Rusty Acorn

[Sheffield Tony]

I picked up an Acorn #3 last weekend; I know Acorn are not sought after, and this one was VERY rusty, but it was worth the price I paid -nothing ! The stall holder said if I wanted it I could have it, so it would be rude not to.

Mainly I wanted a very rusty one to try electrolysis on. I used sodium hydroxide, which usefully stripped what was left of the paint too. The results were remarkable, even on the cap iron that looked like there might not be much metal under the rust !

The remaining problems are one big bit of pitting in the sole that I'm hoping won't affect use, and a rusty cutter. The plane had been left with a mouthful of sawdust, so the last 10mm was useless. I've cut that off - there's plenty left. I cut it with the angle grinder with it clamped between a couple of bits of angle iron to take the heat away - now I have a square end. It is more pitted on the back than the front, so it occurred to me - can I flip it over, put the bevel on the other side and use it the other way up ? I assume it isn't laminated ?

 

[AndyT]

Tony, is this how you punish forum members who live in Bristol but couldn't go to the Bodger's Ball? I'm assuming that is where this stall was, with the very attractive business model?

I should think flipping the blade over would be sensible. As far as I know pretty much all the commonly found thin Stanley style irons were steel throughout, usable until you hit the slot. If you can't see any colour difference after your treatment, that's extra confirmation.

But I think we deserve some before and after pictures!

 

[bugbear]

I picked up an Acorn #3 last weekend; I know Acorn are not sought after, and this one was VERY rusty, but it was worth the price I paid -nothing ! The stall holder said if I wanted it I could have it, so it would be rude not to.

Mainly I wanted a very rusty one to try electrolysis on. I used sodium hydroxide, which usefully stripped what was left of the paint too. The results were remarkable, even on the cap iron that looked like there might not be much metal under the rust !

The remaining problems are one big bit of pitting in the sole that I'm hoping won't affect use, and a rusty cutter. The plane had been left with a mouthful of sawdust, so the last 10mm was useless. I've cut that off - there's plenty left. I cut it with the angle grinder with it clamped between a couple of bits of angle iron to take the heat away - now I have a square end. It is more pitted on the back than the front, so it occurred to me - can I flip it over, put the bevel on the other side and use it the other way up ? I assume it isn't laminated ?

Grind the end on around 120 grit SiC. The soft steel takes really big deep scratches, but the hard steel doesn't, so the difference is easy to spot.

This will tell you if it's laminated.

BugBear

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Grind the end on around 120 grit SiC. The soft steel takes really big deep scratches, but the hard steel doesn't, so the difference is easy to spot.

This will tell you if it's laminated.

BugBear

I shall try that. I've already tried scratching at both sides with a file tang, and see no obvious difference in hardness.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Tony, is this how you punish forum members who live in Bristol but couldn't go to the Bodger's Ball? I'm assuming that is where this stall was, with the very attractive business model?

I should think flipping the blade over would be sensible. As far as I know pretty much all the commonly found thin Stanley style irons were steel throughout, usable until you hit the slot. If you can't see any colour difference after your treatment, that's extra confirmation.

But I think we deserve some before and after pictures!

Yes, it was at the Bodger's Ball. It is a tools and collectables stall who is there every year. Last year I was looking at some Eclipse saw sets to see if there was one with a narrower pin for dovetail saw setting - one was, but he offered me both for £1. Tools for Self Reliance are always there too, and The Woodsmiths' store, and Woodland Craft Supplies.

I've missed the chance to take a before photo. Not quite ready to take an after one just yet.

 

[ED65]

can I flip it over, put the bevel on the other side and use it the other way up ?

This is a "Duh!" moment for me, that had never occurred to me but it's so obvious. You do so often see the cutter in a double-iron setup with bad pitting on the back with the other side much cleaner, so flipping over makes so much sense. Almost all modern irons are hard through their thickness so no bar there.

Had you thought about trying a back bevel instead? Since this is a 3 and presumably not to be used as anything other than a smoother this could be a nice quick fix. Even a back bevel of a few degrees is sometimes enough to move the edge underneath the surface pitting.

You'll automatically get improved smoothing performance, and while this will come at the cost of increased resistance given the type of work a small smoother might be called on to do I don't think you'd find it too onerous.

 

[Vann]

Another way of checking to see if it's laminated is to leave it in citric acid overnight. The hardened steel will go considerably darker than the soft steel. If it's evenly dark both sides then it's not laminated.

If it is laminated then you can't flip it over.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[ED65]

By accident I just discovered (rediscovered I bet) a faster way to distinguish hardened steel from unhardened cleaning up a few weekend purchases.

A quick run over with a wire wheel and the harder steel immediately went brighter. But it's actually neither brighter nor darker, it can look either way depending on the angle the light hits it.

The effect is nearly instant so if it does always go this way the technique could prove very useful.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I've already reground mine with the bevel on the other side, so I'll find out if it was a good or bad idea by how often I need to sharpen it ! It has taken an edge though, so the omens are good.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

It is more pitted on the back than the front, so it occurred to me - can I flip it over, put the bevel on the other side and use it the other way up ? I assume it isn't laminated ?

And the surprising answer, to me at least, is no you can't. The edge rolled over after just a few strokes against softwood. You live and learn. Looking again, I picked a card scraper made from saw plate - so harder than mild steel, but not hardened to the extent of a plane iron. It does indeed scratch one side more readily than the other. Regrinding back the original way around, it holds its edge much better. And the good news is that all the grinding has got me back past the pitted area anyway, with still more steel left than I am likely to use in my lifetime.

So, this particular thin iron is harder on one side than the other, whether by laminating or the hardening process. Unfortunately it is not possible to read a maker's name to tell if it is the original iron, or a replacement.

 

[ED65]

Interesting, I wouldn't have expected that. From seeing how irons are hardened (or usually hardened at least) there should be no difference at all in hardness between the top and bottom, something shown by the temper line on both faces.

I presume this indicates that this must be a laminated iron. Anyway, as you say you're still left with more steel than you'll likely need in your lifetime so nothing lost there.

BTW I was going to say in relation to your post from the 18th, even soft tool steel can take a wicked edge, as anyone who has accidentally cut themselves on an old card scraper can attest #-o