Popular Woodworking 2005-11 № 151, страница 16

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Dept. 05PW11B

CIRCLE NO. 172 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD.

Letters

More Projects From Greene & Greene

Most Plans or Details are Lacking

As a woodworker, I worship at the altar of Charles Greene and Henry Greene. I have made reproductions of Greene & Greene furniture as well as pieces of my own design by using the Greene & Greene design vocabulary. I collect books dedicated to their architecture and furniture, and I have many articles from woodworking magazines detailing Greene & Greene projects.

In most cases I find the result wanting in some way (often the overall look of the piece just doesn't seem right). So I was very pleasantly surprised by Robert Lang's article in your April 2005 issue. His Ford house server reproduction is excellent. The piece looks authentic and is constructed in a practical but "true-to-the-spirit" manner. I hope to see more Greene & Greene articles from Robert in future issues.

David Mathias Dublin, Ohio

A Better Way to Remove Rust

I have a fairly simple question that I bet you guys could answer. I live in Miami, where, as you can guess, it's very humid almost year-round. I learned early in woodworking to keep a light coat of paste wax on all my machinery (and tools) to keep them from rusting.

I recently renovated my shop and, unfortunately, all my machinery had to stay outside while the additions were being put in. This was for a period of about two weeks. With some speculation on your part, you can probably (and correctly) assume that some of my tools received rust spots, the worst of which was my table saw with its cast-iron table. I asked a couple friends what they thought I should do and they assured me that a product called Naval Jelly would dissolve the rust. Someone also said to try rubbing the rust with steel wool. Well, I tried both. When I used the steel wool, I just ended up getting exhausted

with no real progress in removing the rust. I tried some Naval Jelly on an inconspicuous area and it ended up staining the metal black (to be fair, it did remove the rust). I was lucky that I tried it only in a small area, as I really don't want a black table saw. I was wondering if you could tell me how to remove the rust. Are there techniques or products that would take the rust off without staining the metal? Thanks for any help!

Craig Gelbard Miami, Florida

The Naval Jelly does work, but as you noted, it will stain the cast iron. Here is the method that works for me:

Get a little can of "Liquid Wrench." It's a light penetrating oil developed for freeing rusted nuts and bolts. Squirt this on the rusty spots, and work it in with a Scotch Brite pad or steel wool. You should be able to see the rust come up. If the rust is very bad, let the oil sit on the top for 20 minutes to half an hour, then rub with the pad again.

This will leave you with a dirty oily mess on the cast iron. Take some baby powder (make sure you get the kind made from talc, not the kind made with cornstarch) and sprinkle it on top of the oil. Let that sit for 15 or 20 minutes, and then wipe it off the surface with a rag. The talc will absorb the oily residue, and leave a slick surface on the cast iron. You might need to repeat these steps a couple times.

The talcum powder also offers decent protection for the top: sprinkle it on the surface, and let it sit for a few minutes to absorb moisture in the iron. Remove the excess by dusting it off with a rag. It gets into the pores of the cast iron, and it leaves a bit of a film.

If you ever have to store or leave your tools outside again, try smearing a thick coat of wax on the tops beforehand. This should help prevent moisture from getting to the iron.

— Robert W. Lang, senior editor continued on page 17

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Popular Woodworking November 2005