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Hi fellas, I'm looking for some advice on how to protect & finish the weldment areas on a 48"x24"x3/4" mild steel plate table. (see photos) There was quite an impressive layer of mill scale on the 3/4" plate to grind off. After MIG welding 2x2 and 4x4 square tube to the plate I now am concerned with protecting these areas from rust. I do not want the raw steel susceptible to rust while I figure out a solution so for now I have coated with a blend of 50/50 BLO/Turp. I am not a fan of the unfinished raw look, aesthetically I would prefer to darken the grind areas, so the one time in my life someone bends down and looks under the hood they won't laugh. This being my first fabrication table build I was hoping for advice on techniques. I have access to an oxy-fuel torch for heat, but my concern with the 3/4" plate is that I will never be able to get it hot enough in a reasonable time/cost. I've read (on this forum) the idea of shoe polish. My questions would be: If I do nothing to these areas what will happen over time? Is the 50/50 BLO/Turp a "good enough" solution over time? Black shoe polish? Is there a better trick here on how to finish this bottom area of the table? It won't be seen directly so my primary concern is rust protection. Thanks and cheers.

I notice some new lasers, designed for paint prep, that remove rust and oil and even loose paint. Has anyone here tried one yet? They look amazing in the videos! At around the $200 or $300 price level for the cheaper ones... they seem accessible for small shops. It looks to me like they might be extremely useful on projects with complex surfaces! I think they might also work to remove scale! I’d like to hear advice from anyone who has tried one out.

New to the site here. I've looked around the site and used google with no luck on an answer. I spend quite a bit of time free diving during the summer and am on the ocean water in general quite a bit. I am wanting to make a few dive knives for myself and some friends that aren't prone to rusting. So my question is what can I make my knives out of/ finish them with to make them less prone to rusting? Thanks.

I bought an anvil recently that has a decent coat of rust on it and probably hasn't been used in a bit. It's a 250# Fisher from 1892, I'll make a post with some pictures when I get a chance. I have been researching finishes and the consensus seems to be light wire brushing and boiled linseed oil coat for the sides. My question is if there is any downsides to taking a wire wheel to the sides to remove the rust before putting a linseed coat on? Aesthetically I prefer the cleaner look but I don't want to hurt the anvil in any way. Thanks!

Hi. my name is Pedro. i from Brazil. this is my first topic here. sorry about my poor english but i'm trying do my best with a google translation help hehe Recently i started to building my workshop and this weekend i found and bought a 4"1/2 leg vise that was covered by a lot of paint. so i cleaned it up and i descovered thar the jaws of my leg vise have so much rust that make holes on the steel. i want to know how can i possible repair this rust holes. the good news is that everything is aligned and there is no cracking or seriously damage to be concerned , so i am thinking to grind what i can and fill this holes with a 7018 stick welder i don't know if this is necessary but i want try to maintain the original appearance without this horrible rust holes BUT i readed that the body is made by wrought iron and the jaws is made by hardened steel so i'm afraid of put to much heat on the jaws with a sick welder and damage my vise. has anyone here that had the same experience as me? how did you do to repair that rust damage? this is the pictures of my poor rusted vise. this oranges spots is ink that i couldn't remove because of rust holes on it

Hi, I'm fairly new to forging and am having issues with my blades rusting alot. It seems like every time I make a knife 1-2 weeks later I will look and see light rust building up on the whole blade... any ideas on how to keep this from happening?

I heard about removing rust using molassas, what nonsense. But I had half a bottle in the refrigeraor and decided to give it a try. I put an old hammerhead covered mostly with rust and some remnants of the original red paint into a half and half mixture of molassas and water and sealed it up in a glass jar and put it out on the porch. Nothing happened for a couple of days. I left it soak for the rest of the week. Then I noticed some yellow scum floating on top and checked it again. The rust had turned to a black sludge that you could rub off with your fingers and the paint had loosened up to the point that it could be removed with a nylon scrub brush. I have used vinegar to remove scale but the stink is too much for me.. Does anyone understand whats happening with the molassas ??

So I see people talking about how you should stay away from forging galvanized metal, but I know that after a long time it can rust. If it's rusted would it be safe to smelt at that point? thanks

Hey guys, long time reader, made an account recently, and now I have something to post. Had been looking for a chunk of steel to hammer on, and found this Fisher on Craigslist. A wire wheel and some hot steel should shine it up nice!

There have been several discussions on the merits (or demerits) of simply using vinegar to remove rust from steel. I finally got around to shooting some before and after photos of VERY rusty horseshoes that I needed to de-rust to show how effective, simple and easy it is. I do this all the time; cleaned up 13 horseshoes this go-round. These had been laying around in the wet dirt for who-knows how long. I wire brushed the loose stuff off with my anvil wire brush, removed any nails then covered them with regular white vinegar in a plastic bucket. They soaked for a couple of days then I neutralized them with a weak baking soda solution, rinsed with water and dried. I buffed the shoes with the wire wheel on a bench grinder and they shine like a new silver dollar (wish those were still silver...).

Hi, i recently acquired my fist anvil. It was pretty dirty and rusty and it was dark so I did not notice at first, but when I cleaned it I noticed some nasty damage on my poor anvil. The pictures show the damage. My questions are these: 1. Should I worry at all? 2. Should I try to return it to the man who sold it to me? If I can't do that: 3. Can I fix it? 4. How can I fix it? Thanks for the help, I'm really new to this but my dream is to be a blacksmith and I figured owning an anvil is the first step to that.

