Thread: Remove rust from Japanese saws

The top one looks to be a Tajima, which has a replaceable blade. Why not just get a replacement blade?

Thanks for this information Chris. The owner found a replacement Tajima blade in Master's Cairns shop for $12, but they want $12 to post it. He also realised, after your post put him on the right track, that Carbatec sold the blades for the other one for about $25, so he is thinking about it.

Anyway, looks like I won't have to de-rust the blades

Hi Jill

THE best thing ever for rusty tools is a 10% solution Citric Acid bath. Your supermarket should have it, if you haven't already got some in the kitchen. 100g of CA plus 900ml of water (you can vary those quantities to suit the tool). Make the water as hot as you can for max effect. Check the saw after a couple of hours.

At the end you'll need to scrub it under water with a nylon brush to get the black muck off (easy). You'll then have a fairly hard grey residue left. You can polish that off if you want, or leave it there because it is a slight rust inhibitor.

Here is a thread I posted a few months ago and if you scroll down to the Henry Boker Dividers and Southington Clamp you'll see what you can get with not much work or cost.

CA can be purcchased in bulk (prolly not food grade but who cares) but not sure where from (I got 10kgs from a forum member and individually vac-packed 500g bags).

Furhermore, if you do the same thing with old files and rasps you'll notice that they are "grabbier" to the touch afterwards. We had a long debate once about whether they were sharper or just properly cleaned, giving "virtual" sharpness.

Cheers
Brett

Heading off to the supermarket now, Brett - thanks for this heads up, you have opened a new world for me. I actually found the pics here

I have lots of rusty small tools ( drill bits, screwdriver bits, punches etc) that I didn't know how to clean. Up until now I have been a strong devotee of electrolysis, but that is a real PIA with small stuff

I can send you a half kg bag with your next delivery of drill bits.

But wait... there's more !! A 500 gram bag of acid powder with every purchase

Just what do you guys grow in the Blue Mountains?

Poppies.

Also puts a big new meaning to your Group Buys overseas

Originally Posted by JillB

Thanks for this information Chris. The owner found a replacement Tajima blade in Master's Cairns shop for $12, but they want $12 to post it. He also realised, after your post put him on the right track, that Carbatec sold the blades for the other one for about $25, so he is thinking about it.

Anyway, looks like I won't have to de-rust the blades

In my opinion, if you can't get to the store then the Tajima is worth spending the $24 on. Love my Tajima, it's brilliant for cross-cutting.

speaking of tajima I found a bunch of blades in Stratco ( adelaide) but hidden in the garden tools section????????? weird.

Hi All, I too have often used the electrolysis method, but have also used Vinegar which you can get as a cleaning grade (which is not food grade). It has worked well for me, in fact I have been derusting some machine tool and machine vice parts over the last week and found it most useful. I have also used phosphoric acid (Ranex rust converter) by scrubbing with a scotch pad dampened with the stuff. That works very well, you just wash off with hot water when done, and if you need, give a final polish with dry scotch pad or emery, wet & dry or other suitable material. Just be careful when using any acid, I wore HD rubber gloves and I wear glasses, but I had no issues. Rust converter, vinegar and citric acid are all much safer to use than Sulphuric, Hydrochloric or Nitric acids in concentrated form, but still be careful.
I had a large number of old files several years ago, many very corroded and rusty, and after a good soaking in vinegar for several hours, I laid them out on the mesh of a small unused side gate I had supported horizontally, and hit them with the karcher pressure cleaner. The pressure cleaner really shifted any residues, and left a really clean item, especially effective with cleaning everything from the teeth of the files. A quick dip in metho, (to speed the drying) and then into a warm oven till dry, and they looked like new files. As previously mentioned, they cut well too. Good luck,
Rob.

Be careful of spring steel (saws, lever cap spring, coil springs), and do not leave in too long. Also ensure the spring is not under tension.

From HERE.

And from pmcgee

Hydrogen Embrittlement of Steel - A Cautionary NoteAtoms of hydrogen absorbed by steel are known to enter the lattice of iron atoms and
prevent the layers from sliding past each other easily. This causes the steel to become more
brittle and liable to crack.

LINK

Toby

Hi Jill
I've just posted a pictorial step-by-step here on cleaning rust off with Citric Acid.

Cheers
Brett

Thanks Brett, mine turned out nicely, thank you. I didn't bother with bringing the blades up bright and shiny, just gave them a coat of wax after scrubbing them with steel wool to clean all the gunk off. Great to know about citric acid baths