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UK diy (uk.d-i-y) For the discussion of all topics related to diy (do-it-yourself) in the UK. All levels of experience and proficency are welcome to join in to ask questions or offer solutions. |
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anvil
I have an old blacksmith's anvil, which through lack of use in a damp
atmosphere has become rusty What would be a good way of restoring it? Sandblasting? It might make an interesting coffee table base, or garden seat. Thanks |
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"John G" wrote in message k... I have an old blacksmith's anvil, which through lack of use in a damp atmosphere has become rusty What would be a good way of restoring it? Sandblasting? It might make an interesting coffee table base, or garden seat. Mine made £100 on ebay (without the base) Rgds Andy R |
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John G wrote:
I have an old blacksmith's anvil, which through lack of use in a damp atmosphere has become rusty What would be a good way of restoring it? Sandblasting? If you own a belt sander, then that can be an easy way. Another is an angle grinder, with a metal cutting disk applied lightly on the side of the wheel, in a smoothing action. Better to use a sanding disk on the angle grinder though. Alternatively, simply using for the original purpose will soon remove the rust. I'd suggest you forge ahead with this approach. |
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"Ian Stirling" wrote in message ... John G wrote: I have an old blacksmith's anvil, which through lack of use in a damp atmosphere has become rusty What would be a good way of restoring it? Sandblasting? If you own a belt sander, then that can be an easy way. Another is an angle grinder, with a metal cutting disk applied lightly on the side of the wheel, in a smoothing action. Better to use a sanding disk on the angle grinder though. Alternatively, simply using for the original purpose will soon remove the rust. I'd suggest you forge ahead with this approach. Go on, Ian, hammer it home. Mary |
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Mary Fisher wrote:
"Ian Stirling" wrote in message ... John G wrote: I have an old blacksmith's anvil, which through lack of use in a damp atmosphere has become rusty Alternatively, simply using for the original purpose will soon remove the rust. I'd suggest you forge ahead with this approach. Go on, Ian, hammer it home. Good ad vice, maybe it'll perswage the OP to use the anvil. Colin |
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On Wed, 09 Feb 2005 15:03:20 GMT, "John G"
wrote: What would be a good way of restoring it? Electrolysis. It's a little inconvenient, simply because of the weight, but it's easy and you can do it on site. All you need is a battery charger, a big bucket and Google. You can also sell anvils on eBay - £100 / £150 for a typical anvil in usable condition. |
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"Rob Morley" wrote in message t... In article , "John G" says... I have an old blacksmith's anvil, which through lack of use in a damp atmosphere has become rusty What would be a good way of restoring it? Sandblasting? It might make an interesting coffee table base, or garden seat. Stick it in a tub of acid - sulphuric will dissolve the rust, phosphoric will convert it to a stable black compound which provides a degree of protection from further corrosion. If you make it look like new you will ruin the thing. A working anvil of that size will be a bit rusty around the base. Get an angle grinder with a conical wire brush and make it look like a "well used" blacksmiths anvil. |
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"Andy Dingley" wrote in message ... On Wed, 09 Feb 2005 15:03:20 GMT, "John G" wrote: What would be a good way of restoring it? Electrolysis. It's a little inconvenient, simply because of the weight, but it's easy and you can do it on site. All you need is a battery charger, a big bucket and Google. That's a B I G bucket! Mary |
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Andy,
Your solution seems easier than acquiring a horse to shoe, but all I get on electrolysis from google is info on dealing with nasal hair. Any further clues? John G "Andy Dingley" wrote in message ... On Wed, 09 Feb 2005 15:03:20 GMT, "John G" wrote: What would be a good way of restoring it? Electrolysis. It's a little inconvenient, simply because of the weight, but it's easy and you can do it on site. All you need is a battery charger, a big bucket and Google. You can also sell anvils on eBay - £100 / £150 for a typical anvil in usable condition. |
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On Wed, 09 Feb 2005 18:15:37 GMT, "John G"
wrote: Your solution seems easier than acquiring a horse to shoe, but all I get on electrolysis from google is info on dealing with nasal hair. Any further clues? Try searching for electrolytic derusting or try http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/ru..._derusting.htm Take a bucket. Doesn't need to be huge, because you can do big things in sections and rotate them around. Find a battery charger. 