Metalworking (rec.crafts.metalworking) Discuss various aspects of working with metal, such as machining, welding, metal joining, screwing, casting, hardening/tempering, blacksmithing/forging, spinning and hammer work, sheet metal work.

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1   Report Post  
Alaric B Snell
 
Posts: n/a
Default Grease on tools


Hi there,

I've been buying a few miscellaneous tools - scriber, assorted center
and letter/number punches, and an automatic center punch (great fun!).
Hardened steel in a number of useful shapes.

Now, they all come covered in thick films of black, gooey, grease, which
I presume is to step them going rusty in the warehouse.

Thing is, they stick to my hands, and I get black fingerprints
everywhere after touching them, and hard-to-wash-off grease marks on
other tools and so on.

Would it be wise to wash the grease off - by soaking in soapy water?
Should I then wipe them with a (clean!) oiled rag, spray them with WD40,
etc to keep them from rusting in use? The letter/number punches look
black anyway; I presume they've had some kind of surface treatment.

How best do I look after them?

Thanks,

ABS

  #2   Report Post  
Harold & Susan Vordos
 
Posts: n/a
Default Grease on tools


"Alaric B Snell" wrote in message
...

Hi there,

I've been buying a few miscellaneous tools - scriber, assorted center
and letter/number punches, and an automatic center punch (great fun!).
Hardened steel in a number of useful shapes.

Now, they all come covered in thick films of black, gooey, grease, which
I presume is to step them going rusty in the warehouse.

Thing is, they stick to my hands, and I get black fingerprints
everywhere after touching them, and hard-to-wash-off grease marks on
other tools and so on.

Would it be wise to wash the grease off - by soaking in soapy water?
Should I then wipe them with a (clean!) oiled rag, spray them with WD40,
etc to keep them from rusting in use? The letter/number punches look
black anyway; I presume they've had some kind of surface treatment.

How best do I look after them?

Thanks,

ABS


The black surface on hardened items is generally from the heat treat
process. That won't wash off.

Regards the heavy black grease of which you speak, washing the parts in
water is not the way to go. If you do not have any Stoddard solvent, use
some mineral spirits (paint thinner) to remove the heavy grease. It is
readily soluble. Once clean, you can blow the items off with an air hose,
or simply let them dry by placing them on an absorbent surface (like some
old newspaper). Once you have them clean, unless you store your tools where
they can rust, nothing need be applied to them. That way you can use them
without getting your hands and other things dirty. If, on the other
hand, you have an unheated area, one that tends towards rusting, you may
wish to cover them with something that will prevent rust, but maybe doesn't
make everything else dirty. Most everyone will tell you that WD 40 isn't
a rust preventative, that is has little value, but my experience tells me
that it is better than nothing, and leaves behind what appears to be a very
thin film of paraffin. Looks to me like they dissolve said paraffin in a
solvent, add an odorant, and that's WD 40.

Don't wash your items with gasoline! Only fools do that.

Harold


  #3   Report Post  
Alaric B Snell
 
Posts: n/a
Default Grease on tools

Harold & Susan Vordos wrote:

The black surface on hardened items is generally from the heat treat
process. That won't wash off.


Yep. I was hoping it'd resist further rusting on its own, however.

Regards the heavy black grease of which you speak, washing the parts in
water is not the way to go. If you do not have any Stoddard solvent, use
some mineral spirits (paint thinner) to remove the heavy grease. It is
readily soluble. Once clean, you can blow the items off with an air hose,
or simply let them dry by placing them on an absorbent surface (like some
old newspaper).


Ok - I'll give it a try - thanks!

Once you have them clean, unless you store your tools where
they can rust, nothing need be applied to them. That way you can use them
without getting your hands and other things dirty. If, on the other
hand, you have an unheated area, one that tends towards rusting, you may
wish to cover them with something that will prevent rust, but maybe doesn't
make everything else dirty.


