More a slight enhancement rather than restoration?

[Tony]

I wasn’t sure whether to post here or in the firearms & ordnance section so please move if necessary.

 

I’ve been after a repro Citron Foug wooden plug for a while and haven’t had any luck finding one. Then last week someone pointed out a nice original example to me. Although I’m very happy with the tatty condition of the original, after starting to remove the rust from a Citron body I decided to make my own plug complete with striker, spring etc.

 

As I couldn’t quickly find wood with the correct diameter (didn’t want to wait at least 2 weeks for delivery) I decided to use beech with a radius of 2.5mm less than the original which is very noticeable when fitted but as a first attempt it’s all good.

 

The body spent 2 days in a bucket with an electrolyte solution and was then hosed down. The striker was a M6 bolt, filed into shape and the shaft down to 5mm, the plate nailed to the top of the plug was cut out of an old zinc plated barrel that’s been in the garden for years and the fuze and det are a simple brass tube painted black.

 

The whole thing has been painted with linseed oil as I’ve heard it protects the metal too.

 

Just need a safety cap now.

 

Tony

 

Edited August 12, 2015 by Tony
Annoyingly impossible (for me) to get the photos in the correct order

[Chris Boonzaier]

Looks really nice!!! Did not think it would turn out that nice!!!

 

Can you post the cleaning process in detail?

[Brian Wolfe]

Well done Tony!

This is the correct section, in my opinion.

Regards

Brian

 

Edited August 12, 2015 by Brian Wolfe
Poor memory = edits

[Tony]

Thanks to both of you for the comments and yes Chris, I can do that

 

There are more than likely many different ways of removing rust using a battery charger but this is the way I do it.

 

You need:

1 – a rusty object

2 – a container large enough to fill with water and submerge the rusty object in

3 – a wire brush

4 – a battery charger

5 – a piece of steel

6 – normal household washing powder

 

After removing a bit of crud from around the neck for better contact I attached the minus pole (cathode) to the rusty object and submerged it in a bucket of water.

I then put the piece of steel in the bucket and attached the plus pole (anode) to it. I’ve kept the plus pole out of the water and haven’t encountered any problems as yet with the minus pole sitting in the water, partially submerged.

Add some washing powder, I used about half of one of those plastic measuring cups that come with the washing powder in the photo above.

Plug in the charger, switch it on and crack open a cold one.

 

Don’t let the parts attached to the plus (piece of steel) and minus (rusty object) poles come into contact as it’ll bugger up the process. After a bit you’ll see some fizzing coming from the rusty object and foam will settle on the surface. If this doesn’t happen just chuck in a bit more powder.

 

After a while (depending on the amount of corrosion) switch off the charger and check the object. If you’re doing this inside your home and you’re married/living with someone please remember to wrap an old towel around the object otherwise you’ll get an earful from the lady of the house when she sees the mess you’ve dripped onto the floor.

 

Once safely outside hose down the object with water, some of the crud may need a going over with a wire brush but if the whole thing doesn’t come up clean enough just stick it back in your container, switch the charger back on and repeat the process. 

 

When you’re happy with the way it looks you can either leave it as is, put an anti rusting agent on and paint it or just put some flowers in it. I put a coating of linseed oil over the body as I like the look.

 

The piece of steel attached to the plus pole attracts the rust and will deteriorate over time, I don't know if there's any difference in the result when using plain old mild steel or stainless but I had a piece of stainless laying around so used that. You can also place the object to be cleaned in the middle of the container and surround it with  several pieces of steel however, you'll need to connect them to each other with a piece of wire that's a good conductor, like copper and don't let the connection get wet.

 

That’s about it, I think.

Edited August 13, 2015 by Tony
Forgot something