Cleaning rust/corrosion and restoring threads?

[PurpLev]

Hello,

In my current Lathe restoration process I came upon the leveling feet which were corroded beyond anything I've seen until this point.

the bolts are corroded badly to the point that the threads on them are messed up (thicker than the threading on the mating hole in the leg) and 2 bolts also seem to be 'welded' on to the legs (the corrosion is holding them together I suppose):



I let this sit in a bath of evapourst overnight which I've had great success with in the past for lighter corrosion/medium sufrace rust, but on this one It'll take a bit of scrubbing and a few more sessions in the evaporust for it to completely work, however the threads still seem to be in pretty bad shape, and 3 bolts are basically stuck to the legs.

Does anyone have any experience eradicating this corrosion and restoring these bolts to their original state (or close enough that they are usable)? or is my only way out to cut them out, extract the remnants from the leg, and turning new bolt replacements?

Thanks in advance,
Sharon
P.S. for the rest of the story and larger pictures you can check the Clausing 4902 reconditioning progress here:
corroded bolts:
http://sites.google.com/site/metworx/clausing-4902/12bedbathandbeyond2spokentoosoon
The whole adventure:
http://sites.google.com/site/metworx/clausing-4902

 

[churchjw]

I add my vote with 1200rpm, electrolysis is the way to go. Just finished some pieces off a surface grinder I am working on. (will post pics soon) and the cast iron and steel parts I did came out great. Much better than sand blasting and it does a great job of removing paint.

Jeff

 

[PurpLev]

Thanks for the feedback,

I had not considered electrolysis thinking that it might produce same results as the evaporust, but I guess it's worth a shot. I'll try making some washing soda tonight, and setup an electrolysis station to leave it overnight possibly. maybe there still IS hope...

 

[PurpLev]

Just to keep this updated:

Went home yesterday and setup electrolysis for the stuck parts and with a bit of elbow grease (hack sawing the threads on the bolts clear of corrosion buildup), PB blaster and vise work, I was able to clear the bolts from the legs and clean them up!

pics and text can be found here :

https://sites.google.com/site/metworx/clausing-4902/13rusticelements

Thanks again for the idea.

 

[churchjw]

Nice write up. Thanks for posting your findings on the differences. I have not tried evaporust so now I have a basis of comparison. Also nice web page.

Jeff