Evaporust vs. wire wheel and buffing compound

[cwarner]

I've often wondered if electrolysis would be effective at rust removal on handsaws?  Anyone know if there may be any possible negative effects on a saw plate?  I know it would be slower, but should pull the rust out of all the nooks and crannies..  I've followed the process outlined by Admiral with good results in the past.

[Admiral]

I'm taking Allan at his word as a metallurgical engineer (B.Sc., Met.E., Colorado Mines 1978), when he says:


                             If you want shiny, then stick with mechanical removal, electrolysis (which DOES attack the base metal), or acid removal (which DOES attack the base metal).
                                 Still Learning, Allan Hill

and presume if the base metal is attacked, it has to have some negative affect.  What keeps going thru my mind is that saw plates are relatively thin, and saw makers spent a lot of time getting the plates just so (i.e., taper grinding, tensioning, etc.) so I've got to conclude less is more. 

Right now I'm working on a '96-1917 golden era production vintage Disston #16, 26" 5 1/2 rip; plenty of plate, has some rust pockets up the plate a bit, and I gave it my usual treatment.  Finished the first forming pass (it will need another) and I was really impressed by the quality and hardness of the steel, I used up two edges of a vintage Simmons USA NOS file I got from Slav a few years ago, granted, I took off a lot of metal, but was totally impressed with the result I got.  I'll likely use up the remaining edge in my second pass.  I'd hate to degrade that steel with electrolysis, for a 100+ year old saw, with plenty of life left, that would be a shame.

[cwarner]

Thanks Admiral,  I obviously missed that tid bit when reading through this thread late last night!