These are the ones I have in my collection.
Here is a general example of two types of restoration. 1. Left is an English adjustable wrench wire wheeled and cleaned to the point it looks brand new(basically). 2. Right is an American adjustable wrench lightly wire wheeled and cleaned/oiled to retain patina and eliminate surface rust.I like both results, but a resto like #1 would take 4hrs+ on the large adjustable wrench(will picture later). Resto #2 would take about an hour amd will probably look better than a full wire wheel polish.
The FlipGrip certainly seems like someone put some proper thought and effort into it. They look so much better than the el cheapo, and unlike that latter I would except them to actually work as intended. Personally I would prefer Resto #2. The first one looses something in the process for me. I don't do resto on hand tools, but I do remove rust as such from time to time. Usually on machine tools or parts. (And I got my two 3.5 square meter cast iron work tables coming up later - I expect that to be some work, especially as grinding is not an option).For that kind of work the patina, lack of it, or general look afterwards isn't really important. And I typically use acids to remove rust. If there are lots and lots of rust then some rough mechanical brushing followed by hydrochloric acid to eat away some, then make sure to stop well before it starts eating much of the actual metal. Then rinse and place in phosphorous acid. That does two things - it converts the rust to black iron which tends to drop off, or if left long enough in there it will make a blackish patina on the metal. Some kind of light phosphating treatment I assume. Anyway, somewhere between removing the rust and having an all black surface there is sometimes a nice patina which tends to follow old rust spots - and thus might look authentic. It isn't a point with machine stuff at all, but for hand tool restauration it might give a nice look if the timing is right.I think I might give it a try a later point with some other rusty tool - something salvageable though next time.
I have another version(one with bit holder stationary in the end of the handle instead of pivoting out) coming Monday or Tuesday, but condition of it is basically unknown.
Oooo, I'm looking forward to seeing pics of those iron work tables.
Thanks for the chemical rust removal information, Vidar!
Now, to get the boss man to buy me some acids in quantity.
Looking forward to seeing the tools you bring back to life. It always makes me feel like I saved the day in a small way, anytime something old can be brought back into use instead of just buying a new one.
This photo has the large adjustable wrench in it.
Show contentHope for the best, prepare fpr the worst They are really not much too look at, especially not with rust. They were originally made as precise surface tables though, so they are perfectly flat - which is quite useful many times. Hence no grinding to upset that. The problem is that the workshop is on the move, and I had to put them outside for a while. I covered them up in a nice layer of acid free wax, put a tarp on, and expected that to be the end of all potential rust issues. I was wrong, and the way I was wrong is borderline bizarre: My cast iron tables were attacked by flocks of tiny birds! Yes. Tiny birds. Attacked my iron tables. It is so far out there that I didn't even consider it. The birds basically used their tiny beakers all over to get through the tarp and eat the wax. Which again let in air and water. As a cast iron rusts over nothing that certainly didn't go well. Again - tiny birds! One really has to think about everything! Anyway, i did some stop gap measures and expect them to clean up quite well with some steps of acid, baking soda blasting, oil and wiping. Still some months off though. I should add that hydrochloric acid is just a few minutes and very important to get rid of fully afterwards - otherwise it will cause new rust directly. Phosphoric acid is much more gentle, doesn't seem to harm the steel itself (*) and can be left for a much longer time. I tend to do overnight. I still clean, dry and oil stuff afterwards to prevent new surface rust. (*) Acids will/ can cause hydrogen embrittlement with hard or high strength steel being especially vulnerable. Bake heating the metal within a reasonable time after treatment helps. Another important point is to go with as weak solutions as practically possible. Everything takes longer that way, but it is also a lot safer if something do happen. For phosphoric acid though I've found that some 25-30% seem to be some kind of lower threshold to work proper. And more importantly still, some proper protecting gear - chemical eye glasses, face shield, suitable gloves, gas mask (you don't want acid fumes eating your lungs), and some apron or coveralls. And some neutralizing agent nearby in case of smurf happens. I just had smurf happen, so I've been reignited as to the importance of this. Hydrochloric acid is nasty, while phosphoric acid is somewhat more benign. (Stay well away from anything with fluoric acid in it although I'm sure it would eat rust too - that stuff is just too dangerous in too many ways). If it is a business with a legitimate use then buying acid are easy enough. That said concentrated acids seem to be on all kinds of lists these day, and so are the buyers, and there are lots of regulations and precautions. At least that seems to be the EU way. I just get less concentrated stuff even if more expensive to just avoid all the mess - I don't need the hard stuff anyway. We do have some old tools around here that I do want to keep nice, but I haven't wanted to ruin their old impression by cleaning them up too much. So stopping further rust while keeping the general patina would be nice.
I don't think that style of wrench ever made it here. Never seen them around here. Then again, not very much old stuff around here at all so it might have been common at some point. Basically anything older than 80 years is rare.
Those tables seem even more interesting now you mention they're precision surfaced.
That is interesting about the rarity of some tool styles and vintages.
The large wrench, while not particularly valuable to collectors, is different than a majority of adjustables from the era.
I had to move one of them around a while back and it planted itself in the ground as a strap ripped off at the edge. That one is out in the open so I can take a picture or three.
It is more literal and general then that - there really isn't much human made at all here older than 80 years. (Well, discounting actual people older than 80 I guess ) Pretty much all of material history was wiped out in WW2.
I'm sure you got Ron Geesin's amazing book about UK adjustable spanners up to 1970 already?
I bet those are some heavy tables!
Am I right assume that even stuff that did survive was quickly sold to buy food and such, then some melted down/recycled to build other necessities?
Honestly no. In all fairness to myself, I have only recently started buying antique tools here and there, mostly to decorate my workshop with.
Roughly 2 metric tons each. Fairly light as far as cast iron tables tables go. I had another one twice that weight earlier, but it was cumbersome to move around so I sold it.
Not really. Not much survived in the first place, nowhere to sell it anyway, and nowhere to buy food. No shops around either - all gone. That generation was tough and had grown up in truly other times though. They were quite self sufficient for the basics. Sparse population to start with helped some. I assume some of the few blacksmiths did recycle once they had equipment in place. Later on the community in general and shops did start showing up again and so forth. But I think it was very tough going for 5-10 years afterwards for most, and longer than that for some.
It is quite a niche book in its theme, but it is quite interesting from a technical development and innovation viewpoint too. It is a fascinating book from both perspectives.
Sounds like a great way to do workshop decoration
I bet that surface would look amazing with a random orbit sanding with a 320grit disc on it, finished with a 400grit disc. Then coated with a layer of drying silicone based spray. I guess the protective layer would be subjective to the intended purposes, but untreated steel plates could be temporarily placed(or bolted using their jig holes to avoid new holes) to facilitate working materials sensitive to treatment application.
My head is going nuts with what I would do with one of those awesome work tables. I had to sell my pipe-bender years ago, because my home work bench was getting misshapen during use, even with a stress transfer plate I made going to the wall.
Son of a smurf. The second FlipGrip came and was really really rough. Not the finish, but the marks on the tools and pliers. I did polish everything, but broke the tool pivot screw during final assembly. I just left it with the pliers out on my shop table, because I know I won't find a replacement pivot for it. It isn't good enough for the collection anyway, since the pliers teeth are dinged up and the file has been used on glass or something(the cut is smoothed out completely). I'm writing that one off for now.