The Far-Eastern Wood Butcher: Prime cuts from the far east.

Everyone has their favourite methods. I tried some that was published. Citric acid, Vinegar:  Good for small rusted items like screws and bolts. An overnight soak leaves even the fine screw threads clean. Will re-rust rapidly if not flushed with tap water, dried and oild/waxed. Coke (the drink) and Aluminium foil: Most useful for folks with limited cleaning arsenal, works well on lightly spotted or tarnished chrome bumpers or bicycle frames. (Now you know why there's an ant farm under my Bailey No. 5's chrome lever cap) Sandpaper: Works on most metals, but removes patina and leaves scratches. Sanding in just one direction (lengthwise) helps the aesthetics greatly, as in sanding a hand saw blade. Electrolysis: Works like magic, all rust gone, no trace of any cleaning... or is there? Look closely, and you will see patches of discoloration (ok, I'm being very picky here), and the bare, rust free steel surface has a matted look. If you soak an item that has many cap

        S ometimes, when you buy in a bundle, you get sorry looking tools like this.     and of course,   The tote has been dismembered into 3 portions, with the top horn missing. The knob has a befitting chunk gone too.   If these were beech wood, and the breaks are clean, I would have used hide glue, applied with a rubbed joint. ( A rubbed joint is this: Glue applied to 2 FLAT surface, surface is then RUBBED together, and left to dry. Clamps not required as drying hide-glue pulls joint together tightly )     Unfortunately, the previous owner of this plane continued to (savagely) use the plane in its broken-handled state, such that the joints were mashed and no long fit tight.Add to that, Rosewood is oily by nature: I resorted to epoxy. S o, I flattened all mating surface with a metal file, and added the rosewood powder thus generated into the epoxy mix. (My attempt to colour the epoxy) This is just an experiment. You can see that my apprehensive a

  The following account should be treated as work in progress. The come to me while I'm waiting for the bus, while I sat at the toilet bowl, or while I was skiving at work..... Why? My rubber footed whetstone holder skids around when the kerosene overflows to the feet of the box. Short of clamping the stone directly to my vise, I decided to find somthing to hold the stones firmly. Rather than buying an adjustable one made of rubber and steel, I decided to make one. Why pay when you can make a customised one? ( and a handsome one at that..) It gives your tools some workout. It uses some of the scrap you've been saving for dunno what. I need an excuse to make something. I did not put in any dimensions in the chicken scratchings below. Like I said, its a customisation. Built it to accommodate your longest stone. Having said that, it may not work for you. Some folks like to sharpen with a stone that comes glued to a box. In fact, I'm still doing it with that pre WW