My lovely toys live indoors, with me - and I haven't rusted yet.
However, I once hard soldered together some items out of cold rolled
iron, put them in a bath of vinegar for a few days to pickle away the
scale, and pulled the thing out, rinsed it under the tap, and wiped it
dry - I left it in a warm place to fully dry out before painting and
when I came back half an hour later it had grown a definite coating of
red rust! I was surprised at the speed of it.

Most everyone will tell you that WD 40 isn't
a rust preventative, that is has little value, but my experience tells me
that it is better than nothing, and leaves behind what appears to be a very
thin film of paraffin. Looks to me like they dissolve said paraffin in a
solvent, add an odorant, and that's WD 40.


The WD40 bottle proclaims that its water-repelling properties make it a
good thing to spray into holes in machine tools to keep 'em from rusting
- which is what inspired me to ask. And I've got a lot of it.

*experiment*

Hmmm, wiping the punches with a paper towel to get the outer layer of
grease off followed by spraying with WD40 followed by another wipe seems
surprisingly effective - leaving a surface that feels slightly
super-smooth from the WD40 film, but not grimy looking and not leaving
marks on things anymore. Perhaps the WD40 solvent shifts grease too...

Don't wash your items with gasoline! Only fools do that.


*interest piqued* What, does it make 'em highly flammable or something
exciting like that? :-)


Harold


Thanks, Harold,

ABS

  #4   Report Post  
Gunner
 
Posts: n/a
Default Grease on tools

On Fri, 12 Sep 2003 17:20:58 +0100, Alaric B Snell
wrote:


Hi there,

I've been buying a few miscellaneous tools - scriber, assorted center
and letter/number punches, and an automatic center punch (great fun!).
Hardened steel in a number of useful shapes.

Now, they all come covered in thick films of black, gooey, grease, which
I presume is to step them going rusty in the warehouse.

Thing is, they stick to my hands, and I get black fingerprints
everywhere after touching them, and hard-to-wash-off grease marks on
other tools and so on.

Would it be wise to wash the grease off - by soaking in soapy water?
Should I then wipe them with a (clean!) oiled rag, spray them with WD40,
etc to keep them from rusting in use? The letter/number punches look
black anyway; I presume they've had some kind of surface treatment.

How best do I look after them?

Thanks,

ABS


Chuckle..what I do, is go to the local 99c store and buy a few cans of
carburetor cleaner or engine cleaner, spritz them down really good, hose
them off after a bit with a garden hose, then dry and oil normally. The
punches are probably black oxided after heat treatment.

Gunner

--
The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that
English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words;
on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.
--James D. Nicoll
  #5   Report Post  
Harold & Susan Vordos
 
Posts: n/a
Default Grease on tools


"Alaric B Snell" wrote in message
...
Harold & Susan Vordos wrote:

The black surface on hardened items is generally from the heat treat
process. That won't wash off.


Yep. I was hoping it'd resist further rusting on its own, however.


It generally does. I can only assume that the scale left behind doesn't
readily rust, that it is already a form of oxide. There are various states
of oxidation. It will rust beneath and slowly flake off, though. Heavy
scale, such as on hot rolled steel, does that. That scale itself does not
go red, though.

My lovely toys live indoors, with me - and I haven't rusted yet.
However, I once hard soldered together some items out of cold rolled
iron, put them in a bath of vinegar for a few days to pickle away the
scale, and pulled the thing out, rinsed it under the tap, and wiped it
dry - I left it in a warm place to fully dry out before painting and
when I came back half an hour later it had grown a definite coating of
red rust! I was surprised at the speed of it.


That happens when you get iron surfaces ultra clean, especially when you
have water in the equation. I used to work with acids, refining precious
metals. Once you have submerged a piece of steel in hydrochloric acid, you
can actually see the surface start rusting as you rinse it in tap water.
It's almost impossible to prevent some rusting on very clean surfaces.

The WD40 bottle proclaims that its water-repelling properties make it a
good thing to spray into holes in machine tools to keep 'em from rusting
- which is what inspired me to ask. And I've got a lot of it.

