Dielectric Rust Removal an old Scythe

[In The Doghouse]

A friend wants an old scythe from the family farm restored to hang as decoration. I have been learning the techniques of the Dielectric process. Have any of you done this?

I have some rebar I can use, but it has a rusty surface already. Can I use it as is, or do I need to first de-rust the rebar? As you know the rebar is knobby and doesn't sand very easily.

A video I watched instructed to use Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda. I should be able to find this at the local Walmart, unless it too is sold out. Might other household cleaners work just as well?

I have the Battery Tender brand trickle charger. Will this work for this application?

After rust removal, what color should these be painted? I figured semi-flat black for the collar and fastener hardware. Maybe a John Deere green for the blade, or Allis Chalmers red or something.

The wooden shaft of the scythe was pressure washed last week. It will be sanded, stained and polyurethane coated. I think it will turn out nice.

I'm attaching a photo of the parts of concern.

 

[ransil]

I use a 40amp charger

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[rustyzman]

No need to derust the rebar, just make sure you have a clean spot for the electrical connection. It will rust like mad as soon as you start your electrolysis. Be sure to hook it up correctly polarity wise or your parts will be the ones to rust away. I used baking soda when I could not find washing soda years ago. The surface will be very very pitted because this will remove most all the rust and it will have a black coating on it that you will have to clean off. Effective method though.
I also used a professional conventional battery charger at 20-40 amps. Not sure the battery tender will do it.

Alternative is phosphoric acid (concrete cleaner or even coca cola) or even white vinegar.

 

[RTM]

Battery tender probably will not work. Washing soda is much faster than baking soda. Other laundry products may not work. Enough ions or something is the big deal.

Rustys alternative will eat good metal, electrolysis will not

 

[In The Doghouse]

How long does one leave the power connected? I have the jump starter pack that recharges the cell phone multiple times but I don't know how long it may last connected up the dielectric process.

 

[ransil]

How long does one leave the power connected? I have the jump starter pack that recharges the cell phone multiple times but I don't know how long it may last connected up the dielectric process.

Overnight

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[RTM]

That may have too much intelligence to work. You neeed a stupid charger that doesn’t look at load, amps, anything like that, just puts out current

 

[steaks&anvils]

Try this thread:

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=237752&highlight=electrolysis

There may be another one too, I haven't needed to build one yet.

I use evapo-rust (very safe to use, does not eat the metal just the rust) or plain old white vinegar (but vinegar is pretty aggressive, so check it often or your piece will be eaten alive).

 

[Shiftless]

Try this thread:

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=237752&highlight=electrolysis

There may be another one too, I haven't needed to build one yet.

I use evapo-rust (very safe to use, does not eat the metal just the rust) or plain old white vinegar (but vinegar is pretty aggressive, so check it often or your piece will be eaten alive).

to that ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I use Evaporust a lot for those same reasons.

But think about this... If you are painting the blade, why not just wire wheel it smooth, use Rustoleum rusty metal primer and apply your final color?

 

[Leviton]

Quite a few good ideas here: Wire wheel, Evapo-Rust or the electrolysis tank.

I like Shiftless' idea since your are going to paint it anyway.

If you do want to use the E-tank... you were asking how long to leave it in.
Leave it in until all the rust is gone. However, every once in a while, pull it out, wire brush it to get the carbon/build-up off, rinse it, and put it back in. It will take a while.

 

[Farmer J.]

After rust removal, what color should these be painted? I figured semi-flat black for the collar and fastener hardware. Maybe a John Deere green for the blade, or Allis Chalmers red or something.

The wooden shaft of the scythe was pressure washed last week. It will be sanded, stained and polyurethane coated. I think it will turn out nice.

I have a scythe hanging in my barn and remember my Father getting it new, before strimmers came along!
The handle was varnish, and all the metalwork was a bright red including full length along the back of the blade for about 1" wide, but the cutting edge was bright steel.
So I suggest red for the metalwork and maybe do silver along the cutting edge.

Good luck with the rust removal however you do it. I use an electrolysis tank it works great so simple and easy and cheap. I have a basic 1980's battery charger that does max 4 amp, a plastic tub and a length of rebar dangling in to the solution.

 

[elidas]

I use a garden variety $5 estate sale battery charger connected to battery and then to the part.

 

[Shiftless]

I use a garden variety $5 estate sale battery charger connected to battery and then to the part.

That’s the way to do it.
Most modern battery chargers have electronics to sense if it’s connected to a battery. That circuitry interferes with using it to directly power an electrolysis tank which doesn’t “look” like a battery to the electronic sensors in the charger. You can get around this problem if you put a battery into the circuit.

My only caution here is that if you use a battery to put a fuse into the circuit. Without a fuse, an accidental short might cause the battery to explode.

 

[In The Doghouse]

This morning I plugged in the charger and the rust is slowly coming off.

I realize in my title I may have used the wrong term to describe this process. It should be Electrolysis instead of Dielectric. But I'm unable to edit the title.

I found this Schumacher charger I have mounted near the Camaro will deliver 12V to the system.

 

[Farmer J.]

That looks good. It's fun to watch the bubbles coming up and the rust coming off!

 

[Shiftless]

Glad to see it’s working for you. Keep us posted about the progress. With just 2 amps and a relatively small surface area of those rebar pieces, it might take a while. If it slows down a lot, try cleaning the crud off of the rebar so they can conduct better.

 

[In The Doghouse]

After 28 hours of "cooking" I removed the scythe parts. They were then scrubbed with soap & water and steel wool. It is surprising how clean they became. The tool is now reassembled and awaiting my friend's decision of what color(s) to paint. I'm thinking semi-flat for the fastening hardware and a different color for the blade. Maybe red.

