# Removing machine oil from wooden handles



## JGC (Aug 2, 2009)

Hi All,

Firstly, apologies if I've posted this in the wrong section of the forum but here goes.

In my mission to populate my workshop "cool tool wall" with ... I think you can guess, cool tools, I've got a "problem" with a few of the items, in that the wooden handles are pretty well impregnated with machine tool oil transferred from decades of handling by dirty greasy hands.

I'm not looking to get the handles back to some "better than new" state, as that immediately robs the tool of part of its history (does that sound like sentimental clap-trap), but I think there's plenty of scope to improve the state of the handles, so what do you think?

On the subject of history, the wrench has it's owners name scratched into the jaws and is dated as 04 April 1948.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

paint thinner or the like...
but why...
that oil is good for the wood...


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## woodknots (Mar 7, 2012)

I wouldn't want to remove the "patina" from the tools - and since you want to display them on your "cool tool wall" I'd put them up as is


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Yup..."if it ain't broke, don't fix it til it is"...looks cool to me...


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

That finish is what gives the tool "character".... IMHO 
Don't change it.....


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

I like that monkey wrench, I have never seen one quite that configuration before.
Herb


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

Love them just the way they are.

Oil is a penetrating finish....


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## HoweA (Jul 31, 2013)

Yup..agree with what they before me input....


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## roxanne562001 (Feb 5, 2012)

They are great just the way they are just like an old gun stock. I would not change them at all.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Put me on the keep them as they are list.


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## Flipsaw (Mar 11, 2016)

Look Amazing as they are! Another keep them that way


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## Flipsaw (Mar 11, 2016)

Look Amazing as they are! Another keep them that way


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## coxhaus (Jul 18, 2011)

+1 Keep them as they are.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

awwww come on guys...
let him clean the oil out of the wood...
I have a bet w/ my buddy here as to how long it will be before the handles split from dryness....


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Am I right that if somebody wanted to do it anyway...

1. Do not sand it away...so this is out...?

2. Some form of chemical would need to be used...?

Is there any chemical available that would remove the oil but not harm the wood...? Or dry it out...?

Would mineral spirits or acetone or MEK or Dawn or Simple Green or boat hull cleaner or acid of some kind or paint thinner or automotive Gunk Degreaser or metal cleaner or toilet bowl cleaner or ....

See what I mean...?


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Nickp said:


> Am I right that if somebody wanted to do it anyway...
> 
> 1. Do not sand it away...so this is out...?
> 
> ...


fix the OCD or replace the handles..
be easier...


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## JGC (Aug 2, 2009)

So let me get this straight, 'cos some of the replies are a little confusing. If I'm right, you guys are telling me that I should leave well alone ... :sarcastic:

Seriously though, thanks for all the input. For now, they will be staying exactly as they are ... with the exception of the screw driver which has been "sharpened" badly in the past, and I'd like to bring that back to a more useful shape, or at the very least give it a symmetrical tip.




Herb Stoops said:


> I like that monkey wrench, I have never seen one quite that configuration before.
> Herb


Herb, the wrench is marked as "Bonney Forge & Tool" on one side of the shank, and "U.S.A. Allentown PA". I can't see more than that as the casting doesn't extend far enough out of the handle.

Also, for an indication of its age, a previous owner, probably the first, scribed his name on the moving side of the jaws as "D W Moore 1948 9 04", and the cursive script is done with a scribe is neater than my best cursive ever was ... :wink:

A quick look at Wiki throws up this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonney_Forge_Corporation

... and surprisingly, the company is still in business, and only moved out of the Allentown factory in 2001!

Bonney Forge®



Stick486 said:


> awwww come on guys...
> let him clean the oil out of the wood...
> I have a bet w/ my buddy here as to how long it will be before the handles split from dryness....


Ok, ok Stick ... did your mother never tell you that nobody likes a smart a#* ... ;-)

Seriously though, until reading the comments above, I would have oiled the handles with Linseed, after lifting out the dirt from decades of honest labour, or something along those lines.

Anyway, thanks for all the replies, be they dirt removal options, or leave as it is you Muppet ... :grin:


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## JGC (Aug 2, 2009)

As an edit to the post above, I've just had a thought of something I might try.

I'm going to be getting a small vacuum chamber in the not too distant future, for de-gassing resin and getting bees-wax (or similar), deeply into some wooden carvings. The idea being that as the pressure drops, oils and the like become less viscous (more runny), so any oil in the wood would possibly displace some of the crud, before allowing some clean oil to replace the dirty oil.

However, given the responses, I'll go along with the warning messages along the lines of "test on an inconspicuous part first". In this case, that means find a dirty old bit of timber and give that a try first ... :grin:


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