*experiment*

Hmmm, wiping the punches with a paper towel to get the outer layer of
grease off followed by spraying with WD40 followed by another wipe seems
surprisingly effective - leaving a surface that feels slightly
super-smooth from the WD40 film, but not grimy looking and not leaving
marks on things anymore. Perhaps the WD40 solvent shifts grease too...


Absolutely. So long as you use any type of hydrocarbon solvent, other
hydrocarbon substances will be reduced by them. There's nothing wrong with
using WD 40 to clean things, aside from the cost. You can buy a gallon of
mineral spirits for as low as $2, whereas the WD 40 would likely cost $10
for the same amount. No big deal when you're just wetting the corner of a
rag, but could prove rather expensive if you're trying to fill a solvent
tank. One other thing, the solvent power of mineral spirits may be greater
because it does not have anything dissolved within it already.

Don't wash your items with gasoline! Only fools do that.


*interest piqued* What, does it make 'em highly flammable or something
exciting like that? :-)


Nope. It works just fine. It's just that the fumes from gasoline are
extremely flammable. How many times have we heard of the fool that had an
open container of gasoline, washing parts, only to have the vapors ignited
by the water heater, or some other spark source? Seems like about once a
year you read about some poor schnook that has done exactly that.
Gasoline is a great solvent, but very deadly. Stick with the approved
solvents, and do that with care, too. (Most) any of them will burn, but
some are very easy to ignite.


Thanks, Harold,

ABS


My pleasure. Hope some of it is helpful.

Harold




  #6   Report Post  
Bob May
 
Posts: n/a
Default Grease on tools

You really don't want to get water around the tools. That stuff loves to
get into cracks that you have cleaned out and start some nice rusting from
the inside.
Rather get some cheap mineral spirits or kerosene or diesel fuel and clean
with that. After that, lube with some motor oil for a cheap protection from
rust and enjoy.
Items with internal parts like center punches want to be partially
disassembled if desired so that the stuff that is inside is also removed.
Please note that the solvent can carry a lot of the grease before becoming
unusable and if you happen to have a still about, you can then gently warm
the solvent and recover it for the next job.

--
There are more Democrats on the Calif. Special Election than Republicans!
Go count if you don't believe me!
Bob May


  #7   Report Post  
Dave W
 
Posts: n/a
Default Grease on tools

"Harold & Susan Vordos" wrote in
:


"Alaric B Snell" wrote in message
...



Don't wash your items with gasoline! Only fools do that.


*interest piqued* What, does it make 'em highly flammable or
something exciting like that? :-)


Nope. It works just fine. It's just that the fumes from gasoline are
extremely flammable. How many times have we heard of the fool that
had an open container of gasoline, washing parts, only to have the
vapors ignited by the water heater, or some other spark source?
Seems like about once a year you read about some poor schnook that has
done exactly that. Gasoline is a great solvent, but very deadly.
Stick with the approved solvents, and do that with care, too. (Most)
any of them will burn, but some are very easy to ignite.


And deadly meaning that Gasoline contains Benzene which is a carcinogen.
The stories I hear generally end with Leukemia.

--
Dave W
  #8   Report Post  
Leo Lichtman
 
Posts: n/a
Default Grease on tools

One of the problems with gasoline is that it kills your sense of smell, so
after you work with it for a while you are no longer aware of it.


Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules

Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Lithium molybdenum disulphide grease PJ UK diy 11 November 1st 03 12:25 PM
Silicone Grease Not Found. Vaseline as an Alternative? Ralph Corderoy UK diy 23 September 8th 03 06:17 PM
Grease on lug nuts??? Peter Reilley Metalworking 35 August 25th 03 04:27 PM
Old tools and machines Tom Gardner Metalworking 4 August 5th 03 07:12 AM
New Rockwell lathe and some questions about it. Paul T. Metalworking 6 July 19th 03 12:47 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 09:26 AM.

Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 DIYbanter.
The comments are property of their posters.
 

About Us

"It's about DIY & home improvement"