Newbie : tool cleaning

Lots of wire brushes, used once and thrown away! Paste wax!

Vaseline

Nick

He's a newbie so he probably doesn't get your "joke" :) Randy

Shhhhh!

Excellent! ,-) I was deep in dictionnary to look for the differences between wire brushes wire bushes (why throw away?) and in plus it's a joke? I'm a french newbie and times are hard for me to discover all your tricks but I try ;-)

He owns a wire brush factory. :-)

Wayne Cook Shamrock, TX

Ah it's clearly now ,-) More serioulsy, Tom talked about wax Have you some links about it and how to?

Don't take it personally. He's just having a little fun with you. Tom runs a brush manufacturing business, and produces some excellent quality products, well endorsed by readers here on RCM.

It might help to better describe your rust conditions----particularly when you talk about gages, calipers and a sign bar. Generally rust does these items harm, rendering them to scrap. After all, what good is a gage if it isn't the proper size?

Harold

ROFLMAO!!!!!

Gunner

The two highest achievements of the human mind are the twin concepts of "loyalty" and "duty." Whenever these twin concepts fall into disrepute -- get out of there fast! You may possibly save yourself, but it is too late to save that society. It is doomed. " Lazarus Long

Hello Harold I'm really laughting of this good joke. My gauges, calipers are a little dirty but not "rusty" But I suppose I can't swipe them hardly with a sand paper For the other parts like vises, all plans of the drill press, they are both dirty and rusty I use very light sand paper (grade 400) and fater clening with kerdane (a non smelling petrol) I wipe them with a tissue and a product named "rustol" perhaps have you the same name But is it right or no?

Gil,

Tom was pulling your leg about "wax" also. See Harold's post re. gauges and the sizes thereof. Wax, or any superficial cleaner, etc. which can leave a residue is definitely not recommended for gauges. Anything used to clean a gauge must not leave a build-up on the active surfaces. For instance, many years ago, I used WF-40 to clean the anvils of a micromenter. Later, I noticed the "zero" of the mic had shifted 1 or 2 ten-thousands of an inch. The WD-40 had left residue on the anvils. Clean any residue off the measuring surfaces with acetone. Never use any sort of abrasive.

Seriously, after you have cleaned your stuff, you could use any past wax, like furniture wax or car wax. You will get many valuable thoughts here.

There are new folks on this group, asshole. Treat them like you would treat your own friends, not some off the wall d*****ad advice.

Aftershock

"> There are new folks on this group, asshole. Treat them like you would

God, I hope you never ask my friends how I treat THEM! ....and just WHAT was wrong with my advice? Everybody knows that wire brushes get dull quickly and must be resharpened by a pro or use new ones frequently. (Aftershock, you think I'm kidding, don't you?) So, before you call somebody an "asshole", know what you're talking about. I'm one of the best in the whole frigging WORLD at what I do...what can you say about YOURSELF???

oh, by the way....bite me!

Welllllll......OK, but I figure that anything needed to a tenth or so will never recover from a trip to corrosion city anyway. How about waxing a pipe wrench? I don't need too many significant digits very often so I forget they are there. For God's sake, Gill's talking sandpaper, just to keep perspective.

Great! Tom's a joker and likes to have fun.

For precision tools, nothing abrasive should contact them. Remember, instruments such as this are typically capable of resolving a tenth or less, in the hands of one that is experienced. Any abrasion changes their features, rendering them less than reliable. If your tools are truly

*dirty*, nothing more, a good cleaning with mineral spirits (paint thinner) would probably do them no harm and should restore them to a clean condition. Dismantling them is a good idea, but don't get micrometer components mixed up should you have more than one. Do them one at a time, and wash everything well, rinsing in some clean mineral spirits. If you have compressed air at your disposal, use it to dry them completely, then use a fine oil to lubricate the threads and reassemble them. Store them in a good wooden tool box, or give them a light covering of oil when you're not using them. If your atmosphere isn't humid, you should be able to leave them in your toolbox unprotected, however. I have micrometers that were purchased back in '57 that show no signs of rusting.

If you find the rust is slightly heavier than will come off easily with the

400, there's nothing wrong with using a slightly coarser grade. As long as you restrict the use to non working surfaces (ways of a mill or lathe, for example), there's not a lot you can do to hurt the machines. Certainly, a hand polished surface would be preferred to a rusty one. Use a little solvent while you're sanding, so it keeps the dust down and the sanding paper clean. Cuts faster and easier, too.

Any of the packaged rust preventatives that don't leave a heavy residue would probably serve you well if you've having trouble keeping your tools from rusting. You might also consider keeping some desiccant packages in the box, heating them often to dry them out. Anything to avoid your tools from rusting. If you have more questions, feel free to ask. Many of us are happy to help.

Harold

A big thanks for all your tips This newsgroup is really dedicated to metalworking fanatics ;-) There is no one like this in french, that's why I find always many answers to my newbie's questions Sometimes I must just be familiar with your "special working language" ;-) One day, a dictionnary could be written

Jean-Luc HOAREAU (JLH-Gil HASH) From Reunion island in indian ocean

Just for the record, I like Tom. I think he's a generous kinda guy with a sense of humor, and I enjoy reading his posts.

That's a mighty scary sounding nickname you made up for yourself there, Aftershock. Any particular reason you decided on that one?

Yeah, Tom's OK-----just enjoys a few laughs. It might seem a bit strange for the newbie to get one of his humorous replies, but I can't imagine that it would take much time until the newbie figured out he's just having some fun.

Did anyone on the group watch SOAP when it was on the air? It was, without a doubt, one of the funniest sitcoms to hit the air--------but if you didn't watch it long enough to figure out what it was up to, it was stupid and offensive. Sometimes you have to give things a little time before making a decision.

Harold