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Rusty Hammer

BillW | Posted in Tools for Home Building on March 23, 2009 02:56am

Trivial question perhaps, but how do I get the rust off this hammer?  I was thinking steel wool ….

The back story is somewhat amusing, at least to me.  I was replacing stairs last fall at a rental I own, rushing to finish before dark but didn’t make it.  Groping and stumbling around to pack up my tools, my hammer was nowhere to be seen.  I went back the next day to look for it in daylight but no luck.  I assumed that it had fallen behind the stairs right before I nailed off the risers with my finish gun … no way I was going to disassemble the stairs to search, but it’s been bugging me for 6 months – I liked the hammer.  Vowed to pound nails with my forehead rather than buy a new hammer …. fortunately haven’t acted on that yet!

Today I went to collect the rent in the daylight, snow is gone and voila – there it was, just laying in the grass next to the stairs.  AND the tenant paid up.  Cause for celebration.

So … suggestions? (for the hammer, not the celebration – I have THAT covered)

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Replies

  1. Piffin | Mar 23, 2009 03:16am | #1

    stand it in white vinegar overnight.
    Rinse it off.

    Then go use it.

    If it needs more help, a wire brush wheel

     

     

    Welcome to the
    Taunton University of
    Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
     where ...
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  2. atrident | Mar 23, 2009 04:33am | #2

       Looks like my hammer left out overnight on  the Oregon coast.

    1. bobbys | Mar 23, 2009 06:38am | #7

      I keep a wire wheel on a little grinder just for tools that are left out here on the coast.My one friend uses M$%#^$# acid, See i cant even bring myself to write it!!!!

      1. Scott | Mar 23, 2009 07:40am | #9

        I've had success with what bobbys does.... an air-powered die grinder with a brass wheel works well.Scott.

      2. seeyou | Mar 23, 2009 02:59pm | #12

        My one friend uses M$%#^$# acid,

        I'd have thought you were more popular than that........http://www.quittintime.com/      View Image        

        1. User avater
          Dam_inspector | Mar 23, 2009 03:05pm | #13

          The rest of them used the brown acid.

          1. seeyou | Mar 23, 2009 03:30pm | #14

            Bwahahahahttp://www.quittintime.com/      View Image        

        2. theslateman | Mar 23, 2009 09:38pm | #16

          Did you notice how he's hitting on Splints in some of the Tavern threads.

          Man he's playing with fire !!

        3. bobbys | Mar 23, 2009 10:09pm | #17

          OOOOWWWW,'' Right trew da heart!!!!. And no smile?????. O well i gives it and i gots da takes it!!!!!. Jus remember i got LUKE on the fence as we speaks!!!

          1. seeyou | Mar 23, 2009 10:43pm | #18

            And no smile?????.

            I was smiling when I typed it.

            I don't use smileys when I post. I'd have to put one at the end of every sentence if I did.http://www.quittintime.com/      View Image        

  3. jimAKAblue | Mar 23, 2009 04:38am | #3

    Pound 150# of spikes with it. It will be shiny clean.

    1. User avater
      Dam_inspector | Mar 23, 2009 04:41am | #4

      Shellack it. It'll be uniquely marked.

  4. joeh | Mar 23, 2009 04:51am | #5

    Left my Douglass framer on the roof when the snow started couple years ago.

    Come spring looked about the same as yours.

    Doesn't seem to have bothered it much, still works about the same.

    Joe H

  5. WayneL5 | Mar 23, 2009 06:23am | #6

    Naval jelly.  Can find it in any hardware store.  Remove the loose rust first.

  6. Dave45 | Mar 23, 2009 07:09am | #8

    If you weren't clear across the country, I'd give you the twin to that hammer. I bought it years ago, used it a few times, and it's been in the tool box ever since. Damn thing just never felt right. - lol

  7. geoffhazel | Mar 23, 2009 09:38am | #10

    That model's my main hammer -- been in use since 1979. I third the motion for wire wheel on a grinder or even a drill. Get the worst off and start using it.

    Buff the face of the head with a belt sander.

  8. artworks | Mar 23, 2009 01:57pm | #11

    Try the battery charger method, attaching clips to  hammer and metal  in pail of solution. I can't remember the whole method, but should be able to Google it.

    1. jimAKAblue | Mar 23, 2009 04:34pm | #15

      sodium chloride?

      I don't remember but I know its a salt solution of some kind.

      I just met a guy that buys old cast iron pans and cleans them up that way. He says it strips the metal to the core and they will re-rust very fast if you don't treat them

  9. Southbay | Mar 23, 2009 11:03pm | #19

    What Piffin said. Vinegar overnight.
    Then have a Rusty Nail.

    I know of a guy that belt sanded a golden berilleum (non-sparking) hammer to clean it up. Poor guy poisened himself.

