Tool cleaning and restoration Links

[Nic.Watson]

Quick note of thanks. I found this when looking for advice after being given a Stanley no.4 and no.6 plane that had sat rusting on a shelf for years. They’ve come up almost as good as new.

 

[woodhutt]

"A wipe" is not nearly enough fo a treatment with acid, which is what vinegar is (acetic acid).
In some cases I even warm the de-rusted parts in the kitchen oven - low temperature - before dipping them in oil, to make sure the oil acts more effectively (not my recipe, please note, I learnt that trick from some books on gunsmithing when I was involved in metalworking). Then, if you are not going to use them in the near future, wipe off the oil, dry the pieces, and coat them with neutral vaseline (no need to go to the chemist, the industrial kind used for for protecting lead battery terminals works very well)

I restored an old No 4 using the citric acid technique to remove the rust. After flattening the sole and generally cleaning-up, I put the body out in the sun to warm (the warm oven suggestion sounds just as good) then smeared it in lanolin (plentiful here in NZ ). Once cool, I wiped off the excess. The plane lived for three years in my often damp shop before the first signs of rust bloom started to show on the sides and it was a simple matter to clean it off and re-coat.
Pete