Rusty Files......

[Junkman]

I have some files that I picked up at a swap meet with some other tools, that are covered with rust. I was thinking of using Evaporust to clean them of the rust. Do you think that this will do more harm than good? Right now, they work, but not as good as a new sharp file would..

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

Junkman,

I have soaked some that I picked up that were rusted. Pulled them out, rinsed, dried them off and used a file card to get the rust out of them. They work a lot better than they did. It was a pity they were in that shape as all 4 were Nicholson files

 

[ZRX61]

Just leave em in vinegar for a few hours... LOT cheaper than Evaporust..

 

[Bolster]

I'd try EOR on them. I can't figure out how the files would become 'duller' after EOR (or vinegar or whatever). Wasn't there a thread here a while back that etching acids were a way of SHARPENING files?

BTW, if you are throwing out your vinegar after you use it, then EOR may not be so expensive after all. You can reuse it again and again, just filter it.

 

[Bolster]

Also...since the advent of EOR, I have become a student of different types of rust.

I love the bright red powdery stuff, it looks terrible and comes off nicely. But if the rust is darker and has been pitting the tool, then the tool will look like **** even when the rust is removed.

So I guess the lesson is: check the amount of pitting. Sometimes a light rust looks terrible (by color) but is very thin.

 

[snapmom]

Those dark ones, after eor, use fine foamed backed sandpaper on it, will take the black off, it takes it to a dull steel, then coat it with something like, Gibbs.

 

[Richard Givan]

After I finish some other projects that are much more urgent, I intend to give a go at sharpening some files of my own. I came across this link--http://swingleydev.com/archive/get.php?message_id=157695&submit_thread=1--that confirmed what I had read years ago. If I ever do get around to it, I'll try to take some pics and post the results.