Rehab a Framing square

[bandit571]

Picked a rusty one up last spring, was able to finally work on it, today...

   
Handsome, ain't it...I have seen worse..
 

   
Wasn't too far gone...should clean up..

   
hand scrub with some 60 grit.....decided to go to 80 grit on the palm sander...

   
Was leaving just enough rusty white paint to be able to read....wasn't losing any markings....wiped it down, switched to a 220 grit in the sander, changing the pad after each arm/blade was sanded...and wiped down..

   
Then a bead of 3in1 oil mooshed all over...wiped on...wiped off...

   
Seemed to help a bit.   Will do a couple more oil and wipe down, later...

   
Look any better?   99.9 % of all the markings are readable....might be a keeper?

[stav]

Nice. Looks like a quality square.

[Bill_Houghton]

And then, of course, you need to test it for square and adjust as appropriate.

[bandit571]

Already have checked it for square...dead on. 

Ok..then there was this other square...the one I rehabbed today...

   
Had more waves than Lake Erie....so..

   
I flattened things out.  Why take the time and trouble for this one square?   It belonged to my Dad.  He had it for as long as I can remember. 

Then the 80 grit on the sander, just like the last square..

   
Hmmm...something strange going on, here...

   
Apparently, these was copper plated when new...numbers were painted white, too...not a whole lot of either left..

   
There is a logo.   Nicholls MFG CO.  of Ottumwa, IA.

There is ONE scale on the one blade...dealing with cutting rafters.  Along the one arm, there is numbers counting back towards the corner, right down the center.

   
All cleaned and oiled up.   Checked for square...also dead on.  will be a keeper.    whether to restore the copper-tone finish?   We'll see..

[jppierson]

Aren't most items that are plated with nickel or chrome usually plated with copper first?

[Timberwolf]

Aren't most items that are plated with nickel or chrome usually plated with copper first?

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Nickel can be plated directly over steel....chrome cannot.Chrome can be plated directly over nickel or copper.....Nickel has the property of being able to "fill" small scratches in the surface but chrome doesn't, so chrome is usually plated over nickel...When I was repairing clocks and watches, I built a small "shoebox" nickel plating tank for antique watchmakers tools I acquired that needed rustproofing...Still have some of them...If I were younger, I would be tempted to build another plating system...it is much simpler than plating chrome..

[bandit571]

Apparently..Nicholls decided to copper plate their squares, and leave it at that.....other than fill in all the lines and numbers with white paint.  About like taking a penny, and painting the date and other lettering white.

[Timberwolf]

Apparently..Nicholls decided to copper plate their squares, and leave it at that.....other than fill in all the lines and numbers with white paint.  About like taking a penny, and painting the date and other lettering white.

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Is that Nicholls square of the "tapered" variety?..The "high dollar" squares all were thicker at the base for strength and tapered all the way to each end of the beams to reduce weight..

[bandit571]

This one is a consistent thickness all the way to the ends...~0.10", if I read the dial caliper correctly...

Trying to find out more about the No. 414 R model....

I remembered when Dad was using this one....brown like an old penny...numbers were white, but starting to turn yellow...