Great clean up on the rules, as they are properly called, ScoutCrafter. I have several of them in very good condition including some made with Ivory. I would have never guessed Bar Keepers Friend as a cleaner for this project. I have never used it but now I'll have to grab a can of it. Thanks. It's not unusual for them to be missing their pins, especially the roughly used ones. I have missing pins on a few of mine and except for that, they are in good condition. As a carpenter I would never be without my folding rules and some of them actually have a folding, purpose made hook on them. I also have two of the extension rules that I find troublesome to use because I never got used to them. I never used them at work. Thanks for another great entertaining and informative show, ScoutCrafter. All the best.
Awesome Scout! As a toddler, I vaguely remember breaking a few of my dad’s folding rulers. Great man, I don’t ever remember him fussing at me for it. I still have a few of the remaining ones. I’m not a patina boy but gonna leave my dad’s use on them! Great restorations as always. Thanks! 🇺🇸
That is quite the transformation for those, if there is any Bar Keeper’s Friend in town I’ll be looking for it. Absolutely great information and the rules are beautiful! Thanks very much.
My grandfather had a large toolbox that my dad acquired and when i was younger i would occasionally look thru the box.. And in that box was one of the box folding rulers.. i used to take it out and measure things with it.. it also had the hook feature.. When my dad moved from Fla he had a large garage sale, and guess what he sold? Yep, my grandfathers toolbox and all its contents.. lots of antique tools.. Breaks my heart to tell that story.. S.C. very nice work cleaning those rulers up.. Turned out beautiful...
Those came out beautiful! Bar Keepers friend is great stuff, use to clean a ton of stuff around the house. Will give it a try on some of my old rulers. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for the video. I am 71 years old,and my Grand dad always called the rulers you cleaned up zig zag rulers. Just wondering if anyone else has heard them called that?
What! Did I hear you say that you are not a ruler collector? You just showed us 6 rulers in your collection. Isn't your golden rule that "3 or more of one thing makes you a collector"? 😀Thanks for another great video!!
“You can tell it’s the ruler guys because everything is in straight lines” 🤣😆😂. That made me laugh harder than it should have. Great tips and great results on those boxwood rulers! 👍🏼😃
How do you define a ruler collector...? They turned out beautifully. I am surprised that the acetone did nor remove the ink. Barkeepers friend is a fantastic product. Thank your for taking us along your trial and error journey.
You do not disappoint John, this didn't seem like your "happy place" restoration wise and yet you give great advice and technique. Working up through the thinners was a measured approach we should alll adhere to and it paid dividends here. I'm a great fan of BKF and use it regularly in tool restorations and it worked a treat - thanks again for all your great advice ! I've not seen any lie that model 62 with the brass edges here in the UK seems like a premium product so all the more important to restore responsibly ! My Dad always used a 4 fold 36" rule like this for all his woodworking jobs so this is particularly poignant to me, even though like you I tend to just use a tape measure !
They look great! I cannot believe how you were able to clean those rulers so nicely but you gave a lot of good information that I can use with my own rulers. Thanks for sharing this tutorial and I am looking forward to the sled project.
Those are beautiful now you just have to know what to use and go slow!! I have a couple and was afraid of trying to clean them up so I'll get some Bar Keepers and give it shot. Thank you
Hi John- Super restoration! I have a couple of the Ivory Stanley folding rules. I have a Stanley Rule reference book “Boxwood and Ivory” Maybe the 62 reference was to the low angle plane $$$. Like you said 62 rulers are pretty common.
Those came out beautiful! Wow! I tried to clean one of these and took all the lettering off one side. I was heartbroken at destroying such a gorgeous tool. 😢
Of course we all have them and they all need cleaned, but we were all too afraid to scrub the lines and numbers off! I was going to try Murphy's oil soap, but now I think I will get some bar keepers friend. Great Job John! 👍😀😎
Great video! I have 6 or 7 rulers I've put aside to restore at some point, but just haven't gotten to them because I wasn't sure what to do. Thanks for the tips, and thanks for sharing.
Chris (the vendor) is a long time tool collector and has some really amazing tools. He brings these beat up tools to the show and almost gives them away. 😃👍
Wow,what difference! Bar keepers friend worked wonders. I wonder and will have to check and see if Bon Ami would work as well. Thanks for sharing and see you Monday
Great video. Growing up, I liked exploring in my grandparents' garage & basement. I used to look at the same type rulers and spring scales with total fascination. Luckily, I still retain some treasures from them, and fortunately, unfortunately, I might have inherited their hoarding gene also😮😅😊.
I have almost the same Interlox sliding ruler. Looks like yours has a brass sleeve around the push button locks. Mine has only a hole in the wood, so that first stage (most used) has about 3/32" slop. Maybe mine is an older one before they improved it to overcome the wear problem. Mine is missing the patent numbers between 1" and 2" marks and is stampted "PAT PENDING" between 6" and 7" mark. Did you notice the "back" of the rule is marked for inside measurements. You did a great job cleaning up that ruler.
Every time I saw someone using one of those Folding Rulers (And Yes I Call Them Rulers And Won't Cave To The "Rule Boys") it always seemed to be some Old Timer that had been in the business for 30 years but was still a Crappy Craftsman so they never appealed to me for that reason.........That Sliding one is Cool though.
