Finger plane repair

[thistle3585]

My convex Ibex finger plane got submerged and the blade is rusty and the brass is discolored. I'm not too concerned about the discoloration but I wonder the best way to remove the rust? I have a chemical cleaner but am concerned it might effect the blade. I thought about just sanding it off but wasn't sure how important blade thickness is too the functioning of the blade.

Andrew

[buddyellis]

Wet Dry 220 grit paper. You're not going to remove THAT much material sanding it.

[sunburst]

If it's just light surface rust, re-milling the flat back surface, and resharpening and re-honing the blade will make it just fine. You can mill both surfaces flat to get rid of more of the rust. If it's pitted badly, just order a replacement blade.

[dunbarhamlin]

Just your normal sharpening process (finishing by polishing bevel and back, right?) will sort it. If lots of rust, I'd clear the worst with a rust eater (or even green pan scouring pad) to avoid clogging sharpening media.

If it is pitted on the back at the edge (the only bit that matters,) then can most likely get away with using a very slight back bevel of 1 or 2 degrees (look up David Charlesworth's Ruler Trick for the how to.) Only downside is you do then have to use the 'trick' averytime you hone.

Cheers
Steve

[Richipper]

Try Citric Acid. here is a link about it.
http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/WayneC/blog/1439

There is also a link to some Q&A.

Richard
wanna be builder

[thistle3585]

Thanks to all. It looks like just the normal sharpening method has cleaned it up. There is a little bit of dark, rust residue on the edges but I don't think it will be a problem.