Electrolysis Rocks for Rust Removal!

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Mike Camp

New User
Mike
I've been cleaning/derusting/restoring a contractor table saw I got from junquecol's stash, and decided to give electrolysis a try. My setup involved two anodes which are 1/2" rebar zip tied to some old brake rotors I had lying around after I helped my neighbor change his brakes. The rotors have a lot of surface area and work great for this process. For the power source I used a 10A 12V Manual battery charger and washing soda as the electrolyte.

Here is the initial setup (I later added a second anode on the other side).

IMG_16341.JPG

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And here are the results (the left side hasn't been dunked yet but obviously the right side has):



I've got the entire table in the solution right now, hopefully I'll be able to finish up painting this weekend, reassemble this beast and start making sawdust.
 

bluedawg76

New User
Sam
+1 for electrolysis. I've used it to remove rust from several ebay planes with very nice results. From my understanding, it's all about line of sight, so the more pieces of iron rebar you have spaced along the perimeter of your bucket the better the action. I'm guessing those brake rotors provide plenty of good surface area. Good idea!

Sam
 

junquecol

Bruce
Senior User
Does your wife know what you used her laundry basket for?
I have a tray I bought in the masonry section of Lowes that is large enough to to do the center section of the top. I was wondering how restoration was going. Did you get to HF and get some link belt yet?
 

Mike Camp

New User
Mike
Does your wife know what you used her laundry basket for?

Haha, this one isn't hers surprisingly enough. I started out about to use one of hers, but she caught me and I had to dig this one out of the attic. I'll never learn, she always knows :gar-Bi
 

Mike Camp

New User
Mike
I have a tray I bought in the masonry section of Lowes that is large enough to to do the center section of the top. I was wondering how restoration was going. Did you get to HF and get some link belt yet?

Thanks for the offer Bruce, but the table actually fits corner to corner in the blue bucket as long as I do only one half at a time. I ran the first half for 24 hours, pulled it out and dried it this evening. I oiled it to keep off the rust and flipped it around. Here is a pic of the setup.


And yes I picked up the HF link belt for $20 with my 20% coupon, I forgot to pick up a dial indicator for alignment, but I think my father has one. I was shocked that HF carries an American made product. Anyhow, the only thing left to do after I pull this table out is to pressure wash it and the wings (get the loose paint off), dry them, prime then paint. Then reassemble the beast. The arbor bearings appear to be in good shape (no play north/south/east/west) and the motor started up just fine and sounded great when I wired it up before I painted it. Upgrades I think I'm going to do are get a new stop paddle power switch and a new fence (probably a T2 or a Unifence -- I think I remember you saying you had the latter). Also for alignment would you recommend the PALS system, or just the trust old way of tap, tap with a dead blow hammer?
 
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