Sandy wrote:

On 17 May 2004 12:06:40 GMT, otforme (Charlie Self)
There is no argument. What we need explaining is why the presence of
sodium chloride in the vinegar is advantageous.

Nah. What we need to know is whether or not it WORKS.

Speak for yourself. If that satisfies you, then I'm happy for you
Until you understand it, you won't know whether it works or not.
Disagree. One can observe a cause and effect repeatedly and draw valid
conclusions without understanding the mechanism. Folks knew that
dropping a stone on their foot would hurt long before Newton and an
understanding of the nervous system (and do we yet fully understand
the mechanism of gravity, or just have more sophisticated observations
about it?) Charlie's point is valid; all we NEED to know is whether it
works. I'm with you in fascination with understanding why it works,
but that understanding is a want more than a need.

I, like most woodwrkers,
am not a chemist.

Are woodworkers prevented from being chemists?
Reread the sentence you quoted.

I'm not a chemist, but I have wide interests in many areas.
I know several chemists who are woodworkers. Will you tell them, or
should I?
Tell them what? That most woodworkers are not chemists? You tell them.
I hate the "you idiot" stares I sometimes get when stating the
obvious.

Like most woodworkers, I have some tools that I either buy
with rust on them, or that are particularly susceptible to rust under certain
conditions.

If they were mine, and I valued them, I would not use salt and vinegar
on them. This comes from my understanding of chemistry.
Why? What are the bad effects predicted by your understanding of
chemistry, and do they prove out in practice?

Somewhere about 5 posts ago, an OT should have been added to this thread.

Why? Is it not pertinent to restoring woodworking tools?
Yes. I agree that it is not OT.

I suggest you are being selfish
I suggest that he is stating his interest.

--
Alex
Make the obvious change in the return address to reply by email.