[Dominick]

I wasn't really sure where to post this, but I'm doing a light restoration on a drill press that's been sitting around.

And when things sit they start to rust.
It's really not in to bad of shape.

 

[Dominick]

I hate this I can't keep typing because the words disappear. Bummer.

The worst of it is the base. So doing a little reading and watching videos on how to clean it up, I decided to buy evaporust. I soaked the base and some smaller parts for about 15 to 18 hours.

Then I removed it and its still rusty. The smaller parts I cleaned up well with a wire brush.

I wasn't happy with the results and being $29.00 a gallon at Horror freight I wasn't buying anymore.

I remembered someone doing electrolysis here on WWT, so I decided to give it a try.
No more talk here's what I've got so far.
This is my first time doing this, so hope it works.

Here it's apart and you can see the rusted parts.

That's how the base looked after evaporust.
As far as the pole, I used iron out and a scotch bright pad and it cleaned up well. Ill wet sand it as best as I can.

The base is in and it's suspended up about an 1"1/2 I also used two old saw blades as an anode.

Hooked up to the battery charger

Now with the water in. 13 gallons and one Tbls of baking soda for each gallon.

Here's after 15 min of turning on charger.
It's bubbling a little bit, but the white I'm not sure what its doing. Looks like its working. Ill wait for awhile and check again.
Sorry so long to read but thanks for looking.

 

[Dave Paine]

Thanks for the restore thread.

Electrolysis should also remove any old paint which will help the restore.

I expect the white is the initial bubbling. You should see the rust scum in the morning.

How about some details on the patient.

 

[Dominick]

This won't be no Warner construction restore. The whole top half isn't rusted just the base, pole and a little on the table, witch ill be able to wet sand that. As far as the patent I got it from the woodworkers guild of America. Here's the link, just type in the search electrolysis.
Thanks for looking.

http://www.wwgoa.com/?gclid=CKP_udXL8rQCFeZDMgod6BYAiQ
Edit: I thought you said patent. Laughing!!!!!

 

[Dominick]

I guess it's working. This is after 3 hrs

 

[SteveEl]

VENTILATE! I'm all set up to do the same exact thing to a 1940ish Craftsman DP.... my first time too.... but I'm going to wait until warmer weather and do it outside, since it will give off flammable odorless hydrogen gas. Somewhere I read to NOT use baking soda, but instead use "washing soda". I had to order a box from amazon. Did you see the youtube clip of the some guys putting the body parts of an old car in a megabath?

 

[Dominick]

VENTILATE! I'm all set up to do the same exact thing to a 1940ish Craftsman DP.... my first time too.... but I'm going to wait until warmer weather and do it outside, since it will give off flammable odorless hydrogen gas. Somewhere I read to NOT use baking soda, but instead use "washing soda". I had to order a box from amazon. Did you see the youtube clip of the some guys putting the body parts of an old car in a megabath?

Yea I heard about the gasses to. Now you have me concerned. I turned off my garage heater, but in my garage is the hot water tank.
Should I put it outside?
Don't let my wife see this thread.
I couldn't find washing soda and all the info I got was either one will work.
By the looks of the last pic, it's working.

 

[WarnerConstInc.]

It does not put off any harmful vapors. When you are done with the water you can dump it out anywhere.

Yeah washing soda. I live in a small town and I can get it 3 different places.

 

[Dominick]

It does not put off any harmful vapors. When you are done with the water you can dump it out anywhere.

So are you saying its not flammable?
So should I be fine with it in my garage?

 

[preacherman]

Dom I just saw this and hope its not too late. Check out this video beginning around the 5:00 minute mark he explains some saftey precautions. :

 

[jschaben]

Yea I heard about the gasses to. Now you have me concerned. I turned off my garage heater, but in my garage is the hot water tank.
Should I put it outside?
Don't let my wife see this thread.
I couldn't find washing soda and all the info I got was either one will work.
By the looks of the last pic, it's working.

Interesting process, thanks for the post. I was planning on trying that last summer on some old garden tools but got sidetracked with tornado cleanup... Planning on waiting till the weather warms up now because I want to do it outside also...

 

[Dominick]

Great video preacher man. Thanks for looking out for what is best. I shut it down for the night just to be safe. It's been going for about 7 hrs.
Ill check it out in the morning and continue with the process if needed.
This is a new thing for me, so I do appreciate the concern guys.
Thanks.

 

[tc65]

Dom, I use baking soda all the time - usually because I always keep forgetting to look for washing soda. It's always worked fine for me.

Finally, you've discovered a use for old circular saw blades! Now I have something to do with the stack I have sitting in the corner.

 

[Dominick]

Thanks Tim. I couldn't find washing soda. People at the grocery store looked at me funny when I asked. From what I read they say either washing or baking soda would work. It's working.
I'm just concerned about the gases and a potential for explosion. Don't want that to happen, so shut it down. Resume tomorrow.

 

[WarnerConstInc.]

It is pretty harmless.

 

[Dave Paine]

Great video preacher man. Thanks for looking out for what is best. I shut it down for the night just to be safe. It's been going for about 7 hrs.
Ill check it out in the morning and continue with the process if needed.
This is a new thing for me, so I do appreciate the concern guys.
Thanks.

It was prudent to shut down for the night, but I do not expect the volume of water and rate of hydrogen production is likely to be a problem.

With any flammable gas, there is a range of concentration within which the gas may be a potential problem. This is the range between the Lower Explosive Limit and the Higher Explosive Limit.

Concentrations below LEL do not have enough energy to be a problem.

Concentrations above HEL do not have enough oxygen to be a problem.

This is a list if anyone is interested.

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/explosive-concentration-limits-d_423.html

Hydrogen LEL = 4% and HEL = 75%

It would take quite a while to build up a concentration of 4% hydrogen.

Also since it is lighter than air so the molecules would be high in the garage. They would also tend to leak more than air.

Heavy molecules like propane can sit around in pockets, but hydrogen molecules will distribute themselves in the room.

 

[Dominick]

Thanks Dave. That's a great link. Ill have to bookmark it. I guess I just would rather be safe than sorry. But like you said, I would think it would take a lot in order get up to 4%.
I have it cooking up right now. Ill let it run for a couple hours then check it out.

 

[Dominick]

Well I was able to get some more done on my drill press.

This morning I let cook for a few more hours and while the base was soaking I decided to start on the pole. I wet sanded it and polished it up. I'd like to work on it a little bit more. But I'm pretty happy so far.

Then I started working on the table. Since the table already has swirls in it from machining, I decided to dry sand it with the ROS 220 grit.
Then I wet sanded it 1500. Then I did it dry 320.
Can't really see scratches because the machining. I still want to work that a little more.

After finishing up on the pole and the table, I shut down the electrolysis and removed the base.
Wow!!!! I was impressed that it was pretty clean.
Rinsed it off in water and wire brushed it. I still have a lot more to do to it. But very happy.

I was going to start another thread on the restore but Ill just update this when I can.
Remember this is not a full restore.

 

[chefdg]

Thanks for posting this up. Restoring old tools is really peaking my interest. I've been looking for an old tool that I can get on the cheap and learn on. I am enjoying following this, even if it isn't a full restore.

 

[Dominick]

Thanks for posting this up. Restoring old tools is really peaking my interest. I've been looking for an old tool that I can get on the cheap and learn on. I am enjoying following this, even if it isn't a full restore.

Thanks for following.
I know I'll be painting the base and the bottom of the table. As far as the top half, who knows maybe ill strip it and paint the whole thing.
It may turn out to be a full resto when I tear into it. Only time will tell.
Thanks for looking.