  10. User avater
    JDRHI | Mar 23, 2009 11:06pm | #20

    It's an Estwing....just toss it a buy a Vaughan.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    ; )

    J. D. Reynolds

    Home Improvements

     

     

     


    1. dovetail97128 | Mar 24, 2009 12:26am | #23

      hehehehehe.. I was thinking why pick it up... it's an estwing...
      They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.

  11. junkhound | Mar 23, 2009 11:29pm | #21

    Ya gonna have serious rust pit no matter what.

    Le's see Fe2O3, FeO2, or whatever, what eats that?

    Recall Fe2O3+HCl = whatever, it eats it off, leaving water and ferric or ferrous chloride - you can then use to etch circuit boards with? 

    Fe2O3+H4C4O2  (vinegar, or is it h4C2O2, cant remember)  = water plus some other junk that aint rust anymore. Kinda slow, not really reactive as vinegar is only 4% acid or so. 

    Fe2O3 + NaOH, my favorite for removing rust. Throw in some old pieces of zinc car grill pieces (old car grills) --  Chem classes getting old, cant recall all this stuff, something about OH REALLY loving to get ahold of another H to make water, the zinc getting into the act big time  - go google it yourself if interested.  Leaves everything bright and shiny even if pitted.  If ya gonna solder steel, boil it in lye with a few pieces of zinc.   Is Naval Jelly is lye and zinc??  Go google MSDS on naval jelly, tell us wut you find.

    1. BillW | Mar 23, 2009 11:52pm | #22

      OK - checked naval jelly on wiki - here's what I found:

      Phosphoric acid, also known as orthophosphoric acid or phosphoric(V) acid, is a mineral (inorganic) acid having the chemical formula H3PO4. Orthophosphoric acid molecules can combine with themselves to form a variety of compounds which are also referred to as phosphoric acids, but in a more general way. The term phosphoric acid can also refer to a chemical or reagent consisting of phosphoric acids, usually orthophosphoric acid.

      Rust removal

      Phosphoric acid may be used by direct application to rusted iron, steel tools, or surfaces to convert iron(III) oxide (rust) to a water-soluble phosphate compound. It is usually available as a greenish liquid, suitable for dipping (acid bath), but is more generally used as a component in a gel, commonly called naval jelly. As a thick gel, it may be applied to sloping, vertical, or even overhead surfaces. Care must be taken to avoid acid burns of the skin and especially the eyes, but the residue is easily diluted with water. When sufficiently diluted, it can even be nutritious to plant life, containing the essential nutrients phosphorus and iron. It is sometimes sold under other names, such as "rust remover" or "rust killer." It should not be directly introduced into surface water such as creeks or into drains, however. After treatment, the reddish-brown iron oxide will be converted to a black iron phosphate compound coating that may be scrubbed off. Multiple applications of phosphoric acid may be required to remove all rust. The resultant black compound can provide further corrosion resistance (such protection is somewhat provided by the superficially similar Parkerizing and blued electrochemical conversion coating processes). After application and removal of rust using phosphoric acid compounds, the metal should be oiled (if to be used bare, as in a tool) or appropriately painted, by using a multiple coat process of primer, intermediate, and finish coats.

       

      Elsewhere, found this:

      A simple and inexpensive way to remove rust from steel surfaces by hand is to rub the steel with aluminium foil dipped in water. Aluminium has a higher reduction potential than the iron in steel, which may help transfer oxygen atoms from the iron to the aluminium. The aluminium foil is softer than steel and will not scratch it, as steel wool will, but as the aluminium oxidizes, the aluminium oxide produced becomes a fine metal polishing compound.

      Lots of hits on vinegar and rust but no scientific explanation ... seems that all acids work more or less the same ...

      Will post results soon ...

    2. Piffin | Mar 24, 2009 12:57am | #24

      I think naval jelly is phosphoric acid.All of these acids work -somebody said muriatic and hydrocloric each, - they are faster but can be scary, depending....I'd hate for somebody to dip it in muriatic and leave it too long, forgetting it, or have the cat knock it over and spill the stuffThe vinegar is mild, cheap, safe, and most folks have it at home 

       

      Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

      1. junkhound | Mar 24, 2009 02:40am | #25

        Thanks to you and Bill for the phosphoric acid info. 

        Naval Jelly always too pricey for me ever to have tried it or even consider it, should have googled it myself.

        From about 10 YO, always remember just using boiling lye solution to remove rust,  Grandma always had lot of lye around for making stearate soap from lard from the hogs from aunt's farm.

        1. User avater
          Dam_inspector | Mar 24, 2009 03:02am | #26

          It's cheapest to just rub it in a pile of sand, especilly good if you put some old motor oil in the sand.

