slim_boy_fat
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Following advice on here, I now use three anodes to surround the work piece - much more efficient than one big one.
- Thread starter balmerchris
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tinman123
Putting the Extra into ordinary.
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i have a lot of stuff in my head but some of it mightnt be in the right file so to speak but am i right in saying that you can use solid carbon as a sacrificial piece or have i that confused with some other plan i have on file up there.
if so i think it was about the best thing that could be used altho its not cheap.
slim_boy_fat
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Not sure, but why reinvent the wheel? 
I use an old lawnmower blade and some scrap steel rod/bar.
I use an old lawnmower blade and some scrap steel rod/bar.
tinman123
Putting the Extra into ordinary.
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as pdg says its the optimum sacrificial piece to use just, i mind at the time some on you tube were using it and the results were good.Not sure, but why reinvent the wheel?
but as you say, any bits of steel do altho the cleaner the steel is the better the results iirc.
and im not suggesting on reinventing it, its just the optimum way of going about it i believe but the steel will do just fine.
i see a lot using molasses too, it seems to work well but takes longer to complete.
MattF
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Cast iron seems to have lasted by far the longest out of all of the anode material I've tried. Carbon worked well, but seemed to decompose within a relatively short time.
It works fine.
With electrolysis, you'll soon come to learn there's no end of hearsay and utterly sh*te information out there on the subject. Take most of what you read with a pinch of salt, and if you're curious as to whether something will work or not, set up a test vat and try it with a scrap item.
It works fine.
With electrolysis, you'll soon come to learn there's no end of hearsay and utterly sh*te information out there on the subject. Take most of what you read with a pinch of salt, and if you're curious as to whether something will work or not, set up a test vat and try it with a scrap item.
tinman123
Putting the Extra into ordinary.
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i was collecting a sandblaster from a place last year, a clear out sale so everything was going.
beside what i was collecting there was a table with about ten pieces of carbon rod and flat on it, big stuff, 3" rods of it.
i asked the attendant if he would sell them but no was the answer, not for any money would he let them go, but he freely admitted that they would be put in the skip, it was the company who didnt want to sell it.
in the skip there was the best part of an 8x4 sheet 25mm thick of some kind of nylon, wasnt allowed that either.
i can never get my head round that kind of lark tbh.
as you say, the biggest problem with it is the price of it.
Obviously common sense applies when deciding whether to experiment or not. 
.
.
Screwdriver
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Here's one I did today.
It was firmly attached to a Meddings pillar drill I just bought.
I took one look and assumed it was skip fodder.
But after a couple of days in the tank...
Don't leave it around when wet. It will rust solid.
Blow dried.
It's not a great tool. Made in Taiwan and I'll need to replace the plastic handles. But it runs smooth enough now.
S.
It was firmly attached to a Meddings pillar drill I just bought.
I took one look and assumed it was skip fodder.
But after a couple of days in the tank...
Don't leave it around when wet. It will rust solid.
Blow dried.
It's not a great tool. Made in Taiwan and I'll need to replace the plastic handles. But it runs smooth enough now.
S.
balmerchris
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That cleaned up nicely. Looks like a useful little vice.Here's one I did today.
It was firmly attached to a Meddings pillar drill I just bought.
I took one look and assumed it was skip fodder.
But after a couple of days in the tank...
Don't leave it around when wet. It will rust solid.
Blow dried.
It's not a great tool. Made in Taiwan and I'll need to replace the plastic handles. But it runs smooth enough now.
S.
Here's one I did today.
It was firmly attached to a Meddings pillar drill I just bought.
I took one look and assumed it was skip fodder.
But after a couple of days in the tank...
Don't leave it around when wet. It will rust solid.
Blow dried.
It's not a great tool. Made in Taiwan and I'll need to replace the plastic handles. But it runs smooth enough now.
S.
Doing something that size would be a bit of a problem in Phosphoric acid so I can see that is one benefit of Electrolysis. When I have done seized hose clips etc they have been really free once they come out of the acid, I assume its the same here?
D
Screwdriver
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I'll find somewhere for it
Phosphoric is a different process albeit with a similar ambition. You'd have to be much more careful with plated or aluminium parts for example, plus the clean up is trickier when you dispose of the residue. does a similar job though, even to the extent of reducing a layer of black iron oxide back into boring old iron. But you have to clean it off thoroughly or bad things happen.
After the electrolysis, typically you find places where the part may have been oily or greased. If the part is heavily rusted, it will take off paint, especially on cast iron. Washing powder helps to soften paint anyway but usually electrolysis will leave any good undercoat in place. This is amazingly handy if someone has crudely painted over an original finish for example.
Screwd.
tinman123
Putting the Extra into ordinary.
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its a while ago since i seen a can of duckhams oil be it empty or full.Here's one I did today.
Blow dried.
It's not a great tool. Made in Taiwan and I'll need to replace the plastic handles. But it runs smooth enough now.
S.
fine vice now after all the work, it looks like it could be handy.
Screwdriver
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Haha. Someone is paying attention!
How about these?
Fifteen-twenty gallon tanks of paraffin. Came as part of a job lot. As an example, for that lot (75 litres) I paid a fiver!
So much other stuff including a MINT Record vice (84M) and an almost perfect 12x24 inch toolroom surface plate, I won't bore you. This was the main event though:
Back on topic, that little shaper will be getting its toes wet in my electrolysis tank any day now...
S.
How about these?
Fifteen-twenty gallon tanks of paraffin. Came as part of a job lot. As an example, for that lot (75 litres) I paid a fiver!
So much other stuff including a MINT Record vice (84M) and an almost perfect 12x24 inch toolroom surface plate, I won't bore you. This was the main event though:
Back on topic, that little shaper will be getting its toes wet in my electrolysis tank any day now...
S.
