Thread: Cleaning saw handles

Kenny - the steel inside the handle is usually the only part that's NOT rusted, so your saws must have copped a good soaking at some stage. I wouldn't be too worried about it, myself - just clean out the loose stuff by dragging a hacksaw blade, or anything that fits neatly, through the kerf. Any remaining iron oxide isn't going to affect the steel - it has already done its bit with oxygen. I wipe on a good coat of paste wax before refitting the blade in the handle, & that seems to work for me.

By 'oil' I presume you mean engine oil or the like? Getting that out of wood is almost impossible. You can soak it in solvents, but that often makes a bad situation worse. If it's not something of great historical or sentimental value, I think I'd just make a new handle.....

Cheers,

I saw this thread on how to remove oil from wood on another forum and thought you might be interested, the basic concept sounds like if you heat the wood a little with a heat gun the oil may come to the surface and you can blot it off...
Cheers
Simon
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Hi Steve,

I don't think there's any way to remove the oil from the outside of the plywood. I'd just use a coat of thinned out oil paint on the bottom and follow it up with bottom paint. I'd do the puttying after the painting- maybe the Interlux below-the-waterline seam compound would work for you.

Good luck

Geoff
Bob Smalser
05-22-2004, 10:56 AM

I do this on old gunstocks all the time to remove oil and grease from the wood and suspect it'll work on plywood just as well:

Make a thick slurry of whiting (powdered chalk) and mineral spirits...heat the oily surface with a heat gun and wipe clean all the oil that bubbles out...then apply your slurry and let set til it turns brown. Then clean and repeat as many times as you need to. Removes oil by osmosis without soaking the wood in solvent.

Before finishing, test the surface with a drop of finish to see if it dries...if it does, you can quit the whiting treatments.

Whiting available from Brownells.com.

Venchka
05-22-2004, 12:46 PM

If you can't find whiting, go to an auto parts store (NAPA?) and get the stuff they sell for soaking up oil on concrete.

If it's too far to an auto parts store, use kitty litter. Same stuff.

A wood mallet will break it up finer.

62 woodie
05-22-2004, 01:44 PM

Thanks Guys!!! I had been using some of the wood dust from sanding.. it dried up a little bit of oil, but was going to take for ever.
I will try your "recipe"!! Steve

Domesticated_Mr. Know It All
05-22-2004, 10:36 PM

Hmmmm......someting strong enough to remove motor oil and not harm the wood? :confused:

"Dawn" dishwashing soap!

62 woodie
05-23-2004, 08:58 AM

KOOOOL!!!
I just got done cleaning the bottom of the hull. I used the heat gun to "draw" the oil to the surface and kept blotting it with an old T shirt. Then I ended up using smashed oil dry- with some of the saw dust from sanding , along with the mineral spirits. After letting it set for a while, I worked it in a circular motion til the stain was almost invisible!
As for the "Dawn" I soak my fingernails in it!

Thanks Again!!!!

Originally Posted by IanW

By 'oil' I presume you mean engine oil or the like? Getting that out of wood is almost impossible. You can soak it in solvents, but that often makes a bad situation worse. If it's not something of great historical or sentimental value, I think I'd just make a new handle.....

Cheers,

IanW..... Thank's for that..Yes.. possibly from over oiling the blade and letting it sit in a corner..it is a war time Disston, so no real drama there.
I'm already making some new handles.. just means another to do..

Ken

Here is the full thread if that other one is a little hard to read.

Hope it helps, let me know how you go with it though.

Simon

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?6402-Help!!!-How-to-clean-oil-soaked-wood-AND-Sealing-screw-heads?s=

Thanks Simonmags - good bit of info that I can file away for possible future use.

I've tried cleaning with solvents & detergents a couple of times, but found it did little good, long term, if the oil had soaked deep into the wood. The heat gun & adsorbant idea might just save the day.....

Though making a new handle for your saw would be a more certain fix, Ken, and probably quicker & cheaper to boot.

Cheers,