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lots of ways ranging from putting it into orbit---hard vacuum is death on rust! to heavy gold plating.  I don't know your climate but what I'd suggest is oiling it say ATF, waxing it, using boiled linseed oil or painting it depending on info you didn't provide.

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Cover it with an oily rag after you are done.  Use it more. Wipe with car wax when you are done, use it more, you will always have to re apply what ever after you use it. Using it more will make the rust stay away longer.  

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2 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

lots of ways ranging from putting it into orbit---hard vacuum is death on rust! to heavy gold plating.  I don't know your climate but what I'd suggest is oiling it say ATF, waxing it, using boiled linseed oil or painting it depending on info you didn't provide.

what information that I didn't supply would you like?

1 hour ago, matto said:

Cover it with an oily rag after you are done.  Use it more. Wipe with car wax when you are done, use it more, you will always have to re apply what ever after you use it. Using it more will make the rust stay away longer.  

Matto cheers, oily rag might be the biz, I've got a 4 year old girl that's not into shed time, would love to use it a lot more

1 hour ago, BIGGUNDOCTOR said:

Or do what I do and just don't worry about it. It isn't like it will rust away anytime soon. Let it get a patina, and when you use it the scale off of the workpiece will clean it up. 

cheers biggundoctor, I've got a bit of OCD about clean stuff

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Just wiping it off with an oily rag at the end of the session will take care of it for a while, a week maybe. A lot depends on your local environment, for example coastal humid is way harder on steel than inland humid. Large temperature change precipitates water on everything. If you live in the desert almost anything will prevent rusting.

If you're going to store it for a time paste wax applied about fresh coffee hot works a treat. A spray with LPS3 does the same thing, leaves a layer of well bonded tough wax in every nook and cranny. LPS has rust inhibiters in it though but costs a pretty penny. Good stuff though, excellent in fact.

Where I differ from Thomas is I'm less concerned about giving you bad or inappropriate advice because I don't know something you didn't mention. I did however take into account you have a four yr. old around so not only did I not recommend ATF, normally an excellent rust preventative, I advise you NOT to use it, the stuff can be toxic and there's no telling what little ones will taste. I wouldn't have known that had you not mentioned it earlier or I probably would've mentioned a couple other more "adult with a clue" things.

Frosty The Lucky.

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Have fun with the little own way you can they grow up with out you knowing it!!  If you are worried about that use olive oil or a cooking oil.   You being in Australia and a lot of us in the USA never being there we just want to make sure you are getting the right information.  You have a great group of smiths over there.  Look some of them up.

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1 hour ago, The Rusty Forge said:

I've got a 4 year old girl that's not into shed time

Even though it's become a very common situation, ... I'll still point out, ... that allowing your children to drive the agenda in your home, ... denies them the opportunity of acquiring maturity in the proven fashion of previous generations.

This seems to yield a populace whose attitudes are dictated by "social media", ... obsessed with electronic "toys", ... and unable to sustain adult relationships.

Essentially, ... the army of mindless drones that Orwell predicted.

 

Kids that are exposed to "real world" situations, learn how to solve "real world" problems, without being manipulated and exploited.

If they burn their fingers, or stub their toes in the process, ... they learn from that too.

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Just now, SmoothBore said:

Even though it's become a very common situation, ... I'll still point out, ... that allowing your children to drive the agenda in your home, ... denies them the opportunity of acquiring maturity in the proven fashion of previous generations.

This seems to yield a populace whose attitudes are dictated by "social media", ... obsessed with electronic "toys", ... and unable to sustain adult relationships.

Essentially, ... the army of mindless drones that Orwell predicted.

 

Kids that are exposed to "real world" situations, learn how to solve "real world" problems, without being manipulated and exploited.

If they burn their fingers, or stub their toes in the process, ... they learn from that too.

very true SmoothBore, she loves coming out to the shed every now and then, but I try an limit her time out there so I can not have the worry while I'm trying to work, as for electronic toys she has more imagination that most and just loves crafty stuff, colouring book and some pencils, play dough and the like and shell entertain herself for hours....when she gets a bit older she'll be hands on for sure out in the shed.

 

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Get a bottle of Lanotec,  in the non aerosol pack hand squeeze type like window cleaner.   I use it in the smithy and on the machinery.

It is based on Lonolin which is wool fat.

Depending how long your away from the forge you can build it up to the needed thickness,  doesn't seem to bother the hot metal when you come back to using it but can be removed with any solvent, petrol, thinners etc.

