Chuck Salvage?

[Tony WagstaffParticipant @tonywagstaff66092]

Hi all,

 

I am just getting bck into my workshop after a break of a few years. Most of my gear is in good condition due to the way that it was cared for previously, but my 4-Jaw chuck was on a  shelf by a window that got broken.

As you can imagine , weather and condensation have been hard at work on it and now the rust is at a point where the chuck key will not even begin to move the jaws. I have soaked the chuck in WD40 and also tried light lubricating oil but still nothing wants to move.

Does anyone know of a way to recover the situation or am I going to have to bite the bullet and buy another chuck?

 

On a similar subject, my change gears are covered in a deep layer of rust too. I can clean it all off and the gear below seems to be fine, but it is a long slow job with wire wool. Is there a quicker way to clean them without damaging them?

 

Cheers folks

 

Tony

[Tony WagstaffParticipant @tonywagstaff66092]

[John OlsenParticipant @johnolsen79199]

For the change wheels, I would probably try a rotary wire brush. I would not worry too much if they end up with a few rust pits on them, it is not going to hurt for general screwcutting use.An alternative might be the electrolytic process, which will take off all the rust and leave clean metal behind…having not tried this I am no expert, but the results I have seen look good.

 

I’m not sure about what can be done about the chuck. I would persist with the  WD40 etc to see if you can get things apart, because if you can then probably it will clean up enough to be useable, bearing in mind that mostly with a four jaw we are not so dependent on the chuck itself as on the setting up.

 

regards

John

[David ColwillParticipant @davidcolwill19261]

Might be worth looking at the post “restoring a steam engine” in beginners questions as several methods were covered in that.

Good luck.

Dave.

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Go to B&Q and look for some brick and concrete cleaner, ignore anything that says green on the label.

You want something that contains phosphuric acid, don’t panic it’s one of the friendly ones.

 

Mix this up 4:1 with water and lob the chuck in any anything else that’s gone rusty.

A day or two later it will come out with a matt grey sheradised looking finish and no rust.

 

You can do it in the workshop the fumes don’t attack metal like some of the other acids.

i have a tub of it stood on the floor at the side of a very large dividing head and it’s not touched in in over a year.

 

I got mine to descale black steel before machining as the scale was playing havoc with small drills.

 The acid can be disposed of down the drain after use or thrown onto the path or yard, after all that’s what it was made for.

 

John S.

[TerrydParticipant @terryd72465]

Hi John,

 

You’re correct about the phosphoric acid, that’s why Coca Cola works so well (have a peek at the ingredients).  However some brick cleaners which builders use to clean cement off brickwork contains hydrochloric acid (aka Spirit of Salts) which fumes and rusts steel very quickly, so read carefully the labels.

 

I have used a non acidic product from Arc Eurotrade called ‘Restore’ which removes light rust, once the worst has been removed, in around an hour and is very effective.  It will remove heavier rust but it exhausts the solution quickly.  It also produces an anti rust coating which provided some protection afterwards (but not perfect).  Have a look here.

 

For the chuck, try heating it in an oven to around 150 deg. C then cooling quickly with water, which will penetrate and soften., keep repeating and it should help.  This was recommended on the ‘Old Iron’ forum by the guys who restore old engines which have lain in fields for years.  Persevere, it will be ok eventually.

 

Best regards and seasons greetings,

 

Terry

[Peter G. ShawParticipant @peterg-shaw75338]

Diesel is reputed to be very searching as well, but I’ve never tried it. Also the black penetrating fluids do work eventually. Finally, there is always the old standby – blowlamp. After all, you’ve not got anything to lose, and don’t forget that your car servicing dealer is more than happy to take the blowlamp (acetylene torch) to anything rusted up on your pride and joy.

 

Regards,

 

Peter G. Shaw

 

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

I used to be sceptical, but it seems that milk also works, its some thing to do with lactic acid, it might smell a bit. Ian S C

[Tony WagstaffParticipant @tonywagstaff66092]

Hi guys,

 

Seasons greetings to you all.

