09-12-2022, 08:55 PM
Thanks for your comments.
I have to admit to having served a fitter turner apprenticeship with the naval dockyard in Auckland, and these days while not being "on the tools" much professionally, I have an interest in restoring vintage machinery (esp engines), which may have spent several tens of years out in the weather.
So this lathe at only a couple of years outside was still quite good (compared to some of the other machinery) and cleaned up really well.
I have seen a lot of damage done by powered wire brushes and sand blasting used on machined surfaces, where the judicial use of electrolysis could have removed the rust pits without damaging/affecting the surrounding surfaces, resulting in parts that can sometimes come back to looking almost like new.
I say "looking like" as there can be small (microscopic) "holes" remaining were the rust was, and sometimes, if in critical places, these can be stress raisers. This plus a slight risk of hydrogen embrittlement on high strength steels, means you want to be a little careful as to what parts electrolysis should/can be used on.
To practice putting photos in. (Thanks for the link to the inserting photos thread).
Here is my star engine restoration.
Imported to NZ around 1905 by my grandfather, so it is also something of a family arloom (sp). My father (born 1931), could only just remember it running in the late 1930's. This one spent something nearer to 60 years out in the weather and you can just see one of the rust pits in the side shaft at the edge of the pulley.
I contemplated renewing the shaft but decided it was now part of the character of this engine.
Ditto the blowhole in the main casting just beside the cylinder drip feeder.
Cheers Darryl
I have to admit to having served a fitter turner apprenticeship with the naval dockyard in Auckland, and these days while not being "on the tools" much professionally, I have an interest in restoring vintage machinery (esp engines), which may have spent several tens of years out in the weather.
So this lathe at only a couple of years outside was still quite good (compared to some of the other machinery) and cleaned up really well.
I have seen a lot of damage done by powered wire brushes and sand blasting used on machined surfaces, where the judicial use of electrolysis could have removed the rust pits without damaging/affecting the surrounding surfaces, resulting in parts that can sometimes come back to looking almost like new.
I say "looking like" as there can be small (microscopic) "holes" remaining were the rust was, and sometimes, if in critical places, these can be stress raisers. This plus a slight risk of hydrogen embrittlement on high strength steels, means you want to be a little careful as to what parts electrolysis should/can be used on.
To practice putting photos in. (Thanks for the link to the inserting photos thread).
Here is my star engine restoration.
Imported to NZ around 1905 by my grandfather, so it is also something of a family arloom (sp). My father (born 1931), could only just remember it running in the late 1930's. This one spent something nearer to 60 years out in the weather and you can just see one of the rust pits in the side shaft at the edge of the pulley.
I contemplated renewing the shaft but decided it was now part of the character of this engine.
Ditto the blowhole in the main casting just beside the cylinder drip feeder.
Cheers Darryl