Some Restored Clamps

[Turbo]

Thought I'd post some pics of some clamps I restored recently.

First up a record 135 sash clamp which had a good coating of surface rust which I removed with electrolysis. Then the bare metal was polished up with wd40 & a green scotch pad and the blue bits repainted. It was finished with a good coat of Liberon Lubricating Wax.

 

[Turbo]

Next up is a heavy duty Eclipse 10" g clamp.

The threaded part was cleaned with a 6" wire brush on a bench grinder & the blue was repainted, again finished with wax.

 

[Turbo]

Next up is a Carver f clamp. This had a thick coating of paint overspray & dirt, most of which was removed in the electrolysis tank.

By the time it was clean most of the original paint was gone. I decided I liked the bare metal look so I stripped the remaining paint off with rotary wire brushes.

It was finished off with a beeswax, BLO, turpentine & graphite mixture.

 

[ED65]

Nicely done, they look practically brand new (and in the case of the Carver, better than new )

How long is a 135? Basically I'm wondering how big your electrolysis setup is!

 

[sundaytrucker]

Good job, That carver clamp looks ace.

I have some record 135's to move on but they could do with a clean up, what blue paint did you use for heads, please?

 

[nabs]

... also, what is the reason for including Graphite in the finish used on the Carver clamp? looks great btw!

 

[Turbo]

Thank for the complements! =D>

I use a 200l plastic barrel for my electrolysis so I am able to do a 36" clamp in one go! 8)

I collect bench vices & the shade of record blue seems to vary a bit. It is supposed to be Roundel Blue but I tried it and it was totally wrong! I had one vice with most of it's original paint so I took it to my local auto paint shop & got them to match an unfaded part under the slide.
They started with Mittlemeer Blue (a mercedes colour) & added some tints to get a match. The paint is selemix 7-610 which is a synthetic enamel that you can apply by brush or spray direct to sound metal.

The wax recipe is one I got from a guy on another forum & is similar to Black Lead you used years ago
The recipe for the graphite paste:

1oz beeswax
30ml gum/pure turpentine (2 tablespoons)
60ml linseed oil (4 tablespoons)
3 rounded tablespoons of graphite powder


Mixing method:

Mix the linseed oil, gum turpentine and graphite powder in a jar, then add the beeswax. Fill a saucepan roughly half full with water, (just make sure the water level is not high enough to flood over the lip of the jar when you put the jar in there), then put the jar containing the ingredients into the water and set that pan off to simmer on the cooker/stove. Mix the paste occasionally as the wax melts. It will eventually turn completely liquid, so give it a good stir once it does and then remove the jar from the saucepan of water and stand it to one side to air cool. Once you notice the top starting to skin over, give it one last thorough stir to stir up the graphite powder and then leave it to harden fully.

I think the graphite gives the metal an added lustre. The picture doesn't do that clamp justice - it really does shine! 8)

 

[ED65]

Graphite definitely does give a lovely 'gunmetal' shine.

Graphite might be included in that mixture since it's a lubricant, its structure is large flat plates that are strong but weakly held together one on top of the next so they slide over each other readily which gives it its lubricant action.

In some applications graphite is applied dry, e.g. for the main screw on bench vices so the lubricant won't hold on to dust.

 

[nabs]

I'm looking forward to hearing more about your bench vice collection Turbo ! Are they all Records?

 

[AndyT]

For anyone wanting to copy that lovely finish on the carver's clamp without the home cooking, Zebrite will give the same effect.
It's made for polishing metal fire grates but I've used it on slightly rusty tools successfully. It's filthy black stuff - presumably a blend of grease and graphite - so I recommend disposable gloves and an OLD toothbrush.

 

[Turbo]

For anyone wanting to copy that lovely finish on the carver's clamp without the home cooking, Zebrite will give the same effect.
It's made for polishing metal fire grates but I've used it on slightly rusty tools successfully. It's filthy black stuff - presumably a blend of grease and graphite - so I recommend disposable gloves and an OLD toothbrush.

Even though this mix has graphite it doesn't dirty your hands - in fact it leaves them very clean & soft, must be the oils in it. 8)

Best method to apply it is to heat the metal & polish with a heat gun, apply with a toothbrush or cloth, heat again to get the polish to flow into the metal. Let it cool until you can hold it then polish off with an old towel before it gets cold.

 

[ED65]

...Zebrite...

Showing your age Andy! No different here, I keep on calling it that despite the name changing 'just a few' years ago.

 

[AndyT]

It's a while since I needed to buy a new tube!

 

[ED65]

I don't have that excuse :lol:

It'll always be Zebrite to me, same way with Jif and Marathon bars bloody stupid name changes wish the world would slow down mutter mutter

 

[AndyT]

Ok, it's 6 years since I used my tube - there's plenty left so I don't even need to ask the new name!

union-jack-plane-identification-and-dating-t61022.html

 

[TFrench]

I've seen people use plastic drain pipe to electrolysis dip long thin components - if you don't have a drum handy!

 

[Stanleymonkey]

Those look amazing - especially the carver's clamp. Were they all car boot sale finds or did you pick them up elsewhere?

 

[Turbo]

They were all bought at a local weekly auction. The carver was in a big steel toolbox of kango chisels, I kept the box & clamp, put the chisels back into the auction & got my money back!

 

[Bm101]

I'm pretty sure I used Zebrite many years ago on my burner. Seems it's been banned because of lead content though it's just google research so could be well wide of the mark. The newer UK sold replacements seem to get mixed reviews. Again. Google research......
The 'closest' ingredient commercially sold version seems to be from South Africa and I can't readily see a supplier.
http://zerostovepolish.mycylex.com/
Would be interesting if anyone has used the uk replacement products ( which seems to be unrelated?). Several products seem to have nicked the distinctive yellow and black colours and renamed/released various products, none seem to be as efficient as the original.
Turbo's recipe is looking more economical and efficient by the minute so many thanks for sharing. (Much appreciated Turbo!).
That clamp looks lovely btw.
Thanks and regards
Chris

 

[ED65]

I didn't realise that Zebrite had been withdrawn, poo! Thankfully the Internet allows the suitably motivated to recreate something close to the original if needed.

Pretty sure "black lead" didn't indicate lead was an ingredient, it's merely one of those old traditional names for things (in this case for graphite).