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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Rockhampton CQ
    Posts
    11

    Default 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.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Jervis Bay
    Posts
    10

    Default

    Personally I'd wire brush to clean off loose rust oil them and then make sure they get used. That way they be authentic

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Rockhampton CQ
    Posts
    11

    Default

    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.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    1,628

    Default

    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

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Rockhampton CQ
    Posts
    11

    Default

    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.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    493

    Default

    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.
    Civilized man is the only animal clever enough to manufacture its own food,
    and the only animal stupid enough to eat it.
    Barry Groves

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Rockhampton CQ
    Posts
    11

    Default

    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.

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