First attempt at electrolysis.....impressive results

[Graham Orm]

Using a phone charger instead of a car battery charger, followed by a scrub with a nylon scrubbing brush in cold water and a very quick buff with a drill mounted wire brush.

 

[G S Haydon]

Very nice Graham, I look forward to seeing the finished article.

 

[Graham Orm]

Very nice Graham, I look forward to seeing the finished article.

They're already painted, only cleaned them up tonight after work. Have you ever tried it Graham?

 

[Spindle]

Hi

Glad it worked for you - it's another slippery slope, you'll be looking for more things to treat now

Regards Mick

 

[Graham Orm]

Hi

Glad it worked for you - it's another slippery slope, you'll be looking for more things to treat now

Regards Mick

Ha! I'm already in freefall on the plane renovation slope! The galvanised rod din't work well at all. Created a white mush at the bottom of the rods. As soon as I put a steel bar in it started working fine.

 

[Cottonwood]

Nice job!
How long did it need to cook for in the end?
Its very satisfying to refurb metal this way

 

[Graham Orm]

Nice job!
How long did it need to cook for in the end?
Its very satisfying to refurb metal this way

Probably about 4-6 hours. I messed about using a galvanised diode for half a day.

 

[Flynnwood]

I progressed to using 3 of these (which can be easily cleaned up for the next bath) instead of 'circular' steel rods.

There appears to be a correlation between the amount of surface area that 'faces' the object, and time taken/amperage applied. Difficult to quantify that though without lots of experiments.

Here's an earlier one.

... and after - straight out the bath.

 

[pip1954]

hi seems to work well would you mind explaining how you did it ie what equipement you use
cheers
pip

 

[Graham Orm]

I progressed to using 3 of these (which can be easily cleaned up for the next bath) instead of 'circular' steel rods.

View attachment 820

There appears to be a correlation between the amount of surface area that 'faces' the object, and time taken/amperage applied. Difficult to quantify that though without lots of experiments.

Yes I've heard that the bigger the diode the faster and better it works.

 

[Lons]

hi seems to work well would you mind explaining how you did it ie what equipement you use
cheers pip

+1

I'd be interested as well. Tried it last year using a car battery charger but it didn't work for some reason and I assumed i'd got the solution mix wrong or used the wrong type of soda.

Bob

 

[Graham Orm]

hi seems to work well would you mind explaining how you did it ie what equipement you use
cheers
pip

THIS IS HOW I DID IT I AM NOT RECOMMENDING THAT YOU DO THIS I DO NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY OF YOUR ACTIONS SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO COPY.

I used a big plastic tub filled with water (approx 10 gallons). I added 4 Cups of washing soda which makes the water act as an electrolyte like the acid in your car battery. http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/sainsbur ... s_1kg.html

After mixing the crystals in the water I submerged the plane body. The plane was connected via a STEEL wire to the negative (black) wire from a 12v battery charger or the black wire from a phone charger. The red wire was then connected to a sacrificial mild steel bar with another steel wire which was also submerged in the water. The charger was then connected to the mains and left for about 6 hours.
It's important that copper wire isn't used in the electrolyte as it will dissolve. It's also important that the wires are attached the right way round or the thing will work in reverse. Stainless steel causes noxious gasses and creates a liquid that apparently it's illegal to own or pour down a drain.

Have a look on You Tube there are lots of videos.

 

[G S Haydon]

Very nice Graham, I look forward to seeing the finished article.

They're already painted, only cleaned them up tonight after work. Have you ever tried it Graham?

Not yet, I used some B&Q paint stripper on an old block plane which was ok but these results seem far superior. I love to see vintage tools lovingly restored but I will confess to finding the process a bit hard going. Only because time is short on my hobby projects right now. I look forward to seeing them back to their former glory so I can develop some vintage plane envy :lol:

 

[bugbear]

Yes I've heard that the bigger the diode the faster and better it works.

Could you explain what youj mean by "diode" ?

BugBear

 

[Racers]

Possibly Anode not Diode.

Pete

 

[Cottonwood]

Possibly Anode not Diode.

Pete

Yes, the anode (+) is the sacrificail piece of steel or iron that attracts the oxidised wastes from your item that is to be cleaned.

 

[Cottonwood]

hi seems to work well would you mind explaining how you did it ie what equipement you use
cheers pip

+1

I'd be interested as well. Tried it last year using a car battery charger but it didn't work for some reason and I assumed i'd got the solution mix wrong or used the wrong type of soda.

Bob

There are a few likely problems that I encountered
1/ connected wrong way? The item being cleaned should be connected to the (-) wire, the anode which attracts the waste is connected to the (+) wire
2/ Poor connection? Use a file or wire wool to make a nice clean area of metal to get a good electrical connection
3/ Anode clogged up? Every few hours, remove it and clean off the jelly like gunk that accumulates on it, then replace in the vat and continue.
4/ The vat must be non-conducting. I have used 4 pint milk cartons to do single chisels, plastic buckets for things like axe heads. I used a plastic bin to do a long billhook. I made a custom vat for doing saw plates, using plywood that was lined with black liquid roofing compound
5/ Had your battery charger fused? This happened to me early on and I got a bigger 6amp charger to rplace it, which has been fine since then.
hope this is useful
cheers Jonathan

PS I found that items clean up much better if they are suspended in the vat rather than sitting on the bottom of it. I generally use a 2x1 mini beam with strong sisal or hemp string to hang the item just below the surface of the liquid electrolyte

 

[bugbear]

Possibly Anode not Diode.

Pete

I suspect as much, but with AC electricity "around the mix" I wondered.

BugBear

 

[Spindle]

Hi

The effect of the process is influenced by the area of the electrodes and their relative proximity. The larger and closer together they are the more vigorous the reaction will be. The down side of this is that the more vigorous the reaction the more power, (amps), are required. Over loading your supply can result in blowing the fuse, tripping the protection or possibly overheating leading to failure and potetially fire.

So I'd advise always keeping an eye on the source when trying out a new set up.

Another good power source is a power supply module removed from a desktop PC - you can even get brand new ones for about £10.

Regards Mick

 

[Carl P]

hi seems to work well would you mind explaining how you did it ie what equipement you use
cheers
pip

The red wire was then connected to a sacrificial mild steel bar with another steel wire which was also submerged in the water. The charger was then connected to the mains and left for about 6 hours.

I have quite a few old files in various states of decay, would these work as a sacrificial steel bar?

Thanks,

Carl