BEFORE & AFTER....A Tool Polisher's Haven

[JMLangford]

Hello Folks....My name is Mike and I'm a tool polisher

I'm starting this thread so I (and any other tool polishers) can post pics of items I've found in need of some TLC ......

Armed with paint, wire brushes, vinegar, grinders, degreaser, scrapers, etc....whatever it takes to refresh/restore/refinish or simply clean up an item.

I hope other fellow tool polishers will post up some of their polishing projects too.....it's all good maybe share your ideals and techniques,etc.
A TOOL POLISHER's HAVEN.....

Depending on how "involved" I get "polishing" something, I may have several pics with text or I might simply post Before & After.....

1st one....

BEFORE:





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[JMLangford]

And AFTER:



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[JMLangford]

before:



after:





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[firworks]

That tap handle is like a piece of jewelry. Well done.

 

[JMLangford]

That tap handle is like a piece of jewelry. Well done.

Thanks!....

Here are two well rusted PROTO wrenches that shined up like jewelry too....



These wrenches were cleaned with a VS Dremel and the yellow 3M flapper wheels you see in the pics....


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[don long]

I'm a tool polisher restorer.
I've been at it for a couple of years and find it very rewarding

Here is a couple of my tools before and after.
My circular saw


1 (3) by don long, on Flickr

2 by don long, on Flickr

2014-09-19 18.45.12 by don long, on Flickr

2014-09-19 18.47.31 by don long, on Flickr

My tire spreader


2016-10-15 16.34.40 (2) by don long, on Flickr

2017-06-06 16.58.34 by don long, on Flickr

And my gas caddy

1 (2) by don long, on Flickr

56 (2) by don long, on Flickr

My vintage compressor and cart

2015-10-17 16.23.42 (2) by don long, on Flickr

2016-01-14 11.37.53 (2) by don long, on Flickr

I have pictures of the process but too many pic's to share on these projects but I'll do shots as progress on new ones

 

[JMLangford]

Great restorations Don.....you're a tool polisher extraordinaire.


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[catalytic]

Mr. Long -- what was your process to polish the cast alu on that Craftsman saw?

I just wet sanded some cast alu. and then hand buffed with metal magic... I now know how much work is involved!

 

[ovrrdrive]

I suggest turning safe search on before you google 'tool polisher'... Wow. lol

Some of the work above is extraordinary. Great work gents.

 

[fordkid88]

Holy ****!

 

[The Tool Tyrant]

I believe Don can give 'American Restoration' some stiff competition!

 

[lakeroadster]

Sweet Thanks for posting these.

 

[jackson1701]

I believe Don can give 'American Restoration' some stiff competition!

I believe that "American Restoration" looks to Don for inspiration

 

[cowboy73]

Beautiful work JMLangford and Don!!!! I don't think I have the patience or talent to fix up old tools that nice.

 

[MarkG]

Wow!! Incredible work, Don!

What is the green machine on the wood base?

 

[Shiftless]

Wow!! Incredible work, Don!

What is the green machine on the wood base?

Thats the compressor...
It is powered by a gasoline engine! Way cool Don!

 

[ndnchf]

Not fully polished, but cleaned up a bit. Still, it looks pretty nice for being 135+ years old.

 

[Furious Filipino]

You guys are awesome! My kind of tool polishers.

 

[Richard D]

Nice work! I love seeing anything old and rusty made to look like new again. Not a fan of "patina", or as I call it, "rust".

 

[C_F]

Wow, very impressive you guys!

That old tire spreader is cool, we had a similar one in my HS auto shop. I used it to patch at least a half dozen tires while I had that class.

 

[JMLangford]

Not fully polished, but cleaned up a bit. Still, it looks pretty nice for being 135+ years old.

Well done!!....ready for another 135+ years




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[JMLangford]

Some of y'all may have remembered this Milwaukee angle drill I got at a yard sale for $5 bucks......
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4893118&postcount=2932

Case was in real rough shape but he said the drill worked and it also came with 7 rusted ship auger bits and a extension......


Got busy and removed the front gear housing and then the armature, etc...


More to come.....


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[JMLangford]

I'm not "restoring" this drill, I'm just giving it a real good cleaning to "refresh" it

I had my work cut out for me.....this thing need a lot of TLC....


Refreshed the plastic handles too.....



More to come.....

 

[JMLangford]

With everything shined up it was ready for a little "re-assembly"


All back together.....even wiped-off the auger bits


More to come....



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[Lelandwelds]

That work doesnt look like sisal, cotton, or felt wheels. Some looks like wire wheel, some sandpaper rolls, and some looks like flap wheels.

Thats my guess. What are you using? How do you keep from rounding the edges and corners?

 

[JMLangford]

So, here's the BEFORE:


And here's the AFTER:


Couldn't do anything for the case (I should have stripped it and re-painted)

I advertised it on Craigslist......the ad ran for about a week and an electrician from N.C. came down and paid $130 for it.

Glad he could use it



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[don long]

Mr. Long -- what was your process to polish the cast alu on that Craftsman saw?

