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I Forge Iron

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Posted

I was fortunate enough to come into the possession of a few pairs of rusted old tongs recently.
I need to free them up and remove the rust, so they become usable.

Any tips?

Posted

Its only the best stuck bolt getter outer on the planet!
http://www.amazon.com/Kano-Kroil-Penetrating-liquid-KROIL/dp/B000F09CF4
It is kinda spendy, but I think it is well worth it.

Posted

I have a 5 gallon bucket of used oil out of my Dodge diesel that I just toss the tongs into. After awhile I try moving them, and they have all loosened up after a good soaking. I have a bunch of tongs, so I may leave them in the oil for days, or weeks efore I remeber to check them.

Posted

Its a shame, becuase the last time I serviced my car (which is a diesel) I collected the oil in a large can and got rid of it, in an appropriate manner I will add.

I will definately try and heat them to red and move them as they cool. A friend of mine over the road, who also has a diesel that we serviced may have some old oil lying about. Will ask him later!

Any tips for getting rid of the rust from all over them?
I was thinking of just lightly going over it all with my angle grinder and a flapwheel disc.

Posted

I like a wire cup-brush on the angle grinder for rust removal. It's quick and leaves a burnished surface that's pretty good to the hands.

Hold the tongs in a vice and try not to shoot the grinder across the room. A light touch is all you need.

Lewis

Posted

Using them removes all the rust from the reins. I have some tongs stored outside and a day of using them will clean any rust off the reins, it might wear my work gloves out a little quicker though.

Posted

I just use them rusty, and after awhile they develop a patina. The only reason I mentioned my truck being a diesel is that an oil change is 3 gallons, so plenty to dunk rusty tools into. Be careful heating tongs, as some are made with tool steels, and could crack if quenched. I always thought that they were just plain nonhardening steel.

Posted

Will be giving this a go, hopefully on Sunday after playing rugby on Saturday.
Hopefully it will all go well.

Will keep you posted and try and bring back some pictures!

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Took then to the forge last weekend and heating them in the fire, seem to get them al moving.
I have to tighten a few of the rivets, but they are all working now!

Need to reposstion a lot of the reigns, but other than that they are good to go.
Thanks for the advice everyone!

Posted

When you tighten the rivets do it cold and be very patient... it's easy to get them too tight again. If you do accidentally overtighten them use some penetrating oil and work them a bit and you can usually fix it... if not it's back to the fire again.

Posted

I just overtightened my favorite tongs the other day. What I did was I took a little chisel, and lightly tapped the joinery a little bit to spread them back out. Worked like a charm.

Posted

I like apple cider vinegar it smell alright and I keep a bucket around for descaling and reust removal. put them in for a few days and wash them off and give a light coating of oil if you want. As to Kroil it is the best I have ever found I bought a new gallon at the start of the year. It will loosen almose anything.

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