12V, moderate current, dead simple. You may have problems if you try it with an "automatic" charger. An ammeter is helpful, but not essential. Make an electode clamp for the workpiece. Most things can just use the battery charger's croc clip, but an anvil could be tricky. Get a good connection. Insert anvil into bucket. Insert other electrode (anode). This should be a big piece of unpainted steel, maybe stainless steel. Don't use galvanised. Bar or sheet is OK, so long as you have enough of it. Rusty is OK. Surface area should be "comparable" to the workpiece. Stainless steel lasts a very long time, plain steel will disappear at about the same speed as the rust. Arrange the two electrodes so that they're separated. Like electroplating, it's a "line of sight" process, so expect to have to re-arrange things over time. You can also use multiple anodes, simply paralleled together with jump leads. Pour in the electrolyte. This is water and washing soda, about "a handful to a bucket" strength. Throwing in the soda and pouring a kettle over it is all you need to do about carefully mixing it. Don't use sodium hydroxide / caustic soda or baking soda - washing soda is the stuff, and it's cheap and easy to find (50p/bag from Wilkinsons or Tesco) Connect the electrodes. BLACK NEGATIVE ON THE THING YOU'RE KEEPING. Red on the anode that you will destroy. Power on. A good setup will use an amp or so, maybe a few amps for somethign the size of an anvil. If you don't get this, check the connections, check the washing soda strength and try re-arranging things in the bucket. Sometimes it takes an hour to get going, by which time you should see some gas bubbling from the electrodes. The current won't flow well through paint, but will lift paint eventually. Now leave it. Check back every few hours / days. An anvil will take a few days on each side at least. Re-arrange things to do the other faces. If the tank "froths", it means that something in there was greasy and the soda has turned it to a crude soap. Remove the scum as needed, but don't worry about it. Immersing the croc clips will give a greenish coppery scum - don't worry about it. Immersing the anode's clip may damage the wire and the clip, so try to avoid that. As the rust is removed, a black sludge builds up. After a while, this becomes a rust-red sludge. Remove it with a big spoon when it threatens to fill the tank. When completed (bare metal) the process stops by itself. It's safe to leave this running indefinitely - the great advantage of this process over all others. Keep the tank topped up with plain water, owing to evaporation and electrolytic losses. Add more washing soda to replace spillages. When you remove the cleaned metalwork, it will be _very_ clean and bare. Dry it carefully and immediately and wax polish or WD40 it - left bare it will quickly rust again, but this is just a bright orange light rust and comes off easily anyway. -- Smert' spamionam |
#12
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"Andy Dingley" wrote in message news Good post, I wouldn't expect anything less. Mary |
#13
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Andy,
Thanks for all that. I'll try it out on something modest in size and go from there. Cheers John G "Andy Dingley" wrote in message news On Wed, 09 Feb 2005 18:15:37 GMT, "John G" wrote: Your solution seems easier than acquiring a horse to shoe, but all I get on electrolysis from google is info on dealing with nasal hair. Any further clues? Try searching for electrolytic derusting or try http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/ru..._derusting.htm Take a bucket. Doesn't need to be huge, because you can do big things in sections and rotate them around. Find a battery charger. 12V, moderate current, dead simple. You may have problems if you try it with an "automatic" charger. An ammeter is helpful, but not essential. Make an electode clamp for the workpiece. Most things can just use the battery charger's croc clip, but an anvil could be tricky. Get a good connection. Insert anvil into bucket. Insert other electrode (anode). This should be a big piece of unpainted steel, maybe stainless steel. Don't use galvanised. Bar or sheet is OK, so long as you have enough of it. Rusty is OK. Surface area should be "comparable" to the workpiece. Stainless steel lasts a very long time, plain steel will disappear at about the same speed as the rust. Arrange the two electrodes so that they're separated. Like electroplating, it's a "line of sight" process, so expect to have to re-arrange things over time. You can also use multiple anodes, simply paralleled together with jump leads. Pour in the electrolyte. This is water and washing soda, about "a handful to a bucket" strength. Throwing in the soda and pouring a kettle over it is all you need to do about carefully mixing it. Don't use sodium hydroxide / caustic soda or baking soda - washing soda is the stuff, and it's cheap and easy to find (50p/bag from Wilkinsons or Tesco) Connect the electrodes. BLACK NEGATIVE ON THE THING YOU'RE KEEPING. Red on the anode that you will destroy. Power on. A good setup will use an amp or so, maybe a few amps for somethign the size of an anvil. If you don't get this, check the connections, check the washing soda strength and try re-arranging things in the bucket. Sometimes it takes an hour to get going, by which time you should see some gas bubbling from the electrodes. The current won't flow well through paint, but will lift paint eventually. Now leave it. Check back every few hours / days. An anvil will take a few days on each side at least. Re-arrange things to do the other faces. If the tank "froths", it means that something in there was greasy and the soda has turned it to a crude soap. Remove the scum as needed, but don't worry about it. Immersing the croc clips will give a greenish coppery scum - don't worry about it. Immersing the anode's clip may damage the wire and the clip, so try to avoid that. As the rust is removed, a black sludge builds up. After a while, this becomes a rust-red sludge. Remove it with a big spoon when it threatens to fill the tank. When completed (bare metal) the process stops by itself. It's safe to leave this running indefinitely - the great advantage of this process over all others. Keep the tank topped up with plain water, owing to evaporation and electrolytic losses. Add more washing soda to replace spillages. When you remove the cleaned metalwork, it will be _very_ clean and bare. Dry it carefully and immediately and wax polish or WD40 it - left bare it will quickly rust again, but this is just a bright orange light rust and comes off easily anyway. -- Smert' spamionam |
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