have a lot of surface rust and pitting. Also, I cannot tell the state the cutting edges are at without trying them (at least one cuts better than the boxed verison of the Canadian Tire dies).

So, what would you do now:

1) Leave alone, use as necessary? 2) Give them another bath in a Simple Green equivalent followed by a bath in Evaporust followed by a spray of Dricote? 3) None of the above?
Reply to
Michael Koblic
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It depends. I'd get out the 10X optivisor and a strong light and look closely at the cutting teeth on each one. If they aren't broken or obviously damaged then they may well be reasonably sharp still. If they are intact but not sharp you can do a fair job with a die grinder and a cylindrical stone by hand.

I wouldn't worry about any rust for a minute except where it obscures any writing you might need to read. For shining up previously ground surfaces there is nothing like a 3M deburring wheel or generic equivalent, mounted on a small bench grinder. I wouldn't use any detergent on cutting tools, but I would soak in mineral spirits (which you call Varsol) followed by some brushing followed by compressed air (wearing eye protection) through a smallish needle. It always is a good idea to put on a drop or two of tool oil.

Grant

Reply to
Grant Erwin

It depends. I'd get out the 10X optivisor and a strong light and look closely at the cutting teeth on each one. If they aren't broken or obviously damaged then they may well be reasonably sharp still. If they are intact but not sharp you can do a fair job with a die grinder and a cylindrical stone by hand.

I wouldn't worry about any rust for a minute except where it obscures any writing you might need to read. For shining up previously ground surfaces there is nothing like a 3M deburring wheel or generic equivalent, mounted on a small bench grinder. I wouldn't use any detergent on cutting tools, but I would soak in mineral spirits (which you call Varsol) followed by some brushing followed by compressed air (wearing eye protection) through a smallish needle. It always is a good idea to put on a drop or two of tool oil.

Grant

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Reply to
Robert Swinney

To remove rust ,get some cleaning vinegar from the super market laundry section and soak the rusty dies in the vinegar for a few hours or overnight . Remove and scrub with hot soapy water , spray with a water dispersant like CRC 2-56 or WD40 and wipe excess off with a rag.

Citric acid works as well , available from the cke section in the super market in powder form ,mix with water and leave the rusty bits in for a few hours, remove and as per above.

Reply to
Kevin(Bluey)

Evaporust

Reply to
RB

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