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

[jdbilodeau]

OCD- that is beautiful and a great remembrance!

 

[drivesitfar]

OCD: AWESOME and it looks like maybe you were doing some work on the old handle or did you make a new handle too?

I'm sure your Gramps will be impressed as we all are. WELL DONE!!

 

[don long]

What a great transition on that old hatchet. Your Dad should be proud to display it now. It should bring back old memories for a long time.
Thanks for sharing

Don

 

[OCD]

OCD: AWESOME and it looks like maybe you were doing some work on the old handle or did you make a new handle too?

I'm sure your Gramps will be impressed as we all are. WELL DONE!!

Thank you guys!!

There was no handle on it, but My Dad picked one up... I have to get it from him and maybe stain and clear it...


Gramps is looking down from above!! I was lucky to have him in my life, he taught me so much!!

 

[OCD]

Eric & OCD - you fellas are making me jealous. That's nice work. Damn.
Bill

There was some trial and error involved!! The pics were from the second time I painted it...

The first time I didn't scuff up the surface enough after polishing the face, this happened, opps...

 

[paulm12]

I was wondering why you polished the whole thing, only to paint. Also if it would work well.

 

[MacTexas]

Just found this thread today. Thinking of all the tools I have to polish. I may give it a try.

 

[OCD]

I was wondering why you polished the whole thing, only to paint. Also if it would work well.

I got a little carried away with the polishing!!

The first round didn't work so well!! I also used a 1k primer to start with, it might have been the wrong choice? Second go round I used 2K primer, and reblasted it first...

I want to clear the whole thing, but I am not sure about the clear sticking to the polished surface...

 

[don long]

I've sprayed clear on polished areas before and some products work much better than others. there is a rattle can clear that works very well but tonite I don't remember the name of it . O'Reillys parts house carries it

 

[Jamie in wv]

Projects....the saw is almost done and the drill I just got it out for pic....bought the saw with case at pawn shop $10 the drill was giving to me....both operate as they did when new....

 

[don long]

Jamie
Those will be fun to spiff up. great finds

 

[eric.holmslice]

This thread is awesome, I’m getting more ideas from everyone.


Finished up the the Porter Cable today. It runs great now. I double insulated all the old wires and added a ground. The thing weighs a ton and has a nice rotation speed. I’ll likely use it when I power ball the aluminum wheels on my Trans Am.








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[don long]

Here is a blow torch that I've been working on in my spare time

the black one

1 by don long, on Flickr

After a trip to the bead blaster

3 by don long, on Flickr

4 by don long, on Flickr

The plunger shaft needs a bit of love

5 by don long, on Flickr

I pushed most of the dends out using a pointed rod in my vice and prying through a hole in the bottom of the torch then a coat of dent fix (bondo)

6 by don long, on Flickr

A couple trips to the paint booth for primer

8 by don long, on Flickr

I got ******* with excitement and left my phone in the house for the painting but here it is today waiting for the other few parts to be painted and installed

IMG_2869 by don long, on Flickr

IMG_2870 by don long, on Flickr

 

[JHuston]

Finished up the the Porter Cable today. It runs great now. I double insulated all the old wires and added a ground. The thing weighs a ton and has a nice rotation speed. I’ll likely use it when I power ball the aluminum wheels on my Trans Am.




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That is one sharp looking D-6 sander; I don't know if you do wood turning, but they also excel at sanding/polishing bowls, due to the speed and power.
-James Huston

 

[OCD]

I've sprayed clear on polished areas before and some products work much better than others. there is a rattle can clear that works very well but tonite I don't remember the name of it . O'Reillys parts house carries it

I wet sanded it, then cleared the whole thing with this,

It stuck great!! I even wet sanded and polished the final clear coat... It came out like glass!!

I painted one of my hammers while working on the axe head, lol

Tuxedo Black, same color as my truck...

 

[don long]

Now that's a custom hammer. Your axe looks fantastic. The extra work was well worth it. where are you planning to hang it? somewhere that you will see it every day I'd hope!

 

[OCD]

Now that's a custom hammer. Your axe looks fantastic. The extra work was well worth it. where are you planning to hang it? somewhere that you will see it every day I'd hope!

Thank you Don!! My parents are going to hang it over the fireplace at the cabin... I don't go there very much but that's ok, I was given some tools that were my Grandfathers...

