Lodestone25

Hey guys, I moved a few years ago and one of my chandelier pieces had to sit in a garage for about 2.5 years. I pulled it out today because I finally have a place to put it again, and found it had (not surprisingly) developed quite the patina and is even rusting in many places. It's made of mild steel and was originally treated with 4 or 5 coats of linseed oil (about 4 years ago). Does anyone have any suggestions on how I could return this to it's original luster? Thanks as always for your input fellas! (photo of the piece attached) Lodestone

Wow thank you for all the great tips gentlemen! I've never done a lot of the suggestions but I'm looking into them and experimenting on what works best. VaughnT - your chisel work is fantastic, do you do that cold or hot? To the guys who suggested electrolytic etching, is there a method/tutorial you'd recommend I follow? I'm finding all kinds of crazy suggestions online so I was hoping one of you could grant some sanity! Thanks again all, Lodestone

I was recently commissioned to forge a cross for one of my neighbors who had lost a close family member. She asked if I could inscribe her initials on the piece and I've never done that before. I tried carefully using chisels/punches to make the letters, I tried sketching them and then using a dremel to grind the letters, but everything I've done looks childish and not fit for the piece. Does anyone have any suggestions on a good way to do this? (photo is the completed cross, waiting for initials.) Thanks all! Lodestone

Ok, I feel a lot better now. I thought I had overlooked something and maybe ruined the blade! Thanks for your input fellas! Lodestone

I made my wife a kitchen knife for her birthday out of O-1 Steel, and I need a little help with care and maintenance. I was actually pretty happy with how it turned out (see first picture). I told her she'd have to clean it immediately after use and store it with a thin coat of mineral oil to ensure it doesn't rust. Well, the first time she used it to cut some chicken, she said after about 7 minutes the blade had colored to what's shown in the second picture. That staining will not come off with soap and water. What is going on there? I'm sure I could buff it or sand it back to clean, but is there something else we're doing wrong here? Thanks in advance for your help! Lodestone

Yeah i made an S hanger because i thought it might look neat, but I agree with you ciladog-- it would have been better with a gooseneck. maybe I'll do that next weekend!

Finished today! Here are some pictures of it hanging in my dining room. The wire's blend in really nice, can't really notice them at all. We've got a big dining room table on order that will fit better with it, but for now we'll have to make due with the little one. Overall I'm very happy with how it turned out. Lodestone

Yep, I have a grounding wire coming down to a copper clamp bound around a structural piece of the chandelier. Lodestone

Just to keep everyone posted, I ended up running the wires along the inside of one scroll-arm, around the spiral, and up into the center cylinder (This was JimsShip's Idea - thank you sir!). I attached the wire to the steel in three places each by putting a little acetone on the buffer wheel of my Dremel and buffing the oil off in small spots for a dab of Loctite super gel. This stuff cures in 60 seconds and held the wires to the steel great. If i didn't clean the spot off well enough (ie there was still Linseed oil in the area), the glue would not hold in the slightest and I'd have to re-buff and try again. In the end, i think it turned out really well. Oh, and I had my neighbor (who owns his one electrician company) come by to make sure my wiring was legit and he said it looked great. so it should be safe as well! Thanks for your input fellas, Lodestone

Thanks for your input gentlemen, it's much appreciated. I'm definitely going to be running the wires along that twist to help hold it in place, and I think I'm going to try to attach them mechanically in some discreet way, like small zip ties... or another idea i had was burning the paper off of twist ties and using the thin blackened wire to hold it in a couple places. Maybe I'll try both and see what happens. doc, do you think silicon caulk would hold to the oiled steel and the wire? I dont have any experience with the stuff, but that would be my concern. Chinobi, thanks for the compliment sir! that means a lot to me. Lodestone

I've finally finished the metalwork part of a chandelier I've been working on for about a year now and I have a question on the best way to run the wires. My plan all along has been to just run them along the steel "arms" of the chandelier and then up and into the center piece where they will be wired together (see pictures). I'm trying to think of a way to discreetly make sure the wires stay "attached" to the steel arms along the way to the center piece, so that they don't hang down and look all sloppy. At first I was thinking very small dabs of hot glue spaced every couple of inches would do it, but now that the piece is finished (I used several coats of linseed oil), I'm concerned that linseed oil and hot glue might not be the best idea. Does anyone know if there is a different adhesive that would work better? Any other ideas on a better way to do this? Thank you for your help!! Lodestone

I've got her all welded up and almost ready for finishing... right now I'm thinking heating to black and applying Linseed oil may work the best. My only concern with leaving it "raw metal" versus say coating it with black rustoleum or something like that, is that my welds aren't exactly the cleanest so maybe a coat of rustoleum would help hide some of the imperfections. any thoughts guys?

Wow thanks for the pics Martin! That's exactly what I was hoping to find here!!! I really like finish on your third piece!

Thanks very much for your input guys, I'll have to try out a few of your suggestions to see what works best. I'll be sure to post pics when I'm done! Thanks again, Lodestone

Thanks for the suggestion Woody, any input on where I could find instructions on that type of finish? Or is it just a product I can buy?