When you’re sanding to a polished finish, make sure you only sand in one direction at a time and when you change direction sand at a 90 degree angle to the last direction. When you sand in circles it makes it look hazy and uneven. Try using a foam or rubber sanding pad when possible. It keeps the pressure even. I love the videos. It’s making me want to get busy in my shop again. I also loved the tribute to your grandfather. It reminded me of my grandfather. He grew up during the depression and he taught me it’s better to rebuild than buy new in most cases.
To get a mirror finish when polishing, use a strop. Get a piece of economy rouge from Tandy Leather, and apply a bunch to the back side of a piece of leather and then use it like a polishing cloth. Boom! Shiny shiny!
This is a wonderful restoration and Copper plating is now so important with the control of Corona virus, door handles and any touched surfaces are much safer in Copper.
Really neat set there. Haven't seen anyone else really do the copper plating, I like it. Lots of restoration channels on YT but yours stands out. Keep up the good work.
That turned out really nice. Makes me want to copper plate a bunch of stuff. When moving through the grits, I’ve found that you have to sand in straight lines and change the direction of your sanding between each grit. There is just no other way to know for sure you are ready to go to the next grit.
as a sanding nut, I'd love to share how I do the polishing sanding... I haven't gotten around editing videos that show this (saving up to replace broken pc) but maybe I can describe a few major points. To me it doesn't seem to be as much about _having_ patience as I feel it actually gives or teaches patience... Eventually it even becomes a sort of meditation. The trick to that, is finding a rhythm and count it or sing it (if it's a song). Try to maintain the same number of strokes per grit per surface... For more consistency, I try to stick my paper onto another object as often as possible. A stone, a metal bar, a wooden block... Moving those around is much easier to do in a consistent way than just the paper under your fingers. I see you use circular motion. While I know that some people swear that's the way to go, I actually feel I get better results on metal with straight lines. Depending on the grit steps I take, I either stagger the direction, or always do the same direction. Smaller steps (120, 150, 180, 210, 240 etc instead of the typical doubling 80, 120, 240, etc) allow you to get away with not fully removing all scratches from the previous grit, which actually saves time in spite of using more steps. This will not give you a true mirror polish, but I find it looks even better because you get an equally deep shine while still maintaining the rough look from a strong tool instead of a tacky chromed prop. With the small steps, I use the same rubbing direction all the time. (It requires a cross section sketch to show how and why that works well) Fixing your item will also make the work a lot lighter. And the next big factor, would be the applied pressure and the presence of residue from previous sanding (has a stropping effect on higher grits 1000 and up). Without residue, applying more pressure will result in a more coarse result than a lighter pressure. So you can actually do 2 steps per grit. The hard pressure of a higher grit will in fact be more coarse than the soft pressure of the previous grit, which helps reaching a smooth result because it allows you to fix any errors that were left in after the previous grit. Two steps forward, one step back - the Echternach Procession. For difficult areas, I spray glue the paper onto an old file, but be careful not to rip the paper with the file because that'll send you back to grit 80... (Return to "START", you do not receive start bonus XD)
One tip to sanding is to use a sanding block. It helps to the the waves and divets out. Personally on an axe I'm working on right this minute, I'm using a file to get everything level and then I'll use a sanding block to shape the metal the way I would like.
Hey dude! This the first video of your’s that I’m watching, and I can already say that I live your channel! You have a great personality, and everything is well edited and shot. I hope to follow your journey through the jungle that is RU-vid. Please keep up the work!
Thanks for sharing. To help with polishing you should use a sponge rubber backing pad. The ones used to hand sand vehicles. 3M has a nice one #05526 good bother for wet or dry sanding. As well it is best practice to sand in the same direction that way you avoid swirls. Nice job.
Wel, to mé, that is some Damm good job you on the axe in general.! NO ONE, is to be complaining about shit... I would be Lucky to be half that good.! Great work mate.!!
Here in South Africa we call that rasp a Surform Rasp Thy're available a Rat tail , concave across the long axis and also come with a flexible holder to make it concave or convex along it's length . They also remove skin really quick ! Really interesting plating demo and meticulous detail work . Thanks
I suggest sanding with each grit in one direction. When you go to the next highest sand perpendicular from the last. You can then see when the previous scratches are gone. I like your videos. Thanks
I’d really like to see a Swiss Army knife restoration video. It’d probably be a lot of work but think about what a vintage Swiss Army knife with custom scales would look like
Love the copper plating. I really wasn't sure about the leatherman but it turned out great. Real steam punk!! Wouldn't it be great to buy a cased tool kit wrenches screwdrivers pliers etc from home depot and Cooper plate the whole thing to really make it custom
Im new to your channel and I have not seen you use a 2x72. I’m sure it’s been said but I’ve experienced this first hand and there is a HUGE selection of different belts using a variety of materials. If you don’t have one already please consider buying or make a 2x72 inch belt grinder/sander. Your belts will last A LOT longer and you can get some rock bottom prices for the 2x72 vs 1, 3, or 6 inch belt sanders. Be blessed and thank you for making some really good content.
