Sows Ear to slightly better Sows Ear - Restoration

[scottg]

 I don't usually cross post between out 2 forums, but this time it happened to be good timing
If you already saw this. I apologize in advance.
Its more about the acid story.

The other day I spied some wrenches on their way to the dump.
Literally, they were in a pile at my neighbors, bound for the dump the next day.
In the remains of a cardboard box filled with rust and crust and generally ruined things that had sat in the rain for years.

Like a fool I took them. What I possibly could have wanted with such sad cases, I cannot tell you.
I didn't get a picture as found. Frankly I was sure they would be going to the dump so why bother.
But if you have seen balls of rust pulled from the ground that are twice again as big as the item inside, this is what they looked like.
I lugged them home and left them in a corner.

It happened a week later that I got some pipe dies. They are good dies and I will restore and use them. But hardly glamorous tools. So I dumped them unceremoniously into a tub of weakened muriatic acid.
I use muriatic instead of vinegar or radiator acid (oxalic) when the tool doesn't rate gentle treatment. Rough cast iron and such, its perfect for.
  As long as you do it outside, wear gloves and watch your eyes, its fast and its cheap.

Since I had a tub going with the pipe dies, I figured what the hell, and tossed in the wrenches.
Well the dies were done the next day. I pulled them and scrubbed with baking soda in water, and a poly 3M abrasive pad. You have to neutralize the acid.

  The wrenches were still crap however, so they got left. And again another day, and still again a 3rd day. By the 4th day I pulled one out, It was almost done. I took a pad and scrubbed a bit and caught the outline of embossing! Instead of the standard no-name DOE wrenches, it was marked!
A bit more scraping and I could see it. JH Williams Co, Brooklyn NY.

It was pitted pretty bad, but it was marked.
  So I put it back in and soaked for one more day.
Last day I pulled them all out and scrubbed with bicarb, and spread out in the sun to dry.

All were marked with the Williams logo.
1/2 of them have weird marks and the other sorta normal. I'll get to that marking later.
A couple still had traces of black paint on the beams. The working ends had once been polished bright but I saw no trace they had ever been plated.
  Whether they were originally japanned or owner painted I don't know.  But I liked the idea of it.
The beams were never ground smooth at all. Simply rough cast or forged.  So fired enamel made sense to me.   

I further wire brushed the very last traces of rust from the beams.  I sprayed them black. Rattle can Rustoleum.  I baked it hard in the oven. 200 degree for 1/2 hour, cool,  then 250 for another round.
Another coat, baked. Third coat and baked for an hour at the end.

The last baking got me harassed by the old lady for fumes, so send her to the movies or something when you do yours.  ;)

Last I went after the working faces with abrasives. I took them down over 1/16" inch more or less. Down to the bottoms of all the shallow pits. Some of the worst pits were 1/8" or more deep so they had to stay.
It was a tightrope act trying to get the pits out without taking off the trademarks.

The largest wrench is 13" long, 1 1/2" across the gap between the jaws. The number 38 is embossed on the beam. On the back of the head it is marked 7/8.
7/8? What is this about?

  The backside of the second largest wrench is marked 1 and its way over an inch??

The first picture is what they looked like after the first 2 days of acid. These two wrenches aren't marked, so get no further treatment. They'll be junked.
  yours Scott

[mrchuck]

WOW!!! Brought them back from the dead!!
Great work Scottg !!!

[Papaw]

Great job!
The wrenching News explains the sizes for you-

In the United States prior to 1929 the sizes stamped on wrenches usually referred to the diameter of the bolt not the actual opening size. Thus a wrench stamped ½ U. S. would actually have a 7/8" wrench opening size as a nut for a ½" diameter U. S. Standard bolt would measure 13/16" across the flats and allowing for 1/16 clearance would require a 7/8" wrench opening. This same size wrench would also fit nuts for 5/8" hex cap screw and bolt and nuts for 9/16" S.A.E Standard Cap Screws and thus would be marked ½ U.S, 5/8 Hex Cap, and 9/16 SAE. Carl Bolt's website page on tool standards pictures 17 wrenches with 19 different identifications and sizes all marked 1/2"! This could get pretty confusing so circa 1929 the American Engineering Standards Committee specified that wrenches should be marked with the actual width across the flats of the nut or bolt head they would fit

http://www.wrenchingnews.com/wrench-logos/logos-page-1.html Scroll down to Size Standard Markings.

[oldtools]

Amazing restoration, looks great

[rusty]

>The beams were never ground smooth at all. Simply rough cast or forged.  So fired enamel made sense to me.   

I have found far too many of those series with traces of black paint between the heads  to believe they were anything but factory painted, just like you did. They look great :)

ISN's, and the logo put your wrenches in the early 20's...

I sometimes take a chance on rust in a bucket, because I have found sometimes when a bunch of things rust together, the rust on an object isn't from that object, but rather, from some other thing in the bucket that rusted faster and covered everything else in crud. So, sometimes, things clean up far better than expected...

Nails are particularly good at covering other objects in crud, a bucket of rusty nails and a wrench is often a good gamble...(Unless you were hoping for good nails)

The small wrench in the first pic is probably a common vlchek auto tool kit wrench, use it for a doorstop or something, they made billions of them ;P

[john k]

Scott done it again.   Finding anything under the rest was a real roll of the dice.    I like those JH Williams wrenches, got a bucket of them around here.  Some are NewOldStock, never used or rusted.  Got these in the shed that doesn't leak.   They also have black paint on the beams and bright polish on the faces.  So, Scott, what you gonna do for your next act?  You know we're all waiting?

[Branson]

The first picture is what they looked like after the first 2 days of acid. These two wrenches aren't marked, so get no further treatment. They'll be junked.
  yours Scott

They still look like good users to me.  Why junk them?  I'd give them a little more treatment and put 'em in my user tool box.

But for the rest,  Wow!  Three coats of Rustoleum, each coat with a bit of baking?  I might try that on a couple of Williams I have.  Great work.

[clovis]

Nice job, Scott!

Very impressive!!!!