Dan C Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Search youtube for "beeswax coating metalsmiths" I'm not sure how this mix would work for something that is always going to be outside, guess I need to test it on something and find out. I do find that it works well preventing rust on things I've made. Before I used to use only BLO. If you search this area of the forum you'll find more than you wanted to know regarding finishing. http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/20-alchemy-formulas-fluxes-etc/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Cufflink, Here is one beeswax coating formula commonly used: BEESWAX MIX STEEL TREATMENT 1 PART BEESWAX 1 PART TURPENTINE 1/2 PART BOILED LINSEED OIL HEAT BEESWAX OVER LOW HEAT (SUCH AS A DOUBLE BOILER), REMOVE FROM HEAT SOURCE, ADD TURP AND LINSEED OIL. MIX WELL. COOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humphreymachine Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 I love beeswax and it is a great additive for indoor use but I doubt that it will hold up well out doors. Many waxes turn milky/white when wet – but the oil may protect it? Maybe one of you who use the oil/wax coating can leave a piece outside and give us a report. I’m curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted December 8, 2013 Share Posted December 8, 2013 I have a number of pieces that have been outside for more than 10 years with no rust. The finish is from Alex Bealer, "The Art of Blacksmithing" 1pt. paraffin wax, 1pt. turpentine and lamp black. As mixed, in the can, it has a consistency like shoe polish and smells of the turpentine. I apply it to hot metal and it fumes turpentine vapor but leaves a well penetrated and durable finish. I've used a similar mix to water proof my leather boots using bees wax and neats foot oil rather than turpentine and it does a fine job on the boots. I've tried it on steel but the bees wax stays tacky and the neats foot oil doesn't help at all. Plain bees wax is popular and I use it but like a harder wax finish on wrought work. Treewax is my current favorite it's carnuba wax, the stuff used to armor bowling ally lanes and it's about as tough as it gets. Another that is very durable is LPS-3, it's a commercial aerosol product that leaves a coat of very durable and rust preventative wax. The stuff beats the socks off the wax mix I made and by a LONG shot. My Soderfors has a hot applied coat of the paraffin/turpentine/lamp black finish and it's kept her black and nice looking for a good 25+ years some 7-8 of it outdoors. No rust except a fine dusting on the face which has no coating that won't withstand hot steel and hammers. When I say hot applied I took a torch to her till she was fresh cup of coffee hot and rubbed her down with the shoe poliish consistency wax mixture. The turpentine has evaporated out years ago and I have to melt it to use it now and seeing as the samp black settled out a loooong time ago it stays where it is on the shelf most of the time now. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cufflink Posted December 9, 2013 Author Share Posted December 9, 2013 Smithy's one and all, thanks again for all of your feedback, so far I've decided I'm not going to enamel paint her and will be looking to keep her current colouring / finish as close as possible, to this end, I think boiled linseed oil + something is likely where I'll end up, but still have some more homework to do (thank you all). Quint, great to hear there's another Sodofors fan, I'll be leaving before mine goes and only then, it'll go to my son. Njanvilman, found some boiled linseed oil at the big boys toy shop on the weekend, now I just need to decide what to mix it with (once I've done the below homework). Dan C, thanks for this, I'll be following both the youtube and other forum link up over the next couple of days . . . will probably take that long just to work through the alchemy, etc forum (interesting stuff though)! Arkie, thanks for the mix and the heating guidelines ;o) once I've worked through the alchemy forum, I'll make a call on what I'm going to apply. Humphreymachine, thanks for this, certainly don't want to end up with a creamy effect, but will see if anyone in the alchemy forum has done the test. Frosty, sounds like an interesting mix, although I'd like to skip the lamp black (as above), but will see what it adds / detracts to the formula when I work through the alchemy forum. Certainly the beeswax sounds a little untested / mixed results, so will probably not be the forum guinea pig with this anvil. The LPS-3 and treewax sound interesting, the former being a little fool proof as well which is always a good thing for me! All of this is tremendously helpful thank you, things I'll be looking for in the alchemy forum will be matt finish with little / no colour change and a level of weather protection equal to or better than it's had (engine oil rub down about once per year or so). Still digging around for the history, will keep you posted - found out my dad bought it from a bloke who had 2 or 3 in the factory next to his office some 40 odd years ago and sold it to him very cheaply at the time . . . and then apparently almost immediately regretted selling it to him. It was this guy that said they commonly came to AUS as ship ballast, but don't know more than that . . . for now. Thanks again to you all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 Do not discount the ship ballast idea. Many English and European anvils came to the States as ballast. There is no reason that this did not happen with ships going from Europe to Australia also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Deering Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 G'day Cufflink If you are putting any iron or steel object, such as this anvil, for example, outdoors, make sure you put it on bricks or concrete pads above ground level. This will help to keep the soil away from the base and thus help to prevent what will become extensive, heavy rust over time. In Oz we often find ourselves dealing with acid soils, and if you put fertiliser in your garden you will exacerbate this issue Despite the treatment advice provided to date, it is entirely feasible to do nothing to the surface of the anvil at all and just leave the age patina as-is. You won't live long enough to see it rust away and as it has a uniform finish of its own creation, that being rust, the steels own protection, from further corrosion, I see no reason to mess about with chemical concoctions Do educate your family on the value of the tool, because the unforseen may occur. I know of entire industrial workshops gone to scrap because - there is nothing quite like a steam hammer cut into 1 tonne chunks "because it was easier to put in the skip" - of the ignorance of disinterested family. It would be a great shame for so ignominious a fate to befall such an anvil for no reason other than the remaining family members knew nothing of its worth, monetary or otherwise You do not note your whereabouts, but if you were ever interested in taking up blacksmithing, a simple google search will connect you with the various associations in Oz Jim Deering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marmal Posted October 27, 2023 Share Posted October 27, 2023 Good Evening, I do have a heavy Soderfos Bruk anvil which has a good face 23” in length by 6 1/2” in width , it is matched with a heavy cast iron base which interlocks with the anvil, I have not weighed the pieces individually but the base is every bit as heavy as the anvil. I was wondering if this setup was very common? The anvil and base did originate from the Railway workshops in Bendigo , Victoria , Australia. Thanks Chris. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 27, 2023 Share Posted October 27, 2023 Soderfors foundry is still in business, contact them with the serial number and they'll get back to you with some information. Of course they can't tell you what happened to it after they sold it beyond to whom it was sold. It's a start though. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted October 27, 2023 Share Posted October 27, 2023 marmal...Welcome from the Ozark Mountains. I'm guessing, from what you have posted so far, you are somewhere in the land of OZ, correct me if I'm wrong. If you are have you seen this yet? OZ roll call - Everything Else - I Forge Iron There are a great bunch of folks there and some may be near you. If you have some pictures of your anvil and base (stand) please post them, we love pictures. I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s. Semper Paratus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike BR Posted October 28, 2023 Share Posted October 28, 2023 If anyone's interested in a 9 minute Swedish video on Soderfors, there's one here: https://www.svtplay.se/video/8PvyB4m/arkitekturens-parlor/soderfors-bruk-tierp?info=visa It's more about the worker's housing than the works itself, but it's kind of a neat company town. Most of it should be reasonably obvious, but the masonry they examine near the end (on the "widow's house") is "slag stone" -- blast furnace slag formed into blocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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