 

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One method I find effective is to soak an old towel in sunflower oil and drape that all over the face and bick of the anvil.

To keep it in place I have a steel plateI I use as a cut off sacrificial plate that has a peg in that fits into the pritchel hole and covers the face of the anvil trapping the oil soaked towelling where it is needed.

I do keep it under a shelter outside away from direct rainfall.

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Mine are indoors in a shed. Condensation only occurs in certain types of weather i.e. when it has been cold and there is a change to warmer moist. If I expect such weather (or expect to be away for some time) I give a quick spray with this all purpose anti-rust penetrating oil. The condensation forms on top of the oil and does not penetrate to the steel. At the end of the day I am tired (read lazy) and the spray can is the easiest. If I had a really small kid (my youngest grandchild is 13) I might use a rag of cooking oil kept in a metal can of some kind. However such a small kid would not be able to open the door and there are several much more dangerous things in my shop than the anvil.

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1 hour ago, SReynolds said:

I spray with Fluid Film. A spray on Lanolin. Is it oil? Is it grease? I dunno. It doesn't evaporate. Smells great too.

It's a wax apparently, and no I have no idea why it's a wax rather than oil or grease!

Oh, wax!.....crayons.......a colouring in anvil!:D

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The can says Penetrant and Lubricant.  It is made from nothing apparently as it is non marring, non toxic, non hazardous,  non drying, non corrosive, non gumming,not harmful to plastics, paint,  human life,, animals, the ozone, plant life, sea life, or anvils. Will not freeze.  recommended FOR  tools.

How is it non harmful to animals if made from them........?

It is flammable. So don't use on your anvil if it's near the forge fire. Move it across the shop when you spary this on !!!

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5 hours ago, SReynolds said:

How is it non harmful to animals if made from them........?

 

Lanoline is the fat in sheep's wool so it is not particularly harmful to them. I assume that it is the gas in the can that is flammable.

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I spray cast iron tool tables and similar with a shot of a mineral oil/silicone mix that I happen to have around for business needs anyway (it's a lubricant approved for incidental food contact).  Without being disturbed, it seems to prevent rusting for about a year--dries quickly leaving a very slight film behind.  Mineral oil with just a touch of a liquid wax in it would probably do the same thing and be something you could throw together yourself.

The silicone in mine could theoretically be a problem if it got on items to be painted in the future but I have never seen any effects from it so that issue is probably one of those .001% of the time things.

The stuff I use is SFG350 from Clearco products but I'm sure it'd be easy to find more local alternatives or roll your own.  Works like a charm.  

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I usually use lanox or inox (spray can and got a bit more solvent in it than lanox), both lanolin based, use it on my boat a lot as well, never any rust issues.

I made a bench out of old scrap the other day, had a bottle of liquid WD40 given to me, thought I would try that, rather than the inox, which is $15 a pressure can (yes I am a cheap skate!)

 

Rusty within 24 hours, so despite WD40's claim to protect from rust, it wont be getting used for anything but lubrication from now on!

Will probably chase the moths out of the wallet and Inox the bench this weekend!

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  • 1 month later...

Could a guy use say baring grease say for wheel hubs that's in a rag and wipe the face down with that after use to keep rust away? Just a thought and question also I'm in the process of building my smithy got about 3/4 the frame done but no walls or roof yet and the first rains started early this year.

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4 hours ago, The Hess said:

Could a guy use say baring grease say for wheel hubs that's in a rag and wipe the face down with that after use to keep rust away? Just a thought and question also I'm in the process of building my smithy got about 3/4 the frame done but no walls or roof yet and the first rains started early this year.

Sure grease will help protect from rust but it will rub off and stain anything that rubs on it. Stains might not be an issue and you might need to worry about children or animals. My only thoughts about using grease are how well does it penetrate nooks and crannies? It's thick so it may just bridge small openings and let moisture in. On the upside you rarely if ever see rusty grease covered stuff.

I'm liking the lanolin in a penetrant solvent. I've used raw wool to finish weaver's tools like Doffers. It protects the steel, makes it a little slicker and doesn't stain, anything so far. No guarantees on the non-staining thing, I'm sure it'll show on somethings. If you're using raw wool the sheep in season have a scent and take it from me a Ram in the rut is kind of funky. Pretty funky depending on what part of the fleece you take wool from.

Frosty The Lucky.

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