Whatever the blade color I want to leave in bare metal the sharpened edge as well as dull the sharpened edge to lessen the chance of injury. It's pretty sharp now as I have run a wet stone across it and found the metal really hard.

The blade is now showing signs of flash rust, it seems to be high carbon. It'll get a quick wire brushing before painting.

On another note; since I had the setup in place, I put a few miscellaneous tool parts into the tank and applied the power. A few hours later the batter charger stopped working. Have I killed it? When given the chance I'll connect it to a real battery to see if it rejuvenates.

And still another note; I was discussing this process with the friend who originally suggested this method. He said he used a PC laptop battery charger as his power source. Since I have spare chargers I may try this next time. I wish he had mentioned this earlier.

 

[Leviton]

Nice job. I like the way it looks now - without paint.

I put a few miscellaneous tool parts into the tank and applied the power.

Just make sure you don't use it for chrome plated parts. You could end up with toxic off-gassing.

 

[Farmer J.]

The tool is now reassembled and awaiting my friend's decision of what color(s) to paint. I'm thinking semi-flat for the fastening hardware and a different color for the blade. Maybe red.

Whatever the blade color I want to leave in bare metal the sharpened edge as well as dull the sharpened edge to lessen the chance of injury.

Hi,' Doghouse'. Despite the urge to look at your avatar, whilst supper is on the stove I went out to my barn and climbed over a load of filthy junk, to get some pics of an old scythe just so you can see how the blade was painted! Amazing the things we do because of GJ!
What's left of the paint on this one is original, so hope that it's a helpful guide for you.
Please continue to post pics of your project, I am beginning to think maybe I should clean up my old one and hang it for display. I remember when it was bought new to do a job but times have changed and now it's a historic tool!

 

[Shiftless]

Nice job. I like the way it looks now - without paint.



Just make sure you don't use it for chrome plated parts. You could end up with toxic off-gassing.

This is a VERY important warning. Chromium compounds also would then contaminate the water making your whole tank full toxic waste that would be very expensive to properly dispose of.

Sorry your battery charger may have failed. Did it get hot? Sounds like there might have been too much current flow. If you run that set up again, it would be a good idea to get an ammeter into the circuit to monitor current flow and make sure it doesn’t exceed the rating of your power supply.

 

[In The Doghouse]

Nice job. I like the way it looks now - without paint.



Just make sure you don't use it for chrome plated parts. You could end up with toxic off-gassing.

I too am liking it without paint. I have some boiled linseed oil I could apply if he wants to keep this look. Nothing was chrome plated, but thanks for the caution.

Hi,' Doghouse'. Despite the urge to look at your avatar, whilst supper is on the stove I went out to my barn and climbed over a load of filthy junk, to get some pics of an old scythe just so you can see how the blade was painted! Amazing the things we do because of GJ!
What's left of the paint on this one is original, so hope that it's a helpful guide for you.
Please continue to post pics of your project, I am beginning to think maybe I should clean up my old one and hang it for display. I remember when it was bought new to do a job but times have changed and not it's a historic tool!

Thank you for the photos. Your blade was originally red which makes sense for a sharp object one would be flailing around. I'll share your photos with the owner of this scythe to help him decide.

This is a VERY important warning. Chromium compounds also would then contaminate the water making your whole tank full toxic waste that would be very expensive to properly dispose of.

Sorry your battery charger may have failed. Did it get hot? Sounds like there might have been too much current flow. If you run that set up again, it would be a good idea to get an ammeter into the circuit to monitor current flow and make sure it doesn’t exceed the rating of your power supply.

It is mounted on an arm making it accessible to the Camaro when it's parked in that side of the garage. Mounted this way I don't trip over the wire and the arm also holds a light that can illuminate the engine bay. I never felt it to see if it was warm. I hope I didn't destroy this battery charger in my quest to refurbish this scythe. Hopefully when I connect it to a real battery it wakes up and rejoins the living.

 

[In The Doghouse]

When I connected the battery charger to the Camaro's battery the charger regained conscientious and began charging again. I'm glad it isn't burned out.

Presently I'm waiting on my friend to drop by and decide paint colors. When the scythe is completed I'll revisit here with photos of the completed project.

Thank you all for your help. Next is the rebuilding of a gumball machine and will get a new thread devoted to it.

 

[In The Doghouse]

Here are a few photos of the Scythe completed and reassembled. It is now proudly displayed in my Friend's living room. He had found this in an old outbuilding on some family land that goes back 100+ years.

The wood was sprayed with a deck cleaner solution then stripped with the pressure washer. I sanded it to remove sharp edges, but retained the scars of usage. I applied one coat of Minwax Red Oak stain and several coats of a wipe-on polyurethane that applies smoothly without brush marks.

After the de-rusting of the metal I applied a coat of boiled linseed oil before assembly. I'm going to let him borrow my bottle of boiled linseed oil to apply a 2nd coat.

I sharpened the blade then dulled the cutting edge. You could cut yourself but you'd have to try pretty hard.

I think it turned out pretty nice.

 

[Leviton]

Nice Job! I like it.

Thanks for following through with your "after" photos.

 

[Lassen Forge]

Wow, that cleaned up nice... well done!

 

[SweetD]

Came out really nice. I like the boiled linseed oil treatment over paint.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Looks good, I'm glad you didn't paint it - they were always bare metal anyway.

My dad had a couple similar scythes when I was a kid that we used regularly for cutting weeds. It takes a little while to get the hang of using one, but once you do they really work pretty well and don't require all that much muscle power.