Thread: Repurpose old tools/tool steel

Johknee

Most concrete edging tools I have come across are aluminium, but that does not necessarily mean yours are not brass. Aluminium RD is about 2.6 with Brass closer to 8. Aluminium is easily melted: Brass not so easily because of the higher temperatures required. Tools such as you have shown are probably not easily converted to another use (without melting down) other than push devices for your table saw with the ridge removed and a piece of sticky mat fixed to the base. They are a little small even for this use, but they could be used as a handle on a timber base

Regards
Paul

Get piece of sandpaper or a file and rub the edge of each tool - if its brass or Al this will show up fairly quickly.

If they are aluminium they won't be of much use. If they are brass, then small offcuts taken off each tool might serve to make components of something like a marking gauge but as Paul says, apart from a push tool for a table saw or planer they're not going to be able to be repurposed.

Gave them a quick hit with sandpaper and they're shiny, gold/bronze in colour and they are quite heavy for their size. I'm fairly certain they're made from brass.

Seems a shame and an immense waste to throw these out. Think I'll throw them up on marketplace.

Thank you both for the advice!

More likely these will be made from bronze rather than brass; bronze is stronger and more resistant to wear. You can buy concrete edging tools made from bronze (although I only get US hits on a quick Google search) so there is definitely a market for them; rather than re-purpose or convert them to another use why not compare their rough value against what it would cost (financially and labour-wise) to purchase a purpose made tool for the job?

I agree with Chief Tiff, they are more likely to be bronze. Are they magnetic at all? If so they are likely to be Manganese Bronze, much harder than Gunmetal or Phosphor Bronze.

Ah, yes! Bronze would make sense.