I just wet sanded some cast alu. and then hand buffed with metal magic... I now know how much work is involved!

catalytic

When I want to polish an old craftsman tool (which I have several) I start by dismantling it completely. I take my 3" sander with a 150 grit disc on it. I sand down the parts until ALL the scratches are gone. Then I repeat the process with 220 grit then 400 grit return with a 600 grit disc on my pad and with an 800 grit disc I start polishing the piece and my final sand down is with 1200 grit sand paper When the sanding is done the part has a dull shine on it so I take the part to my Baldor polishing machine and with red rouge on the wheel I buff out the part. Then give the piece a thorough cleaning with some wax and grease remover before spraying automotive clear paint on my pieces. I let them sit til cured maybe 3 days before reassembly.
(LOTS OF WORK)

 

[don long]

I love brass tools. And I love to polish brass up to a high shine.
Like this brass pump and fire extinguisher holder

IMG_0046 by don long, on Flickr

IMG_0055 by don long, on Flickr

1 by don long, on Flickr


2016-05-10 14.47.34 by don long, on Flickr

2016-05-10 14.47.52 by don long, on Flickr

Here is a project that i'm currently working on

this is a blow torch with a rectangle tank (this one is a steel torch)

1 by don long, on Flickr

I sand blasted the tank. I also polished the brass pieces

IMG_1466 by don long, on Flickr

I took the dents out of the tank, primed and painted it 2tone Blue and yellow and sent it over to a friend to logo and letter it.
Hope to get it back soon.

2017-10-16 13.03.49 by don long, on Flickr

2017-10-24 17.59.34 by don long, on Flickr

 

[PelicanPines]

I'm in to see more... subscribed... damn... every picture set here is WONDERFUL.

Thanks... this to me is what Garage Journal is all about.

 

[ndnchf]

Maybe a little OT, not exactly polished bright. But cleaned up and pretty, showing its well earned wrinkles. This Kellogg air pump (compressor) is well over 100 years old. It came out of an old barn where it had sat for decades before earning its keep in a garage. I took it all apart, cleaned, lubricated and re-assembled it. I added a higher pressure, but original period gauge and a pressure relief valve. It runs like a champ now. I use it occasionally to pump up the tires on my 1924 Ford touring car.

 

[don long]

ndnchf

That's one sweet compressor. nice work I like the sign attached to your bench too

 

[Swingpress]

How did you get those bits cleaned up so well?

 

[JMLangford]

Maybe a little OT, not exactly polished bright. But cleaned up and pretty, showing its well earned wrinkles. This Kellogg air pump (compressor) is well over 100 years old. It came out of an old barn where it had sat for decades before earning its keep in a garage. I took it all apart, cleaned, lubricated and re-assembled it. I added a higher pressure, but original period gauge and a pressure relief valve. It runs like a champ now. I use it occasionally to pump up the tires on my 1924 Ford touring car.

ndnchf: You did a great job of cleaning and re-doing your air pump back to service I don't necessarily shine everything to a high shine....most of my cleaning and polishing is not perfect but I enjoy trying.
Most of what I do is on a small scale....cheaper that way
I wish I had the talent and resources to restore stuff like Don (the master) does.....but it's all good!!

How did you get those bits cleaned up so well?

Swingpress: If you are referring to the auger bits.....I simply used a fine wire wheel on my bench grinder.
They actually had just surface rust that came off really easy!
I usually wipe down any bare metal with a very thin coat of gun oil.....



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[JMLangford]

Picked up a well neglected Lee Pro 1000 progressive reloader (missing a lot of parts and pieces) and an lightly abused Lee single die press for a crazy stupid low, low, low, low, low, price (more on that later)......


It came with 40 S&W dies (great cause I've got a couple of 40 cals) and I wired brushed one right away to see how well they'd clean up.....It was the most rusted also.....


The single press was basically complete (other than needing whatever die you'd use and whatever shell holder you'd need) but still needed some TLC.....




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[JMLangford]

I started with the easiest one first....the single press

Disassembled and scraped and painted and polished and reassembled....then mounted it to a piece of oak to clamp to my bench.....(I installed the decapping die but I don't yet have a proper shell holder).....




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[JMLangford]

Next, I took apart and cleaned all the dies then started on the body of the progressive press.....


I cleaned these three uprights then re-blued them.....(they look brownish but I think it's the reflection of the bench top....they're actually black)


Found an oak board to mount it to also (I've got a lot of stair thread cut-offs from a wood shop years ago)




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[JMLangford]

Next, I began taking every piece of the press apart for inspection and cleaning....


Reassembling and timing everything so it comes up at the proper station in the process.....


Got the oak board tung-oiled, then re-mounted the press for reassembly.....




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[JMLangford]

I had to buy a few parts that was missing from the Pro 1000 press....
Auto powder measure and hopper
Priming attachment
Case feeder tubes
and a 9mm shell holder for the single press.....


I mentioned at the first of these posts, that I got these presses extremely cheap....and it's a good thing cause at the time I bought the missing components (about a year ago) I could have bought the Lee Pro 1000 with (new) dies for not much more than I'll have in this one.....Now, it and the single press has come down even more since last year......but what the hey

Dropped in the dies and adjusted them (thanks Youtube) put some cases in the tubes, and did a dry run to make sure everything worked....Got a (imaginary) completed round at every pull of the handle!!......




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[JMLangford]

I just noticed something .....Most everything I've posted so far has been RED


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[ndnchf]

Nice refurb on the press! Ive been using a Lee press for over 30 years, it has served me very well. A few years ago I picked up an old Lyman Spartan press and gave it a full resto, with a couple upgrades. I documented the process here.

http://http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?294650-Lyman-Spartan-Refurb&highlight=Spartan