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Carbon black can be found at Art Supply houses as a pigment and graphite is purchased in a little tube which is to be used as a lock lubricant.
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Carbon black can be found at Art Supply houses as a pigment and graphite is purchased in a little tube which is to be used as a lock lubricant.
Being able to grind the charcoal into a fine powder does pack into smaller areas of bug bites, typical along the edges of the scales, and leaves a smooth, solid finish.
Attachment 345993
Were as the bog oak is quite lumpy, and has a more porous texture.
Attachment 346000
I also use charcoal powder plus some dark brown sawdust to give that slight hint of brown to the epoxy. Some horn more than others is lighter in color and the jet black shows in a patch.
https://sharprazorpalace.com/worksho...ml#post1939944
Unless you live in Arizona or similar arid climates use WD-40 instead. Locks don't really need much lubrication and work fine dry as long as they are free from corrosion. WD-40 is one of the best anticorrosive agents you can get and it is not oily. Oil is your other enemy with locks because the springs inside are so small(the wire is about the diameter of a beard hair) that the viscosity of the oil renders them inoperable causing the tumblers to stick.
Attachment 346014
On the left is a typical auto lock cylinder spring and on the right is a typical residential/commercial lock cylinder sprng.
In climates where there is any appreciable amount of humidity graphite will turn to gum inside the lock and if there is any oily residue it will turn into sticky gum actually making it work worse than it would clean and dry. In addition to that, more than a puff of graphite can be compressed by the insertion of the key and turned into a rock. I have pulled key shaped rocks out of locks where.the owner figured that if a little is good a lot must be great.
The one downside to using WD-40 is that it dissipates quicker than oil. Although this is actually a good thing it necessitates more frequent use. As a rule of thumb once per quarter/season is best.
I'm done...
Carry on...
Well I got to where my tools are and managed to separate the scales from the blade. You’ll see in the next post that was not entirely successful.
I used the 3M Marine and some 1200 wet/dry to remove most of the black stuff. The blade seems to be in excellent shape with the exception of some microchips that I’ll have to hone out later.
Attachment 346069
When I tried to remove the scales, the pins were really stuck in the holes. I guess the horn had shrunk over the years. So I decided to cut them off with my side cutters.
When I tried to separate the scales, I used a flat blade screwdriver to act as a wedge and tried to ease the scales apart. That didn’t work and I wound up cracking one scale and leaving bits of the pin in each. I can drill that out later.
I am really intimidated by these old horn scales and would appreciate some advice about what to do next.
Attachment 346070
Short, quick story...
1st, CA and clamp the crack.
Sand scales with 220 sandpaper, removing the old, dried horn from the scales.
Make epoxy repairs, sand repairs to match the contours of the scales. Then smooth with 400, 600, 0000steel wool.
Wipe with denatured alcohol, then you can dye if desired, then soak in neats foot oil.
Tape the outside of the scales with scotch tape, over the repair areas. Fill with epoxy from the inside side of the scales. The tape acts as a molding to create the shape of the existing scale.
Attachment 346076
Attachment 346077
Attachment 346078