Wadkin RS restoration

[wallace]

The hand wheel that I chose was too big so I needed to get a bush luckily it was a standard imperial size 1" and 3/4 bore. £2

I always enjoy doing the tags

A big PK comes in handy for laying finished parts out

 

[wallace]

When I have a machine that's not going to be restored for a while I cover it with waxoyle, this was left over from when I was a kid and had a little MG car. That makes this tin 25 years old :shock: Anyway this lathe has been stood outside with minimal cover for a year. I have found it works its way into parts and helps a lot when dissembling.

They had some pitting so I cleaned them up with the ROS

Then finished with scotchbrite

The wadkin lettering is probably the worst I've come across, the casting mould must have messed up because it was a mess. Its took alot of work with burr's and mini grinding discs on the dremmel to tidy it up.

 

[wallace]

I thought I would try some filling primer for the lettering, I wasn't impressed by the stuff I tried.

 

[Ring]

Love it Wallace quality as usual . Jim

 

[Geoff_S]

What sort of paint are you using Wallace?

 

[wallace]

Thanks Jim, Geoff the paint is quick dry machinery enamel which I get from a motor factors who supply car sprayers, They can colour match any RAL code, it costs £10 a litre and can be brushed on or thinned and sprayed. I usually get them to add some matting agent because I like a semi gloss finish it helps hide any imperfections. A full gloss will make things stick out. I fancy doing a machine in 2 pack sometime

 

[wallace]

I plan on running this with a vfd and will need to cut a hole in the electrickery door to mount the control panel, the one on this was far to nice to be chopping up so I paid my old dealer a visit and he had a plane one.

I find its best to clean the detail out with a small drill bit, if you use a wire wheel it removes metal and round the edges.

I have started to put bits back together so it shouldn't be long now

While I was rutting around at the dealers I found this carriage, it must be from a very early RS.

 

[Rhyolith]

I been struggling with cleaning details particularly writing in metal for years. Might try your drill technique! You broke the end off?

 

[wallace]

The drill is a cheapo so broke easy, if a part is heavily rusty but you want to save detail the best way I've found is electrolysis

 

[Rhyolith]

I know what electrolysis is, but not how to utilise it for this purpose. How do you do it? I assume it won't work for brass?

 

[julianf]

Ive done a fair bit of electrolytic rust removal, and i did once drop a set of scales with a brass face into the tank. I was trying to do the iron that the brass was mounted to.

IIRC the brass went came out the same as it went in. No worse, no better. I wasnt really paying attention to the brass but it certainly wasnt a case of it dissolving and falling off, nor was it a case of it coming out dazzling - like i say, i think it was largely unaffected.

 

[julianf]

Sorry, i missed the question (even though it was for someone else) -

Its great, you have a tank with an electrolyte, and a sacrificial anode. You dump in your rusty old part, connect up the power, it fizzes away for a while (but not like acid - ill explain in a moment) and you pull it out, point the pressure washer at it, and the rust just washes away, leaving dull silver or somtimes blackened metal behind.

When i say its not like acid, the key point is that you could leave the job in the electrolysis tank for months, and the process stops when the rust is gone. With acid the acid will keep eating until you wash it of.

Ive got to do a landover bumper when i get around to it - ill use a 205ltr plastic drum, and fill it to just over half way up the bumper - do one side then flip it.

I use a scary electrolyte (NaOH) which makes the process dangerous but you can use non caustic ones also. I like NaOH as i buy it by the sack full for another process, and it stips paint etc. also whilst the job is in there, but its fearful stuff if you get it on you without realising.

 

[swb58]

Sorry, i missed the question (even though it was for someone else) -

Its great, you have a tank with an electrolyte, and a sacrificial anode. You dump in your rusty old part, connect up the power, it fizzes away for a while (but not like acid - ill explain in a moment) and you pull it out, point the pressure washer at it, and the rust just washes away, leaving dull silver or somtimes blackened metal behind.

When i say its not like acid, the key point is that you could leave the job in the electrolysis tank for months, and the process stops when the rust is gone. With acid the acid will keep eating until you wash it of.

Ive got to do a landover bumper when i get around to it - ill use a 205ltr plastic drum, and fill it to just over half way up the bumper - do one side then flip it.

I use a scary electrolyte (NaOH) which makes the process dangerous but you can use non caustic ones also. I like NaOH as i buy it by the sack full for another process, and it stips paint etc. also whilst the job is in there, but its fearful stuff if you get it on you without realising.

How does the galvanising cope with that?

 

[julianf]

I find that galvanised parts don't tend to rust in the same way...

Was your question serious?

If it ever comes to it that I need to derust some ferrous attached to some zinc, i will not use sodium hydroxide.

 

[wallace]

I know what electrolysis is, but not how to utilise it for this purpose. How do you do it? I assume it won't work for brass?

Theres loads of write ups floating around, I just used washing soda and an old battery charger. Using caustic soda is next level and I wont be trying it soon, that stuff is dodgy as.
I understand cast iron is safe for unlimited time but steel can be damaged if left too long and chromed parts are a no go because it releases nasty stuff.
You can do it on any scale from a margerine tub to 1000ltr tank and loads of power sources, even a welder.
I would have thought doing something that has been galvanised would be dodgy

 

[wallace]

I always enjoy doing the letters. this one is not the best I've done but good enough

I've never come across brass hinges before

I cut a hole in the door to put the control pad

I paid a visit to Fred Didnahs workshop recently, he was one of my childhood heroes. A guy bought the place after freds death and has been running it as a heritage centre. He's now retiring and selling everything, literally every nut, bolt and rivet.
This is his power hammer that helped make his engines

 

[katellwood]

Wallace
Do you know when the Fred Dibnah heritage centre is closing

Thanks

 

[wallace]

I think the auction is on the 17th and he is still doing Saturday tours till then

 

[wallace]

Because the vfd didn't fit in the electrickery enclosure I had to find something suitable. Luckily I bought a load of new really old stock a while back and this was in it.

Then I had to make a gib strip for the carriage, I had some 1/4" brass which worked well.

All done apart from I need to order a new drive belt.

 

[Geoff_S]

Well, that was a thread worth watching! Nice one Wallace

What do you do with them when you restore them? Are they on display, do you sell them?