Not your typical finishing question

[Bill Wilson]

It is woodworking related, but a little different than the typical finishing forum question.

I picked up a Jorgensen wooden handscrew clamp at a flea market over the weekend. The price was right, but it was covered in a thick, greasy grime. It must have been used in a machine shop or fabrication shop, definitely was not used in a woodworking application.

Anyway, I scraped, sanded & scrubbed as much of the gunk off the surface as I could and wiped it down with MS. It looks a lot better and cleaner now, but it seems like this thing was soaked in a bucket of oil or something, because I don't think I can get it down to clean, fresh wood. My question is, do you think a coat of shellac would seal in the oil/grease sufficiently so as not to cause any transfer problems if I use this clamp on new wood? I'm a casual hobbiest and this clamp wouldn't see much use, but I want it to be usable. No big loss if I can't. I can always save this for other needs, but I'm just looking at options to salvage this clamp.

Thoughts?

Thanks

[Cooler]

I would try TSP first. Scrub it and rinse it and see if it comes clean.

If it is an oil soluble sticky stuff, then painting the surface with (don't laugh) mayonnaise will soften the gunk. Leave it on over night then wash with TSP. The mayo is about 90% oil. But unlike oil it won't run off the surface. I've used it to remove adhesive from a dashboard of a car, and to remove those "You shouldn't have parked here" stickers. Left on overnight the stickers will wipe off with a dry towel. Then some windex to remove the oily residue.

[Bill Wilson]

It isn't sticky at all. It's just an accumulation of a lot of dirt, mixed with oil/grease that has soaked in well below the surface. This clamp looks like it's had a hard life, with many years of rough service in a very dirty environment. This thing was full of burn marks, holes drilled into it about 1/4" deep and even a few metal chips embedded in the sides. The metal chips show up pretty well, especially after sanding, so I think I can get them all dug out. There were very few in the clamping surface itself.

This clamp may be more of a project than what it was worth, but it was cheap enough and it deserves to live out the rest of it's days in a woodworking environment. Just trying to get it cleaned up as much as possible, so I don't regret using it on some future project.

[jteneyck]

You could glue on some new, thin wood on the clamping faces. Or, if you take the clamp apart, you might be able to joint off enough on those faces to get to fresh wood.

John

[Bill Wilson]

I considered jointing the faces, but I can't seem to figure out how to run the screw out far enough to get it off the jaws. When I open it up the whole way, the handle bottoms out before the other end comes out of the nut. I haven't been able to get it apart.

[JR1]

I like John's suggestion of adding a new, thin face—assuming that it is feasible and leaves enough capacity.Otherwise I'd suggest Kusmi #2 or BYSAKHI BUTTON these are very waxy and durable. Most adhesives will not stick to them nor will NC lacquer and either would make a good seal coat, Go ahead and do the sides as an extra precaution.

[Scoony]

You have to remove the handle to take them apart and there should be a small pin holding the handles in place. If I could get them apart, I would clean up the surface with a hand plane and reassemble. Other wise I would use the TSP then leave out in the sun in hopes of drying it out a bit.

My turn screws are grimy but I simply wiped off with mineral spirits and put them to use. Never was a problem marking up or staining wood.

[fredhargis]

While I like the idea of a new thin piece of wood, I doubt you will be able to get glue to hold. I think I would either see if it leaves marks on wood as it is, and if yes then retire it to non-wood uses.

[Bill Wilson]

Thanks guys for the suggestions. I'll try scrubbing it with TSP and let it go at that for now. If I get bored and need something to do, I might try disassembling it further to attack the clamping surfaces with a little more gusto. Otherwise I'll relegate it to clamping duties on non-critical surfaces, just to be safe.

[Trusty Rusty]

I would soak them with detergent and take them to the car wash
Rusty