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First Aid Kit for Garden Tools |
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Other Helpful Things |
- Motor oil (new or used)
- Tung oil or double-boiled linseed oil for preserving
wooden handles. (Raw and single-boiled linseed oil
dries quite slowly, so it's a good idea to buy the
double-boiled kind.)
- Knife, duct tape, masking tape, kitchen scissors.
- Two-sided file for sharpening.
- S-hooks (you can make them using a wire clothes
hanger) for inserting into the container lip to hold
wet rags and sponges while they dry.
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The above tools mysteriously disappeared in the
garden for an extended period of time.
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Some of the tools looking
quite a bit better after only 10 minutes of preliminary
cleaning. |
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| How
to Clean Tools |
- Put on your safety glasses. (You'd be surprised
how far some debris will travel!)
- Use the wire brush to brush off as much dirt and
rust as possible. If you rest the tool on a sturdy
bench or seat (one that you don't mind getting dirty),
the tool will be stable and you can really scrub. Or
try putting the tool into a vise.
- If there's a lot of caked-on dirt, add soap and
water to your pail and let the tool soak for about
an hour. If it's too large to fit in the pail, a strong
stream of water works well.
- Try the nylon scrub brush or use the wire brush
again to remove more of the stubborn dirt. If most
of the dirt is gone, the scouring pad or the sponge
sander can be used wet or dry. If the tool is dry,
the coarse sandpaper will remove the rust quite quickly.
- Wipe or wash off any rust debris with your washcloth.
- When the metal is dry, add a small amount of motor
oil (about a teaspoon) to your oil paint pad. Wipe
the metal parts of the tool, spreading the oil so
that all surfaces are covered. Add more oil to the
pad as needed. Don't forget to put a coating on the
parts that attach to the handle.
- To fix the roughened wooden handle, use the finer
grade of sandpaper to remove the lifted wood fibers.
Sand until smooth. To preserve the wood, put a teaspoon
(approximately) of tung oil or double-boiled linseed
oil on the paint pad and coat all surfaces
of the wood. If you choose to use linseed oil, it is a bit smelly and sticky
at first, but it hardens to a lovely sheen. The fine
fibers on the paint pad will push the oil into the
cracks of the wood. Over time the pad becomes very
hard; it softens when fresh oil is applied.
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