Nice jobe gathering materials to copper plate now. I'm using 2prts Hydrogen peroxide to 1 part Muriatic acid to build up coppe solution. Than perhaps cut it with clean water. In the states, they sell tree root killer which is essentially copper ready for use. Also, I'm crazy about de-rusting with un-sulfured molasses and water 1 to 9prts water. Placed in a container with lid 2 weeks, will remove everything w/o eating base metal. Will last up to 7 months but does smell some. Lastly, I've reconditioned a couple of plexy-glass aquariums grading sandpaper and it looks like you may not need to us as many transitions as you did, perhaps totally dif. than plastic. Anyway, great job overall, I'll have to try the handle material plates for something one day.
first time seeing your videos and i really dig it. one thing ive been told and learned though is if you want the copper to last, do a nickle plating layer first and it helps so the copper plating doesn't rub off or flake off as quickly over time.
I live in the UK and I have one of these axes being shipped to me at the moment, just love the look of it and hopefully I can restore it to a decent level!
you can use a power adapter of anything 3 volts or less instead of a battery. Also, it helps to run two annodes through the acid water mix when you first start. that puts the copper in the fluid before you even start. You might want to consider going to nickel plating. It doesn't oxidize like copper does. It won't be long that copper will turn black from oxidation.
Thanks for another great informative video.👌 I see a lot of other restoration channels say that Norton Blaze has excellent abrasive products, they claim they cost a little more but you can easily make up your money because of how well they work and how long they last .Anyway it was just a suggestion maybe it'll help you in the future ,but keep up the good work can't wait for the next video
Another nice project. I too buy old hatchets and axes and re do them. Not to the level that you do but just clean them up, re-sharpen and re-handle if needed.
I have been using your technique for the copper plate and it works amazingly, I have found that if I use car buffing compound then I can get the super shiny finish. Thanks for the video!
That just looks so sick man, a really nice set of tools. Also think the hand sanding needs to be in one direction (and not the band, the movement) congratulations on 10k, what you are doing is great 👍
Awesome video! I copper plated something a few days ago and then left everything in my shop a few days and now it won’t work when I try to copper plate. When I stick something in the mixture it doesn’t start bubbling and I’m using a 6 volt battery. Thanks for the help!
This video was inspiring because i want to restore my watch lathe and i'm curious if I copper plate the lathe bed, if I then could solder the pitted area before nickel plating. Have you ever tried this and if not would you be interested in trying this and making a video. Thanks, zkapp
I'd like to see a plated Tonka truck. I've seen em painted, and powder coated, but not plated. Nickel might be a better choice tho. Can you take one of your half dollars, dip it in like half way into the copper, then turn it around and nickel plate the other side? Also if you can rig it up, like on two metal rods with a couple of bolts or something hot glued in the middle, so you can keep turning it in the plating sauce but only plate say a quarter or 3./8 inch around the rim... I've got to get some way to do plating myself so I can try all this stuff
Your hand sanding would go much faster and easier if you started with very high quality low grit sandpaper. I noticed your grits before 400 were not FEPA standard (indicated with a P before your grit number). Do all your work with your lowest grit and use the rest to remove your sanding scratches. 1.5 times your previous grit as you go up your grits. Also sand in 1 direction until you're close to done with your grit then sand perpendicular to more easily even out your scratches. Hopefully this helps a bit.
Hand sanding sucks. Use a 1/4 sheet sander to go thru those progressively higher grits. It may not work for the whole tool, but it'll really help with some of it and keep you sane. When you get above 600-800 grit switch to a buffing wheel and some rouge.
It's a shame that you didn't plate the handle as well😢, I usually do copper plating to prevent steel from rusting and the look of copper is a plus factor😂
Job well done. Hopefully that copper cup will go a long way. Does the acid solution seem to be better the first time around or did you notice any less coating cohesiveness with the pre used batch on the hatchet? Thanks! -Will
Hope you see this comment! I was curious of 3 things: (1) what you do to prevent the copper from corroding or tarnishing, (2) how might I connect the negative end to a nickel cube, and (3) is a copper coating thick enough to force a patina?
Loving your videos. I have always tinkered with upcycling and restoring old gear but your videos have inspired me to get stuck in and try do more. Thank you and keep them coming 👍 What concentration is the acid you are using? Any of the concrete cleaning acids i can find where i live are very low, like 1.5 to 3%
Your videos inspired me to try plating some of the things I forged. Are your pieces tarnishing over time? I live close by the Eastwing plant in Rockford, I have a bucket full of scraped hammer blanks from there. I have reforged a couple into new creations.
Congrats to 10K subs! An yea, I really like the copper plating on the hammer and hatchet. Also, Whats the little notch for on the axe head? Keep the great video's coming!!