 

Thanks for all your responses.

 

I already have some brick acid so I’ll try that first.

 

Tony

[Gordon WParticipant @gordonw]

This derusting topic keeps cropping up. My advice is drop into paraffin ( better than diesel)  ,tap all moving parts gently on a regular basis, and have patience. I’ve recovered all sorts over the years, including a small engine that had been at the bottom of the sea for 5 yrs. Read on a US website , a test of penetrating fluids concluded the best was a 50/50 mix of brake fluid and acetone, haven’t tried it yet but sounds right.

[Sub MandrelParticipant @submandrel]

I am a believer in the electrolytic method. It has been described in other threads.

 

Neil

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

The electrolytic method is fine for lower grade materials but you can get hydrogen embrittlement of  steel if you leave it too long.

[Ian AbbottParticipant @ianabbott31222]

I like the citric acid method.

 

About ten days ago, I picked up a load of Whitworth spanners from the recycle in Newton Abbot.  They’d been sitting in the rain for who knows how long, so I searched around for any other stuff that needed de-rusting and dumped the lot in a bucket  of water with 100g of citric acid.

 

The next morning, the bucket was frozen solid.  It’s still frozen solid.  I’ve now forgotten what exactly is in there.

 

Ah, the joys of no heated work space.

 

Ian 

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

I think Gordon W is the one to follow, don’t try anything more aggressive untill you get the thing to bits, then you may need the citric acid, or the electrolitc method to clean up the individual parts.  Ian S C

[TerrydParticipant @terryd72465]

Ho Tony,

 

Just make sure your brick acid doesn’t contain Hydrochloric acid (spirit of salts or Muriatic acid in the US etc) as I said above.  That plays havoc with steel components.

 

T

[Gray62Participant @gray62]

I’ve been experimenting with the electrolytic method for a few weeks now. I am trying to rescue a badly rusted 12″ 4 jaw chuck. So far the process has been positive, I have a significant sludge of rusty coloured materiel building up in the bottom of the tank and the surface of the chuck body is slowly turning black, I must admit, I’m a little sceptical as to the condition of the jaw feed screws once this process is complete as they are significantly rusted. If I can save the body and the jaws I will deem that a success, the screws can be manufactured. If it fails, I have a 12″ door stop that will withstand a force0 gale . It cost me nothing so owes me nothing, although I don’t tell SWMBO how long the power unit is running for !!

[Gordon AParticipant @gordona]

I have had good results in the past with the electrolysis method, but have used  white vinegar on other occasions, just another mild acid (acetic). The type that SWMBO gets me is probably just an uncoloured version of the type that accompanies fish and chips !

[Chris TriceParticipant @christrice43267]

You can buy white (clear uncoloured) vinegar from most supermarkets. I’ve used it for cleaning brass pieces although the smell can get a bit pungent.

 

[John OlsenParticipant @johnolsen79199]

I would have thought the results from the electrolytic process would be both positive and negative

 

On a more serious note, I have often been surprised at how rusty something can look and still be perfectly OK after it has been cleaned up. With the jaw feed screws, you only need a reasonably smooth running surface, the accuracy does not depend on them, so I would guess that a bit of cleaning up with wet and dry will leave them OK for use.

 

White vinegar is mostly made from white wine and the brown stuff is made from malt. The acetic acid will be exactly the same in both cases so either should do. If you eat pickles a lot, the leftover juice from the jar will do for pickling, the  odd bit of stuff floating in it won’t hurt the job. Don’t reuse it for more pickles afterwards.

 

regards

John

 

 

[LenParticipant @len48873]

Try a little heat with a blowtorch, but nut too much, work the screws backwards/forewards etc etc etc. usually persistence pays off, vinegar is more generally used on corroded aluminium / steel.

[peter Humphreys 2Participant @peterhumphreys2]

I've used cheap (value brand, £0.21 for two litres) on an old motorbike fuel tank, came up gleaming but I did have to buy 12 bottles and then found all the little pin holes where it had rusted through.

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