Farmall Cub

You guys have got to check this out. Currently trying to fix up an old metal lathe someone gave me, I found this home machinist's forum, and stumbled upon this technique. Wonder how it would work on large tractor sheetmetal surfaces that can't fit in one of our tanks?

http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Machining/QuickTricks/RustRemoval/rustremoval.html

Paul:

Might work, might not.

I guess depends on how big the sheet metal part is, how many planes on it that need to have the overlay sheet bent to fit... that would be the big impediment I think. and how to keep the overlay tight enough to form to the surface. I don't think I will be using that on my saw table or jointer table anytime soon.. I think the old ways.. a little elbow grease, steel wool, and parafin wax will do for my machinery surfaces..

and if you cannot find a 400 gallon tank :

to dunk your large tractor part in..

However, thank you for the http://www.frets.com link.. that will come in handy as Kristina and I play with building guitars...

Yeah, you're right Rudi. It's a novel idea, but the more I thought about it the more impractical and ineffective (for "real" rust) it sounded.

What I really would like to find is some sort of plastic tank that is rectangular . . . something 3 feet wide, 3 feet high, and 6-8 inches deep. Something I can get the fenders and hood of my 340 into next spring. Any ideas?

Paul- I've also thought about different tanks and was wondering why not make one out of some sort of wooden frame work or some sort of plywood box and lining it with some heavy plastic?

Gary

I always get stuck figuring out how you would seal the seams?

Maing thing would be to keep it wet with solution.

How about using either a small preformed plastic pond or sheet of pond liner material? The liner could be draped over the frame and corners wouldn't matter.

Bob

You could always make a redneck swimming pool to use as an electrolysis tank. Throw a blue tarp in the back of your pickup truck box and fill her up with solution.


Rondell

Gary,

A guy I knew years ago had built an aquarium (a BIG one) using plywood. Painted the interior with an epoxy paint. Didn't leak a drop for years! Might have potential for those wanting a shallow tank that is wide and long.

Bill

Paul_NJ wrote:Yeah, you're right Rudi. It's a novel idea, but the more I thought about it the more impractical and ineffective (for "real" rust) it sounded.

What I really would like to find is some sort of plastic tank that is rectangular . . . something 3 feet wide, 3 feet high, and 6-8 inches deep. Something I can get the fenders and hood of my 340 into next spring. Any ideas?

Paul:

My local feed store has stuff like that. Also you can buy these rectangular in-ground pool liners that would be pretty much ideal, and not priced to empty your wallet, just put a large ding in it. They make them with heavier extruded PVC's as well. I think it will just be a matter of looking.

The tank pictured above is almost twice that size.. and if it was on it's side, it would probably be similar to what you are looking for. They do come in various sizes/capacities, this one is 400 Imperial gallons. 200 Imperial gallons might be what you are looking for. Check with your local stove oil dealers, they may have a few hanging around that no longer can be used for stove oil but may be still well suited for an electrolysis tank. What I like about the one I got from my father-in-law, was that it is narrow enough that it will not take up a lot of room in my shop.

Oh, and I solved the hydrogen off-gassing problem too! Will be putting up pics as soon as the new pole barn is finished and the tanks are running... sometimes old computer parts are quite useful

As for availability of tubs and stuff that could be used for this little project.. even cement mixing tubs such as:

from Argee Corp could be useful, or an old one from a brick laying company etc. These come in different sizes and weights...

or maybe something like this is more what you are thinking.. but it is deeper than 6 inches and it isn't cheap..

Mixing Tub

I did about 6 searches so far.. but I imagine a few more might result in finding what you are looking for. Hope this helps a tad...

I think the towel and sheet method would work well for some situations. Although it will probably work best if the overlay sheet is a fairly close match for the part being cleaned, I bet it isn't all that critical. As long as the towel is wet and in contact, the piece will probably clean up. It seems analogous to the concern of maintaining line of sight between the anode and the part being cleaned in a tank.

Here is another thought on building a tank. You can get shower lining material in building supply stores. It is heavy plastic and something like 5 feet wide in long roles. You buy it by the foot. If it isn't wide enough, you can glue 2 sections together. Look here to see that the liner looks like.

http://www.extremehowto.com/xh/article. ... e_id=60342

what about old bath tubs? many fo them are fiberglass, and would need supported.

or a cheapo plastic wading pool

Guys - this is a 5 year-old thread in which the original link does not work. I am locking it to prevent further confusion. I believe all the other discussion on electrolysis can be found in several threads by using the search feature of the forum.