Thanks: 0
Likes: 1
Needs Pictures: 0
Picture(s) thanks: 0
Results 1 to 7 of 7
-
19th September 2014, 09:04 AM #1SENIOR MEMBER
- Join Date
- Jan 2012
- Location
- Rockhampton CQ
- Posts
- 17
Displaying Tools in Heritage Village
First up, I did think about a search on this but couldn't think of the terms that would give meaningful results.
I have an opportunity to work in the Blacksmiths Shop at the local Heritage Village. It has a couple of working forges, anvils, post vices etc and a plethora of tools.
We need to "restore" some of these tools for a better display, rather than have them in a pile in the corner of the shed. I am aware that less is sometimes better in the restoration business so what is the minimalist approach to cleaning, say tongs, bottom tools and top tools, and putting a "finish" on them for racking up for a display?
Most of then have a coating of what appears to be a mixture of dust, rust and other corrosion, rather skin cancerous in appearance , which is not really attractive.
Options:
- Oil up and leave as is.
- Wire brush and put a "finish" on.
- Pickle in vinegar, rinse and "finish".
- Go across the road to the Tavern and have a beer?
There is/will be a set of using tools so they will acquire the natural patina.
Want photos? I will be back out there today to drive the fire engine or the Rugby, so I will get some.
Thanks,
Alister.
-
19th September 2014, 08:58 PM #2
Personally I'd wire brush to clean off loose rust oil them and then make sure they get used. That way they be authentic
-
21st September 2014, 09:23 AM #3SENIOR MEMBER
- Join Date
- Jan 2012
- Location
- Rockhampton CQ
- Posts
- 17
Thanks, code4pay.
Too many tools there to use 'em all. The "users" will look OK but the wall hangers need to be looked after somehow. They have been sitting there for a few years now, so there is no hurry to do something with them. It would be nice to get some more organisation about the place though, as I am not a great fan of quantity over quality when it comes to mostly static displays in Heritage Villages.
Cheers,
Alister.
-
21st September 2014, 10:23 AM #4
Wire brush then give them a spray with some G15 or lanotec, or for display heat them and brush with a mix of turps, linseed oil, and bees wax. That's what we use at the smithy
…..Live a Quiet Life & Work with your Hands
-
22nd September 2014, 08:43 PM #5SENIOR MEMBER
- Join Date
- Jan 2012
- Location
- Rockhampton CQ
- Posts
- 17
Thanks, DSEL74.
That is about what Jack Andrews recommends in "New Edge of the Anvil" too. (I finally dug out my Blacksmithing books to see what I could find in there.)
I will take the info to the boss bloke and see what he thinks. I do not want to do something out there on my days and have another bloke come in on his days and say "What the puck is going on here?"
Cheers,
Alister.
-
26th September 2014, 08:00 AM #6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq5IUiYMhRM
Best thing you can to is dip them in a molass bath for two weeks. Wash with water and light oil when dry. There are a lot of videos on you tube showing the process. Most are incredibly boring showing someone fumbling around forever and needing a second video to show the results but the process is the best and beats anything else hands down. The molasse bath dissolves rust and leaves the steel perfectly clean.“We often contradict an opinion for no other reason
than that we do not like the tone in which it is expressed.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
-
27th September 2014, 09:32 PM #7SENIOR MEMBER
- Join Date
- Jan 2012
- Location
- Rockhampton CQ
- Posts
- 17
Thanks, Marc.
An environmentally friendly solution to the problem, but the logistics may be a bugger. Maybe the tools could be taken down the back for the livestock to lick clean?
I brought a hardie tool home and subjected it to cleaners vinegar for a few days. Wire brush, bicarb and rinse and it is shiny clean. So much so that I can see that the top of it is a different metal, so the smith went to the trouble of welding a top on what I think is a fuller. I thought such tools were consumables and were made to use, and not to last. I was going to dress it, but a file went for a skid and not a cut, so I ditched that idea. If it is gonna get dressed, it is going to wear a Makita, not a Nicholson!
Cheers,
Alister.
Similar Threads
-
Site not displaying images
By silentC in forum FORUMS INFO, HELP, DISCUSSION & FEEDBACKReplies: 4Last Post: 21st May 2007, 11:00 AM