Whitman & Barnes Railroad Special Wrench

[NateHiggins]

Got this bad Larry off ebay, probably one of the easier restorations Ive done. I've done a good number of wrenches now, and I'm still going back and forth on the best way to get them running smooth again. My normal method is to take wrenches completely apart and really scour the rust and century-old grease away, but sometimes, like in this case, I can't take the wrench apart without causing serious damage to it. I more or less soaked the thing in carb cleaner, and that got out a lot of the old grime, but it's still pretty squeaky. I'm not even sure how to get the inside of that hollow handle cleaned up, since there's only a small hole. I can see the rust, just can't get to it.
Anyone else restore these old monkey wrenches? I'd love to hear your process.

 

[steaks&anvils]

Read this thread:

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=473607

I like evaporust, then a good scrub with a green scrubby and dish soap to get the black oxide off. Dry well (set it on the heater vent, blow dryer, hot sun). Wipe with oil or BLO (boiled linseed oil) to keep the flash rust away.