W. P. Davis Lathe

[mattthemuppet2]

I'd skip the vinegar, every time I've tried it it's left carbon steel (not HSS) black. Electrolysis or evaporust would be my choice.

Great score on the lathe, that'll be fun to get running again.

 

[T Bredehoft]

Vinegar, I don't know, Molasses will, but it's really messy to clean up.

Electric cleaning of rusty iron/steel. A five gallon bucket from Home Depot, 4 gallons of water, a cup of washing soda and a battery charger.

Bend a metal coat hanger in a circle (use sandpaper to remove some of the paint) with the circle flat, bend the hook up so it sticks above the top of the bucket. (circle goes half way down.

I used a steel brake line, you can use another coat hanger or anything else steel. With the coat hanger hook at 12:00, put the brake line across the bucket from 3:00 to 9:00. connect the battery charger wires, one end to the hook (bent down below the top of the bucket on the outside) and the other to the end of the brake line. Suspend the part to be cleaned completely in the water hanging by a steel wire. If it doesn't start bubbling right away, reverse the wires. (you gotta have the battery charger plugged in and turned on.)

With machine parts you may need a stouter rod across the top (think I Beam) and/or a larger bucket. Do not let the part to be cleaned touch the circle of coat hanger. Wait 6 to 12 hours, you'll be amazed at how new looking your part is.

Eventually, after a couple of days, you may have to replace the coat hanger circle, it tends to corrode away. I've heard of people using re-rods instead of coat hangers, I don't have any handy, I might have done so myself. The dirty water is perfectly bio-gradable, throw it on the lawn, in the gutter, anywhere.

 

[mattthemuppet2]

I haven't tried molasses, but I tried white vinegar a few times and it was a PITA. Turned a bunch of carbon steel taps black, but not the HSS ones. Gave up on it after that. Once I get settled somewhere I'll just buy a gallon of evaporust and use that for the small stuff.

Another plus of electrolysis is that it lifts old paint off as well. It's really effective for stripping stuff down as well as getting rid of rust. Just make sure there's only iron or steel in there, no stainless though (produces something nasty and dangerous - hexachromium chloride?)

 

[Bob Korves]

thank you for the suggestions guys .
Tom; when you say electrolyte is that the same as electrolysis ?
will a solution of vinegar also remove rust ?
i had some time today to sort out some more tooling, here are some photos.
i have a few whats its to post soon.
Dan
i do like the looks of the camel back drill presses, very organic.
View attachment 116918 View attachment 116919

Vinegar and other acids will remove rust, but can also etch and remove good metal. Evaporust, electrolysis, and molasses are safer methods for your metal, for your health, and for the environment. I prefer Evaporust for anything that can be submerged in a gallon of liquid. It is pretty foolproof, just follow the instructions and make sure that no portion of what you are de-rusting is sticking out above the surface of the Evaporust. The solution can be used over and over many times. For longer life of the Evaporust, clean all loose rust, oil, and grease off the tools before soaking them.

 

[brino]

Molasses will, but it's really messy to clean up.

......plus it tastes awful afterward
-brino

 

[genec]

i thnk its a leverlie , you will need change gears and a other things.

 

[oldboy1950]

picked up the lathe bed and leg assembly Sunday with my son Sean, everything is home now.
started the cleaning process yesterday and the reassembly of the bed and legs.
disassembled the head gear system and mucked it out , cleaned out the oil passage ways and am now reassembling.
taking a break right now, this process is educational and a lesson in humility as this is a precision machine and demands my full attention to detail.
i rotated the pinion gear that engages the worm gear 180 as the part of the gear that is in contact was quite worn.
everything else in this gear assembly is in good shape for being 100 years + .
clever way that the worm gear is held in place shown in one of the photos.
more to follow once i have the head back on the bed.... hmmm ... reads like a Dr. Seuss sentence ; )
Dan

 

[Glenn Brooks]

Dan, 10% molasis in water is supposed to remove rust. Some guys swear by this method. I've used electrolysis for the same purpose - Arm and Hammer Washing Soda - not baking power- and warm water, with a low voltage power source connected to the piece and an anode plate in the bath to collect the rust ions also works. This leaves a black scummy film you will need to wire brush off. A bit of a nuisance, but it works. Soon as you turn on the power you will see bubbles streaming off the piece! I use a battery charger as haven't figured out where to get s constant power source yet. Not recommended, but it works. Very interesting to watch it happen.

Maybe even better is something like evaporust. This bonds the iron oxide molecules and lifts the rust into suspension without the residue. $25/ gal but less messy cleanup. And it's reusable a couple of times, apparently.

Looks like you have some fine old tooling lurking under some of that gunk!

Glenn

 

[oldboy1950]

well... the holidays have come and gone, hope you all had a good time.
i have reassembled the lathe and cleaned some of the tooling.
the paint is bright and in decent shape so i left it as is, but i did remove paint and goo from the brass , bronze and any metal fasteners and handles.
it is ready to run but i need to first reclaim a section of shop wall so i can mount the jack shaft and motor.
this is a cement wall that i will first insulate and cover with plywood on studs to mount the drive assembly and also add lighting in the ceiling.
this shop work will take a while as i have other projects to complete first but i will post progress reports when i have something of interest to show.
here are photos of the lathe on temporary casters , notice the old light and original Lunkenheimer oilers.
the only thing missing from the lathe was the belts and motor.
in one of the photos i show some tooling which i have no idea its use .
Dan

 

[brino]

The ones to the top right appear to be tapered arbours. They should have only a thou. or so taper from end to end. You can press one into a work piece (pulley, bushing, disc, gear, ring) turn it between centres, and then press it back out. The assembly is turned between centres using a dog driven from a faceplate notch.

The ones to the left, I dunno.....do they have centre holes in each end?

By the way, the lathe looks great. It looks like a few pounds of rust have been removed from it! Good work.

-brino