Wow, I didn’t expect to see those results. Just another fantastic job, well done. Were the pins missing that alines the blades when folded? I remember when wiping the blades down on mine I tore the flesh off my finger tips and just packed them away.😢 We had a sleigh just like the one you will be doing next. As a youth my friends pilled on and broke the rear cross support. My father made me cut a new one out of white oak with hand tools. It’s at my sisters house when we cleaned the house out. 😊
Nice job on the rulers Scout! I have three of those in the toolbox that need some cleaning, but I never wanted to mess with them for fear of goofing them up. I use Barkeeper's Friend pretty often, but never thought about using it for cleaning the rulers. Thanks for the tip Scout!
B-E-A utiful! Never heard of Bar Keepers Friend but you are one hell of a salesman! Hopefully they throw you a bone cause there sales are going to go through the roof. #barkeepersfriend
Great episode John. I liked your thought process all the different ways to attempt to clean up the ruler and the one that finally worked. I guess it’s called “trial and error “. Thanks again! 👍
I have two of those rulers that need to be cleaned, i have been hesitant to do them because of not knowing for sure what could clean without destroying them, definitely going to try the bar keepers friend out, thanks for the suggestions. Thanks for the video, appreciate it.
Great results. I have a couple of the folding rulers, I don't remember if both are steal or if one is aluminum. They are just to have not use. I use a tape or a 3 foot stick ruler. I know old timers were big on the folders because they felt tape measures were not accurate. As a kid you wanted to take the wood folders and unfold it completely and see ohw far it would bend. I think the ones like you have are more for finish carpenters and window sash guys. Looking forward to the sled.
Over the water here in the UK, Goop is a tyre sealant! We use Swarfega for cleaning our hands. I add sugar to act as an abrasive if my hands are really filthy. I personally have found that a half and half mixture of linseed oil and washing up liquid (dish soap?) whizzed up with a stick blender works really well for cleaning dirty wood.
Another job well done…I had my doubts on the really bad one but they look outstanding…next the sled…I have two waiting to be done…they go for 20 dollars at the auctions…made in Pa. too…waiting to see where you get the new decals…again great video…🖖
Lovely rulers at the begining! Great process you went through there really good to see, no wonder it's the bar keepers friend! We don't have that in UK, will have to try and get some from the US! thanks for the video!
I will admit . those USA cm look very big. Anyone would think you use your own way of measuring things different from the rest of the planet. Sorry what are you expecting just the other side of the pond pulling your leg.😂 Have a great weekend and see you Monday
I don't think I've ever cussed or swore watching one of your videos, but watching that grime come up with the Bar Keepers Friend had me yelling, "Are you f'n kidding me?!?" Pretty darned amazing stuff. I'll have to add that to my tool cleaning arsenal. Looking forward to the sled restoration. I expect you to go all Engels Coach Shop on that one, LOL!
Hi John. Thanks for doing those rulers. I guess I have to work on mine now 😮. Great job job on those. They turned out great. Have a great weekend...👍👍❤...
Those rulers really cleaned up nicely. I could never figure out how to clean them up properly because I was afraid of obliterating the numbers and measurement lines. Also, those small hook rulers are beautiful tools. I've never seen one before.
I just pulled out my grandpa's old rule. Sure enough Stanley no. 62. It looks about like yours pre clean up. I'll grab some bar keepers and clean it up
OK Fess up. How many rulers do you have? What is the rule? 10 or more of any specific item seems fair to be classed as a collector. Haha. Loved the cleanup job. I carry a small brass rule/sliding calliper in my pocket notebook for visits to the hardware store.
Another great video, ScoutCrafter! Excellent work on the two Stanley folding rulers. 👍🏻 Isn’t that the way it always works out, you find out you’re restoring a collectible after you’ve already started working on it? 😅 I’ve always been a tape measure man myself but I understand why certain trades like electricians still use the folding rulers. Looking forward to the Flexible Flier series coming up as we had one of those when I was a kid. It was from the late 50s/early 60s and had belonged to my Dad when he was a kid.
We actually can't get bar keepers friend of here, I've been looking a few times! That being said, I would've never dreamt about cleaning those up, I figured I would ruin the lettering for sure. Thanks for clearing that up. I hope you'll have a great weekend too!
Thanks for the shoutout! I have had an amazing number of views lately. I am not sure if someone big mentioned my channel, or if one of my videos found AlGore's rythm??😉😉😉
Wonderful job on the rulers John. Your elbow grease work really measures up..! BTW Barkeepers Friend also works well cleaning glass shower doors and walls.
I was told they were adjustable scales. You did your homework and saved them with old fashion elbow grease. I will pick up some bar keepers. I like the hook scales. As I get older with Arthur bothering me, the hooks are nice. Great show as usual, thank You
Amazing job thanks. I'm sure you already know about Baumgartner Restoration who has an art conservation channel on RU-vid and is a great resource for this type of thing.
Me either. I thought of him because I thought you might use a round ended scalpel blade (which he uses a lot) to scrape off that resin or whatever it was.
I still have my grandfather's No. 32-1/2. I think it was the fidget spinner of the day because as a ruler, the hinges and that little alignment pin get in the way and it's not all that straight.
Nice job on cleaning up the rules. BTW, you might want to make yourself a note to get a new toothbrush for your girlfriend before she comes over again. 😊😊 Thanks for the video.
Well done! These restorations with anyone’s guess as to what type of dried goop is on it always seems to turn into a chemistry experiment it seems. Acetone always makes me cringe on fear that it might just melt the thing. Mineral oil is always good to try, but it seems that Barkeeper’s stuff always comes through. Thanks- I have to get some of that.
Yeah, John, you're not a collector but have a ruler that you could buy Manhattan with if you wanted to. See how you are! So have a great weekend, looking forward to the sled and God Be With ALL Yall!
