Cleaning up a tenon saw with Evaporust

[lowpolyjoe]

I got a lot of advise on a few different forums for different ways to clean up the set of antique handtools I picked up last year.  One method that a few people mentioned was a product called Evaporust.  It's a soaking solution that removes rust.

It's not cheap, so it took a while to convince myself to try it.  I finally bought a 5gallon bucket full from Amazon a month or two ago.  It was near $100, but supposedly it can be used repeatedly before it starts to lose its effectiveness.

[lowpolyjoe]

One of the tools in the worst shape in my collection was this tenon saw.   I cut a bunch of tenons over the last few weeks during a kitchen-cart project I've been working on.  I have a few nice dovetail saws, but my tenon saws are not very good (I believe they are the newer, non sharpenable variety).  The frustration of using them led me to work on cleaning up this old gem

[lowpolyjoe]

I made some effort to unscrew the handle, but it wasn't working out well and I was afraid I would completely destroy those fasteners and then have to source something new and possibly build a new handle.   I don't remember if Evaporust claims to be safe for wood, but I did dunk an old file including the wooden handle (I couldn't get it off) a while ago and the wood lightened a bit, but didn't disintegrate or anything.  So I ended up dunking the saw with the handle, although only part of the handle was submerged.

After the Evaporust does its job, there's generally a black coating where the rust was and you have to scrub it off.   



I use a steel wire brush if I don't care about the item, or a brass brush if I'm worried about marking it up too bad.  I gave this a shot with the steel bush but quickly realized it was making marks and switched to the brass.  Still streaked it up a bit, but not too bad.





I'm pretty happy with the results of this product.  Saves me a lot of sanding.  I've used it on maybe 20 cutting irons and a dozen small hand tools at this point.  I had to soak this saw for maybe 4 days to get reasonable results.  Less rusted stuff may see results in a day or so.




I gave a quick effort at sharpening this saw and it was cutting pretty well, but I need to spend a little more time tuning it up before my next project.  I want to refine the tooth angles and I have a few tooth setters, but I need to research tooth-setting to see how it applies to tenon saws

[CHARLIE]

That was interesting and I'm glad you posted.  I have some old wood planes that need the rust removed.  I'm glad to know about Evaporust.

[pineywoods]

Try plain ole vinegar. works fine and much cheaper. I soaked the parts of my blade sharpener in vinegar, came out like new..

[LaneC]

x2

[Dodgy Loner]

That's a fine saw you have there. You'd need a split-nut driver to remove those sawnuts without buggering them up. Lie-Nielsen sells one. I'd have been scared to death to soak that handle in Evaporust, but it looks like it came out alright. Like Pineywoods, I use vinegar to de-rust my tools. I usually dilute it 50/50 with water and soak overnight. Haven't found a tool yet that it couldn't handle. At $2/gallon, the price is certainly right. Definitely don't want to soak your wood in it though, unless you want it to turn gray.

I have a tenon saw of my own that I've been meaning to sharpen one of these days. It's a ~1930's Atkins Silver Steel. Great shape, not even a speck of rust, but for some reason I've never gotten around to fixing it up.

[lowpolyjoe]

A lot of people mentioned vinegar, but a few people told me it can ruin the steel if you soak it too long or don't clean the vinegar off properly.  That worried me a bit.  I bit the bullet and now i'll have this 5 gallon bucket full of deruster for a long while.

Dodgy, is this the tool to remove the fasteners?   Or is it a nail puller?  I couldn't decide  :D.   the curve in the arm makes me think it's a puller.  It needs derusting as well





If fits the fasteners almost perfectly but I couldn't get a great hold of them to turn them.  Maybe after derusting they will come off easier.   I have a small split nut driver bit or two in a 'security bit' set I have, but they didn't fit these bolts. 

[Dodgy Loner]

A lot of people mentioned vinegar, but a few people told me it can ruin the steel if you soak it too long or don't clean the vinegar off properly.

Well, those people are full of "it". Sure, if you forget and leave the tool in the vinegar for three days, you will get some slight pitting on the steel, but it won't be "ruined" by any stretch. More importantly, though, don't forget. 12-24 hours is sufficient to remove any rust I've ever encountered. Cleaning the vinegar off "properly" involves nothing more than a thorough rinse in tap water. If you want to get fancy, you can dip it in a weak solution of baking soda to neutralize any remaining acid. I find that a thorough drying and a light coat of 3-in-1 oil solves any problems with rusting after you remove it from the vinegar.

Dodgy, is this the tool to remove the fasteners?   Or is it a nail puller?  I couldn't decide  :D.   the curve in the arm makes me think it's a puller. 

That's a nail puller. A proper split nut screwdriver is pretty much a necessity for dealing with those sawnuts.

[Larry]

I have a drawer full of screwdrivers I've ground for just about any occasion.  This one looks proper for saw handles but I can't remember exactly why I made it. :D



Screwdrivers are cheap, and I often grind the tips for a tight fit on screws.   

[lowpolyjoe]

It's funny, that nail puller is such a close match to those fastener heads.

I'm not sure i'll remove the handle since I've already got the saw derusted, but if I do i'll have to find an old screw driver and go to work with the grinder or dremmel

Thanks guys

[Dodgy Loner]

I have a drawer full of screwdrivers I've ground for just about any occasion.  This one looks proper for saw handles but I can't remember exactly why I made it. :D



Screwdrivers are cheap, and I often grind the tips for a tight fit on screws.

That looks like it would work well. I made a split-nut driver from an old hacksaw blade, which worked fine a couple of times, but it was too thin and brittle. I ended up just buying a split-nut driver that works well. I bought it with all the money I saved using vinegar instead of Evaporust ;D

[lowpolyjoe]

That looks like it would work well. I made a split-nut driver from an old hacksaw blade, which worked fine a couple of times, but it was too thin and brittle. I ended up just buying a split-nut driver that works well. I bought it with all the money I saved using vinegar instead of Evaporust ;D

:-\

:D

[Bark Beetle]

Will either remove paint and bring out the etchings?

[woodworker9]

Removing the split nuts on old saws is often made easier by first taking the correct sized carving gouge, or a very sharp exacto knife, and very carefully work your way around the medallion/split nuts on your saw......both sides.  As the wood of the handle ages, it dries out and shrinks tighter and tighter around the metal of the nuts.  This little trick will help prevent breaking out the wood around the nut/medallion when you go to push it through the saw, or try to remove the nut.

This is also the same reason why a lot of old wooden planes get split.  They shrink as they dry, and this causes them to bind up on the cutting iron. If it continues, the iron causes the plane to split.  Many more get stuck and it's nearly impossible to get the plane iron out of the plane without breaking it.

[lowpolyjoe]

Thanks for the tip woodworker9.  If I get ambitious maybe i'll give that a try

Bark Beetle, I'm not sure about Evaporust (or vinegar)  removing paint.   I only had 1 tool that had a very small amount of paint on it.  It sort of scrubbed off after sitting in the evaporust for a while, but I think it was loose already.  I don't think paint removal if it's main job. 

I did have one tool ( a slick ) that had a good amount of rust and after the evaporust treatment I was able to see engraved makers marks that were very hard to see before the treatment.  There was no paint to cut through though.

[Bark Beetle]

Thanks I thought it probably didn't remove paint