I bought a Buffalo Forge No 616 about a year ago at an auction for $25. Looked decent shape but obviously had sat outside in grass and was rusted. it would not turn so I tried electrolysis on it and that didn't do it so now a year later I have a new plan. I don't have time to pend on this thing so I have mounted it up on my shed wall and oiled every joint and shaft opening that I could see. I then filled up the divot up at the top where the elevation wheel is to the brim.with motor 30W. I am asking for opinions about whether you think this will even work ( and time is not a problem at this pont, I can keep filling it this way for the next six months) or do I need to use the gallon of WD40 like some else suggested. Appreciate all answers.

I had a fun learning experience planned out, but then realized that I didn't know if it was even possible. First, the main question: Can one forge heavily rusted (not quite falling apart, but past "100% pitted surface") "mystery steel" using a wood/charcoal forge? If so, are there any special considerations I need to worry about? Just guessing, but I'd reckon (at least) one of 3 things would happen: 1. The hot carbon could actually Reduce the rust back into un-oxidized Iron/Steel; 2. The rust (which probably trapped some sort of dirt/minerals) would just turn to Scale and fall off (or get pounded into the base Iron as Inclusions if I didn't remove them properly); or 3. The Iron would just fall apart (from heat expanding all the rusted micro-fissures) before I could forge them back together. Here's the "why do you ask?": I wanted to do a "Building From 'Scratch'" learning experience. Walking along the beaches in my area (along an inland sea with partial access to Pacific Ocean), I noticed just how much metal there really is "just laying there". Most of this is in the form of very large bolts (1 inch diameter by 18 inches long or 2.5 by 45 cm) going through old "barrier logs" or broken dock pieces, or bits of Rebar protruding from pieces of broken concrete. Occasionally, one might find an old gate post with several large nails and a rusted/twisted hinge still on it. I'm fairly handy in the woods, but I'm no Les "Suvivorman" Stroud, so I plan on "cheating" on several aspects: having a tent, a cooler/backpack of food, a fishing pole, a canoe, and probably even my truck parked nearby. xxxx, I'll probably do this over several "visits"/camping trips that might be weeks or months apart. I know of some REALLY rural/desolate islands/beaches within easy reach of a few good "car camping" locations. As for the Forging aspects, which is the point of this particular exercise, I want to keep it as basic as possible: Only start with the "tools" I'd normally have on me any time while hiking/boating: a pocket knife, a lighter, a multi-tool (includes small hacksaw and general purpose "SawzAll" blades), length of "paracord", Magnesium fire-starter/"FireSteel", a leather belt, a roll of electrical tape, and of course my clothes. Those are actually all part of my "EveryDay Carry"... Everything else, including stock metal, will have to be found/scrounged "on-site". My "Mk 1 Forge" will be a driftwood campfire in pit in the beach sand, mostly surrounded by large rocks. If I found some natural clay to make basic cobblestone/cob, maybe make it slightly "beehive"-/"volcano"-shaped to hold in the heat and create a natural draft. Additional draft would be from hand-fanning the fire with something large and flat, maybe a piece of scrap plywood that floated ashore. "Mk 1 Anvil" will probably be a Granite boulder with a fairly flat top, or maybe a smoother Chert stone on top of said Granite boulder. "Mk 1 Smithing Hammer(s)" will probably be a roughly "grapefruit"-sized rock, either held in my hand or maybe tied between some sticks. Probably multiple rocks unless I manage to find a good one with a rounded end (AKA, "Ball-Peen Hammer"), a flattened end (umm... 'normal' "Sledgehammer"), and maybe even a straight "line" edged part (like a "Cross-Peen Hammer"). Basic idea is to "start with (next to) nothing and make tools to make slightly better tools to make better tools and see how far I can get with only items found on a stretch of beach and some woods." That said, considering almost all my metal would have floated through salt-water, if one can't really Forge heavily rusted steel/iron, my plan is broken from the start. Brian H.

So here's my problem: within 2-3 weeks of finishing things like hooks and bottle openers with wax I'm starting to see a light "dust" of rust on various places of the piece. I am fairly new to this whole thing but thought it would take longer to see rust type stuff. I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong or just placed to much trust in my wax. Here's what I've been doing... forge the thing, cool, wire brush with a wire wheel to a bright finish (no scale or rust left), heat the piece with an oven, propane torch or the coal forge, apply wax (the bees/turpentine/boiled linseed oil), let cool to warm and apply a second coat. Seems to be kind of a standard thing but I didn't expect rust after a couple weeks. Being in Western NC it is humid but am I missing something? I would appreciate any suggesting and feed back. I love useing the wax... its classic, has a great look and feel and smells great but am wondering if the rubbed black rustolium is the solution for at least the traditional look? Thanks

Good morming all, I have just recently made a sushi knife for my friend for some practice. It was coal forged from 1084 H. Carbon steel and properly hardened/tempered. I put on a mirror finish but find that upon slicing hot foods, rust blooms instantly appear and give the blade a wacky "tie-dye" look. Is this something that can be avoided with treatment? Or will the blade need to be cleaned between cuts? Im still an apprentice so thanks for any advice.

I've looked around a bit but to no avail. My question is this, I live in good old South Africa far from the USA where many of these bluing solutions originate and I was wondering if it would be possible to use HCl to induce the rust in the steel needed for the rust bluing process. All I find in the forum is reference to an acid solution. If you have any other thoughts on the matter please share them I am willing to learn as many DIY methods as possible without having to resort to paying tonnes of money if possible.

How do you all finish your metal products. I just made a dinner triangle for the kiddos to hang outside, but don't want it to get all rusty and end up falling apart. What different products do you use for outdoor metals? What about indoors?