Any Suggestions....Metal Rulers

[David]

I read some of that article. Hexavalent chromium was mentioned, which IIRC was the subject of "Erin Brockovich". Not such a good byproduct of when stainless steel and electolysis meet!

dave

[Andy Dingley]

Shame it's so ignorant - there are better guides around. The hexavalent chromium scare is flown again, and apparently you can clean aluminium if you're careful (you can't).

Good process, but a bad page on it.

[hylourgos]

Ha ha! That's sadly true.

Not a bad jab there, SM, for a professed anti-pedant.

...but at least my panties are dry.

Amused, H.

[Amused]

Shop Notes #72 is the one I used. I was just searching for a WEB page that explained the process, and that one came up first.

[Pop]

: >>Over the years, I have acquired several metal rulers, some of them, very : >>detailed. : >>

: >

: >

: > I received several useful suggestions, but stumbled on a solution, that is : > awesome. : >

: > Shop Notes had an article on using electrolysis to clean steel tools. : > Sounds crazy, I know, but I tried it this afternoon and it worked amazingly : > well. : >

: > Using a auto battery charger, you immerse the steel tool in a solution of : > water an sodium carbonate, (a water softener found in cheaper detergents) : > and BINGO. In an hour or so, the tool is covered in a black soot-like gunk. : > Rinse and scrub lightly with a scotch brite, and the tool LOOKS BRAND NEW. : > I've done two rules this afternoon, with tremendous success. The numbers : > pop out on the shiny *new* surface. (It will not "fill in pits" but they : > won't have any rust in them, either) : >

: > This morning, I "cleaned" an old Craftsman block plane. (You have to remove : > any wood or brass parts, BTW) Again, it took two hours but the results were : > most pleasing. : >

: > CAUTION: We're talking water and electricity here. If you do something : > stupid, it's gonna hurt! : >

: > This article is very long, but detailed. : >

>

: >

: I read some of that article. Hexavalent chromium was mentioned, which : IIRC was the subject of "Erin Brockovich". Not such a good byproduct of : when stainless steel and electolysis meet! : : dave

Yeah, that's what the article says. Your point is?

[Pop]

: wrote: : : >This article is very long, but detailed. : >

Shame it's so ignorant - there are better guides around. The hexavalent : chromium scare is flown again, and apparently you can clean aluminium if : you're careful (you can't). : : Good process, but a bad page on it.

Good destructive criticism, too; got anything along the lines of positive criticism? Or don't you know what that means?

Personally, I enjoyed the article and have found verification/confirmation plus more details very easy to find.

Pop

[CW]

No.

[Bruce Barnett]

That may be, but IMHO those that MAKE the tools can tell us what the proper name is.

[David]

uh, "be careful"?

Dave

[Andy Dingley]

Electrolysis using a stainless steel electrode in a 12V tank is _not_ going to produce hexavalent chromium. Please cite any reputable reference that claims otherwise.

[George E. Cawthon]

Maybe? You sound like the idiot in the phone advertisement where he says he is sticking it to the man. Top, bottom, front, rear, left, right, etc. are often used as descriptors when they are inappropriate and meaningless to the item described. Now you be sure to hold the football with the left side nearest you.

The people that write the words (advertisements, instruction manuals, etc.) often don't know anything about the tool or how to use it, and the writers get confused and may make mix ups, especially if the writings are not reviewed by the real technicians. Hell, just think of all the silly and stupid mistakes you find in newspaper articles about something in your field of specialization.

[alexy]

Best example I saw of that was some oil-absorbent material. It was not the usual kaolin, but some very light powder. The manufacturer claimed it was lighter than air. Even though I had no oil drips on the ceiling of my garage, I went ahead and bought it, confident that I could capture the package contents before they floated off, and force them down to the garage floor!

[Bruce Barnett]

Starrett sells rules. Stanley sells rules. They are allowed to tell us what the NAME of the product is. Who said anything about advertisements or instruction manuals? Sheesh!

I don't go around making up names for the products I buy. I can hear it now.

George: How do you like my new BMW? Fred: It says Hyundai. George: That's those writers they hire. They always get confused and mixed up.

[George E. Cawthon]

Har! :)

[George E. Cawthon]

Very interesting, have you had your meds for the day? Or do you always randomly mix up things?

[lawestx25]

One can call day night and night day. That is a privilege accorded to those living in a free society. If you wish to know the true meaning of a word, there is one source, the Oxford English Dictionary.

[George E. Cawthon]

I think a dictionary was one of the things I suggested, along with longtime tool makers and technical books on the techniques that use the tools

[Bruce Barnett]

I'll use small words for you. American rule makers have been using the same terms for 160 years. Stanley, Starrett, General and Lufkin all agree the proper term is "rule." Philip E. Stanley, who has familiarity with the Stanley family business, is an author of at least four books about this subject, also says th propr term is "rule."

You disagreed, and responded with

And then you accuse ME of getting confused? I'm not the one claiming that Stanley, etc. has been using the wrong term for 160 years, and that it was never EVER reviewed by "real technicians."

Stanley sells "rules" and has done so for more than 100 years. They MAKE the tools the technicians use. You can call it whatever you want, but that doesn't change the NAME of the product.

[George E. Cawthon]

Definitely confused, because I never claimed that Stanley used the wrong term, I never claimed that "rule" was incorrect. In fact I suggest the references that you could use to find the acceptable term. I suggest you go back in the comment tree to Amused's 1/31 comment showing that different manufacturers use different names.

This is by far too tedious and you are too confused to continue.

[Bruce Barnett]

Sigh.. Only Snap-on and DickBlick were inconsistent.

Stanley, Starrett, Lufkin and General all use "rule" consistently, and I pointed this out. I own products by these manufacturers, and as I said, I consider them authorities on the subject.

I d> That may be, but IMHO those that MAKE the tools can tell us what the > proper name is.

----

And you relied:

So apparently I'm an idiot for considering Stanley et al to be authority.