Old Record 135's needing TLC

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CHJ

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Sometime in the last couple of years a local farmer thrust these at me and asked if they were of any use to me.
Needless to say the answer was yes; but the work content needed to bring them back into acceptable condition resulted in them being consigned to a far corner of the shed.
An urgent need for an extra couple of long reach Clamps saw them retrieved and put into use, albeit with a struggle and lots of interface packing to keep the dirt at bay.
Record 135a.jpg

Conscience says that they can't be put back into the corner again and something needs doing to them, even if not looking exactly pretty, at least usable without too much risk to future projects.
So far I've just wire brushed most of the loose stuff off, the jaws now slide without jamming on rust flakes, can't see me making up a long enough immersion tube to use electrolysis, my usual preferred method, so will have to sort out some phosphoric acid.
Record 135b.jpg


As a matter of interest they appear to be two different dates.
One has Design Number cast proud of casting surface, the other has it cast or engraved into the surface of the adjustable Jaws, although the head castings appear the same.
 

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I wouldn't use acid on something that shape, just some wet & dry paper, wetted with WD40 or white spirit or similar. A wire brush - brass if you have one - on the castings. Then - as often and sensibly advised by Jacob - slap on some boiled linseed oil, thinned down a bit, let it dry a few minutes and wipe off the excess. That should keep them nice and usable for the future.
 
Thanks Andy, I've got a fair bit of BLO doing nothing but sit on the shelf so will do as you suggest as soon as I can get an hour to polish off a bit more crud. They're not likely to be used often but as found the other day, invaluable when they are needed.
Cleaned up enough to use will be fine.
 
I would use a wire cup brush to remove the rust, they are only clamps after all.
Then wax them, it’s what I do with g cramps.

Pete
 
Hi,

I would stick the business end (the one with the screw) into a bucket with citric acid for a couple of hours to remove the rust, then careful rinsing and then wire brush it. The long bar could be treated with citric acid soaked rags for some hours, then the same procedure.
At last oil or wax them. Nice clamps!

Greetings from Germany

Claus
 
Well Claus , sunny afternoon here so spent an hour in the fresh air dunking these in warm water Citric Acid bath and a bit of elbow grease with some coarse abrasive and they came up more than acceptable for my occasional use.
Washed them down with clear hot water and dried them off reasonably quickly with a Gas torch and liberally coated them with BLO as suggested by Andy whilst still warm to the touch.
Record 135c.jpg


All that remains is to find a bit of wall to hang them on, at least I won't be embarrassed for anyone to see them now.


(Do you know how you find out a lump of metal is still too warm to grab hold of, and how much a small adjustable Jaw can hurt your ankle when is slides at speed off the end of one of these. :oops: )
 

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That's one thing that always reminds me of my father - being careful in case something is hot. He would always insist on testing an object with with the back his hand/fingers, maintaining that contact could be broken more quickly if it was too hot.
He was right too.
 
CHJ":yrgsnv5l said:
(Do you know how you find out a lump of metal is still too warm to grab hold of...
Yes, unfortunately :oops:

CHJ":yrgsnv5l said:
...and how much a small adjustable Jaw can hurt your ankle when is slides at speed off the end of one of these. :oops: )
No, but I do know how much the swinging end of even a softwood board can bite when it swings into your ankle bone!

Nice job cleaning them up, they look so much better.
 
swb58":2greh8q2 said:
That's one thing that always reminds me of my father - being careful in case something is hot. He would always insist on testing an object with with the back his hand/fingers, maintaining that contact could be broken more quickly if it was too hot.
He was right too.
Serves me right really, payback for the thousands of times i've uttered the phrase "You should have felt it first".
 
ED65":33y99cn1 said:
Nice job cleaning them up, they look so much better.

Well they are usable with a reasonably clear concience now even if not show pieces, afraid there are a several similar tasks that have taken a back seat of recent years whilst flitting from on hot project to another.
 

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