Refurbish old tools

I found an old bucket full of my grandfather’s and dad’s old tools (except for the large axe head I got at an estate sale for free). They were chipped, rusted and useless until I got a hold of them.

I can’t find the pics of this vise from before the acid bath so you have to take my word for it. It was in pretty bad shape. It was full of rust and decades of mud dauber nests. None of the parts turned. It was horrible. I put it in vinegar for days at a time until finally the rust started to give. As if by magic, once that happened, the whole thing took on new life, as if it wanted to work again. The rust removal was a process. After about a week in vinegar, I hit it with a brush attachment on my drill, then with a wire brush by hand, then with steel wool. When it was finally stripped to the steel, clean and bright, it was time to paint. I taped off the works and gave it several coats of rust-preventative enamel. The parts that couldn’t be covered by paint I sealed with linseed oil and then covered with lithium grease. This was my grandfather’s vise. It was a moldering, rusty wasp haven and I brought it back from the dead and use it in my shop. It’s one of my favorite tools out there now.