One of the Millers Falls braces I recently purchased(on ebay), has a sticky handle. It's the handle on the offset. It is very hard to turn at all. It's gummy. It's a tropical hardwood, and appears to have a bonze sleeve in the handle that rotates on the shaft. So I want to get it loosened up, but I don't want to hurt the handle or finish if possible. Any suggestions on what to use? A solvent or a lubricant? I'm thinking a solvent to try to clean it out. Alcohol? Mineral Spirits? Wax and grease remover? Lacquer thinner? Maybe then a lubricant. I do not use WD40 or anything with silicone, but I have a lube called LPS1, or maybe gun oil?
I'd start with RR (RustReaper). Then I'd use some more RR. :)
www.rustreaper.com
Use your LPS . You want a lubricant in the bronze bushing ,once loose put a drop or two of gun oil in there every so often.
All of the other antique braces I've bought spin very freely. I think there must be something in there, something very sticky, which was why I was thinking solvent. I don't have the rust reaper. I'd have to order it on line. I am more abt to try the lps, because I have it on hand. It doesn't feel like rust, it feels gummy. Thanks for the advice guys.
Do yourself a favor and order a starter kit of RustReaper anyway, Brad. It is an extremely high quality penetrating lubricant that will crawl into places you wouldn't believe. Mike tells me it was originally developed as a gun oil. Give him a call and he'll have it on the way ASAP.
Just had to read this one. Main board says" sticky handle on bra".
Wondered what that had to do with wood workin. :D :D ;D
OH.Good luck with the brace Brad!
I've found that bore solvent, for gun cleaning, will take about anything off metal. A few years ago I had a tough time getting leftover herbicide out of an applicator, which somebody didn't clean. I tried all the routine metal cleaning products, nothing worked. Tried the bore solvent and it worked immediately. I've used it ever since for getting rid of stubborn sticky stuff on metal parts.
Another lubricant you might try after getting it clean is powdered graphite. Comes in tubes you can squirt by pressing the tube. Sold in electronics stores here.
I went and messed with it yesterday and today. I tried bore solvent first. It was nearly locked up to start with and the bore solvent loosened it up by about 40 percent. I applied it a number of times and worked it. I left it over night and it seemed to get more sticky overnight- makes sense as the solvent evaporates. So I applied the bore solvent again today and got it back to about he 40 percent reduced mark. I couldn't get it any better so I decided to try the LPS. At first it only improved a little, but as I worked it in, applied more on each side of handle and kept working it in, it finally gave way and is now about 95percent or more loosened up - nearly loose like my other ones. Success! Thanks for the input. I'd have tried the rust reaper if I had it. I don't often need rust penetrants these days, if I did, I'd try the Reaper.