        2. dovetail97128 | Mar 24, 2009 03:04am | #27

          Who sang this? Grandma's Lye Soap Lyrics This song was recorded on old "vinyl records", long before the days of either tapes or CDs. "You remember Grandma's Lye soap,
          Good for everything in the home -
          And the secret was in the scrubbing -
          It wouldn't suds, and couldn't foam! CHORUS:
          O sing, O sing of Grandma's Lye Soap
          Good for everything, everything in the home,
          The pots and pans, the dirty dishes-
          And for your hands, and for your face. Verse:
          Little Herman and brother Thurman
          Had an aversion to washing their ears
          Grandma scrubbed them with the lye soap
          Now they haven't heard a word in years! REPEAT CHORUS Verse:
          Mrs. O'Malley, down in the valley
          Suffered from ulcers, I understand
          Swallowed a cake of Grandma's Lye Soap-
          Has the cleanest ulcers in the land! ROUSING CHORUS
          (often accompanied by clapping and dancing)
          O Sing, O sing! O! Of Grandma's Lye Soap
          Good for everything, everything in the home
          The pots and pans, the dirty dishes!
          And for your hands and for your face!"
          They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.

        3. Scott | Mar 24, 2009 03:42am | #29

          >>>From about 10 YO, always remember just using boiling lye solution to remove rust, Does that really work? I've got a five gallon pail of lye that I bought a few years ago when the wife and I went through a soap-making phase. The lye was cheap enough, but I had no idea how little you need to make soap; shoulda bought way less. I figure I've got a lifetime supply for something....Scott.

          1. Southbay | Mar 24, 2009 06:17am | #30

            Expensive Naval Jelly? Sand & Motor Oil?
            Phosporic, Hydrochloric, Hydrofloric, Picric acids...?
            Boiling Lye Solution? Sounds like a safety nighmare.Just dip it in the vinegar.

  12. LittleItaly | Mar 24, 2009 03:17am | #28

    WD 40 and steel wool or even aluminum oxide sandpaper.  I have never tried any acid methods.  WD seems to work great for a nice touch up in the spring when all hand tools are suffering from the winter abuse.

     

  13. Pelipeth | Mar 24, 2009 01:09pm | #31

    Submerge in Coke Ca-Cola.

    1. Piffin | Mar 24, 2009 01:41pm | #32

      classic or diet? 

       

      Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

      1. Pelipeth | Mar 24, 2009 09:34pm | #36

        The high-test version..........

    2. john7g | Mar 24, 2009 01:49pm | #33

       What's Coke supposed to do? They've got basically the same Ph as water. 

      1. Pelipeth | Mar 24, 2009 09:32pm | #35

        Heard somewhere it'll dissolve rust???????

        1. bobbys | Mar 24, 2009 09:44pm | #37

          my dad would never drink Coke as he saw it used to remove rust on ships in WW2. I think they changed it since then though.

          1. Piffin | Mar 24, 2009 11:29pm | #42

            My Dad was in the Navy and would not let us kids have Coke, only other soft drinks.He said it would eat the tooth enamel too.
            It can be a good treatment for worms tho, I think. 

             

            Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

          2. bobbys | Mar 25, 2009 12:04am | #43

            When we were young we never had to much soda pop. Maybe every 3 weeks we had to split one can between 2 of us. The negotiations of splitting one can of soda was intense.

          3. Piffin | Mar 25, 2009 02:06am | #45

            Dad would buy one case for all four of us, for the whole summer."You kids can make this last, or you can drink it all today - your choice"those puritans rationing corn thru the winter of starvation didn't have much on we four managing to get thru a hot summer. 

             

            Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

          4. john7g | Mar 25, 2009 12:20am | #44

            >would eat the tooth enamel too.<

            I'm thinking that all soft drinks soften the bones especially in kids. 

          5. Pelipeth | Mar 25, 2009 02:14am | #46

            Supposedly my friends uncle made coke the giant it is today. Went to the head of the company (back in the day) with two words............"Bottle It". Never saw a dime, but still went on to make millions doing other stuff.

        2. john7g | Mar 24, 2009 10:19pm | #39

          I've heard that too, but I think it's urban legend.  It doesn't do anything to those of us that drink it but yet it's supposed to be acidic enough to eat rust? 

          I put my Ph tester in it a while back and got the same Ph as a cup of tap water.

          1. dovetail97128 | Mar 24, 2009 11:27pm | #40

            I can tell you coke used to eat rust. Personally used it to clean chrome bumpers of rust stains and bleed back when I was a kid.Don't know if they changed the formula or not.
            They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.

      2. User avater
        Island Angus | Mar 24, 2009 10:06pm | #38

         

         "What's Coke supposed to do? They've got basically the same Ph as water. "

        If your water has the same pH as coke your plumbing is in for problems. There is phosphoric acid in coke, the pH is about 2.5.

      3. Piffin | Mar 24, 2009 11:27pm | #41

        I think Coke used to have some phosporic acid in it. 

         

        Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

  14. john7g | Mar 24, 2009 01:50pm | #34

    buy a new hammer.  donate that one to Goodwill and do a tax right-off with it.

  15. MDFContracting | Mar 25, 2009 03:42am | #47

    I like CLR for that sort of thing, soak it overnight, and polish it up with some steel wool.  Like new.

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