I really like the projects you do, they are great inspiration!!

 

[autoclassicnut]

OCD good work on your grandfather's axehead... could have left one side as is for a good look back of all the years of abuse it had been through to compare it to the polished look

 

[1/2 Cup]

I couldn't resist

from this

View media item 81683
to this.

View media item 81684

 

[drivesitfar]

1/2: VERY WELL DONE SIR!!

OCD: I love what you did with that old ax head and you're giving me and maybe us ideas on how to shine up are basic tools we use all the time to with that cool hammer paint job.

ALL: remember if you have time to post up your cool projects maybe take a few pictures of the tools and supplies you used and tell us maybe how much time you spent on a project and how you did it cause some are definitely out of this world AWESOME.

 

[Bob Heine]

There was a time in my life, not so long ago (OK, 20 years ago) when I was content with disassembling my '87 Corvette engine and polishing the aluminum pieces. It started like this...

...and evolved into this:

While there is no good reason to have a polished engine, there is even less for having a polished suspension. I'm hoping this thread can help me control these urges.

Garage Journal hasn't been a big help, introducing me to other kinds of polishing, like tools. I have one or two Snap-On tools but most of mine are Craftsman, Harbor Freight, Kobalt and even some itinerant tool show (Shriners?) tools. My garage hammers are typical and don't really deserve all the time I spend polishing some of them.

I haven't tried to polish the plastic mallets or the 2-pound sledge but maybe there's a way. MP&C introduced me to polished faces on body hammers so I did some of mine. While I was at it, a few others including the ball pein and tack hammers got their rust removed.

I am always looking for ways to make life easier and my polishing stuff is one of those things. In that last picture those belts are for sanding and polishing. The belts on the left are Scotch Brite coarse, medium and fine and the ones on the right are different grit sandpaper from 80 to 2500. The finer grit belts are Trizact and help remove sanding scratches in a big hurry. The belts go on a rubber expander wheel. I got mine from Eastwood but there may be other sources.

 

[Bob Heine]

I don't have a Baldor buffer. Mine is a cheap Harbor Freight 6-inch buffer with an expander wheel on one side and a doubled-up (or maybe it's tripled up) buffing wheel on the other. I mounted the buffer on a Harbor Freight Vise Hitch and put a receiver on one of the benches in the workshop (a very dirty place). It works great because the wheels are accessible in that lower front quadrant (reducing the chances of a bad kickback).

My other buffing tool is a grinder with a wire wheel on one side and an EXL wheel on the other. The EXL wheel is probably the best de-burring tool in my shop and it does an excellent job polishing all kinds of metals.

Unfortunately the 6-inch diameter, 1-inch wide EXL wheel isn't cheap. I found one in the $50 range but the cheapest I can find now is in the $60+ range. Amazon carries them but you might get a better deal if you shop around.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006N7LOO/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Richard D]

+$70 with shipping, that's pretty dear. Are they long lasting?

 

[trijeff]

+$70 with shipping, that's pretty dear. Are they long lasting?

I just have the half inch version but I can say they do last a long time, I even use a dresser on mine from time to time. Do your research on the different construction, materials and hardness ... don't have it handy but I recall 3M website having an approx 30pg pdf on the deburring wheels. Good read.

 

[don long]

I couldn't resist

from this

View media item 81683
to this.

View media item 81684

That is a sweet Bench grinder!!!

Did you polish those inner cases or have them chromed?
Steve I'd be proud to have that beauty sitting on my bench

 

[Bob Heine]

+$70 with shipping, that's pretty dear. Are they long lasting?

I just have the half inch version but I can say they do last a long time, I even use a dresser on mine from time to time. Do your research on the different construction, materials and hardness ... don't have it handy but I recall 3M website having an approx 30pg pdf on the deburring wheels. Good read.

It took a long time for me to fork over the money but the one-inch wheel has lasted more than five years. I haven't dressed it so it certainly isn't true or square but a lot of the tools need concave places polished.

I also have the half-inch version and it works fine but does wear faster. Once you have one, the pain of its high price subsides because you can achieve results much quicker.

I think this is the PDF that shows the various options:

https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media...onditioning-wheels-selection-guide-lr-pdf.pdf

If $70 bothers you, 3M has a new EXL-XP wheel for even more $$$:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008S3ECPU/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I may not live long enough to justify one of those.

 

[1/2 Cup]

That is a sweet Bench grinder!!!

