Spinning a yarn - Rust Busting!
*Deep Breath*
I have just arrived home from work and settled my teething 9 month old, this is the first chance I've had to actually sit down and piece a few words together.
I'm a full time mum that's lucky enough to be a working mum also! (Yay for attachment parenting in the work place!).
Now I have a few hobbies, those include: photography, baby wearing, becoming a baby wearing educator and this little blog! Writing is cathartic for me & something to keep my mind and hands active. I do not receive any monetary gain for either my blog pieces, nor my videos.
Anyway, I digress!
Some of you may know, A rather recent hobby I've taken up is loom restoration in hopes of turning that into weaving. My style of restoration is mainly trial an error, combining old tricks & tips with some form of logic & occasionally 'Dr Google'.
When I excitedly posted a photo of some rust removal I had done, in a couple of Facebook weaving groups today, I didn't realise I'd cause such a stir! Particularly in one group where
it was suggested I was selling something or hiding things, well then why would I post initially?
Let me collect my thoughts and get back to you with some pictures that make it more interesting for everyone & more meaningful to me than if I had just blurted it out.
One lady did apologise and tell me she was in a bad mood, which I appreciated.
This method of rust removal is not new or profound, but it is handy and something that could get you using your beater asap.
This method is extremely useful providing the rust is only surface level and hasn't caused dips, dents or jagged edges in the blades which may snag the yarn. It obviously depends on the level of oxidisation, but I found it worked for me!
I had read about naval jelly being great at rust removal. I hadn't heard of such a thing & I'm not certain if we have that here in Australia, but I'm sure, if not, we have some kind of equivalent.
I'm an impatient kinda person and an old trick I had heard of popped into my head, so I thought why not give it a go? Especially if it saves me a trip to the hardware store.
Drumroll please!
Aluminium Foil! Yup, nothing fancy, just your run of the mill (pardon the pun) silver foil. I thought I'd test a quick patch before work. And these were my results.
Now I know what you're thinking, but surely that wont get in between the blades? Wrong! Loosely scrunched foil is malleable enough to press in between the gaps to remove any oxidisation that may be there.
It does require a little elbow grease & patience. You simply scrunch bits of foil and rub then back and forth along the blades, you can also shape peaked or pointed bits of foil to allow easier access into the gaps. Or wrap foil around something pointy (such as a nail file).
I was told "Weaving is a game of patience." Apparently that extends to loom restoration too.
Which is great for me, because patience has always been a virtue of which, I never possessed!
*Handy Tip* Before you begin any rust works make sure your tetanus shot is up to date & wear gloves! This I learnt the hard way...
Video to come! (initially I was going to post it in this blog, but it's taking forever to compress!)