Did you polish those inner cases or have them chromed?
Steve I'd be proud to have that beauty sitting on my bench

Don, thank you.

I polished them as they are an aluminium alloy and easily polished.

 

[Richard D]

It took a long time for me to fork over the money but the one-inch wheel has lasted more than five years. I haven't dressed it so it certainly isn't true or square but a lot of the tools need concave places polished.
u, 3M has a new EXL-XP whee.

Damn, you just sold me.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006N7LOO/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[1/2 Cup]

...and evolved into this:

While there is no good reason to have a polished engine, there is even less for having a polished suspension. I'm hoping this thread can help me control these urges.

Garage Journal hasn't been a big help, introducing me to other kinds of polishing, like tools. I have one or two Snap-On tools but most of mine are Craftsman, Harbor Freight, Kobalt and even some itinerant tool show (Shriners?) tools. My garage hammers are typical and don't really deserve all the time I spend polishing some of them.


I haven't tried to polish the plastic mallets or the 2-pound sledge but maybe there's a way. MP&C introduced me to polished faces on body hammers so I did some of mine. While I was at it, a few others including the ball pein and tack hammers got their rust removed.

Bob, I have to say this thread will not control your urges to polish stuff.

Trust me..

 

[Bob Heine]

Bob, I have to say this thread will not control your urges to polish stuff.

Trust me..

Steve, I suspect I am well past the entrance to this Wombat hole.

"Wombats are efficient diggers, and their burrows can be from 3 to 30 meters (10 to 100 feet) long and up to 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) deep."

 

[OCD]

OCD good work on your grandfather's axehead... could have left one side as is for a good look back of all the years of abuse it had been through to compare it to the polished look

Thank you... It's funny, I thought about your idea after I was finished...

1/2: VERY WELL DONE SIR!!

OCD: I love what you did with that old ax head and you're giving me and maybe us ideas on how to shine up are basic tools we use all the time to with that cool hammer paint job.

ALL: remember if you have time to post up your cool projects maybe take a few pictures of the tools and supplies you used and tell us maybe how much time you spent on a project and how you did it cause some are definitely out of this world AWESOME.

Thanks Drives, I love working on these kind of projects!! Painting the hammer was an after thought!! I had 2k clear left from the axe head, so I wanted to use it up... Threw the hammer in the blast cabinet, and I had the Tuxedo Black base coat from when I painted my trailer!! Now I have to paint the rest of my hammers too!! I want to paint my monkey wrenches green at some point too!! Lol...


I wasn't happy with the handle so I sanded and cleared it... Got a bit carried away and got some runs... It was late and dark outside!!

I will hit it with 320 and throw on a couple more lighter coats of clear...

 

[Mr_P]

I didn't get a great before picture, but here are the results from a polished airplane propeller sprinkler....

 

[bonneyman]

Here is a cool hand drill I bought for $5. I took it apart, added a new cord, regreased, and buffed it with my Craftsman block grinder. Pretty sure I have a new hobby now.













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I found a 1/4" drive Craft Kit drill that needs your polishing skills. Man it was rough! But since I already have a 1/"4er, I left it.

 

[OCD]

Well, they should be easy to spot when looking for one!!

 

[akasrick]

Well, they should be easy to spot when looking for one!!

OH BOY !

akasrick

 

[WoodsTruck]

It needs some gold pin stripping now...

 

[OCD]

It needs some gold pin stripping now...

That's a good idea!!

 

[C_F]

It needs some gold pin stripping now...

I was thinking the same thing.

 

[bonneyman]

Well, they should be easy to spot when looking for one!!

Yikes! I think we have a winner for the "prettiest hammer" award!

 

[Innov8tive1]

I'm not really a tool polisher......yet. Damn there are some pretty tools in this thread. I do, however like the look of things "fixed up". I have a nice Parks bandsaw that I plan to "polish" some day. Also a nice older Delta planer that need some love. Working on workshop organization right now and the only thing I have to show in this thread is this workbench. It was the teacher's desk/workbench from a high school science room. I replaced a few rough looking pieces of it and sunk the chop saw into it. Gave it some shiny paint and well, here it is! I've added toe kicks to it since then and I'm currently in the process of building a "clean room" in one corner of the shop. Once built, this will rest up against the outside of the room and have other cabinets join it. At that point I'll do something about the top.