Project Overview
Possible way to repair or even create garden tools and other tools.
I fixed a shovel, and I found out that other people do this too. below will be a post about the first repair, materials used, and materials that could be used. Future posts will be made when i fix more tools this way.
Wood Fill Idea
These old tools frequently have little cracks in the handles, especially if it's wood. I need to find some sort of wood filler, maybe that putty, something that can fill the cracks, strengthen the handle and make it smooth and flat before painting.
2nd repair, small shovel
Small shovel repair and zip file of pics from 2022 tool repair attempts
In 2022, with the help of some farm implement paint, I repaired a smaller shovel and repainted the first shovel.
Click Here to download all related images and files related to the 2nd shovel repair in 2022.
Paint idea
I'm going to try to learn how to paint pine trees, then actually draw one of them on to a restored tool with a paint brush. Maybe acryllic paint, maybe farm implement paint from a can, not spray farm implement paint.
here is a link to one of the tutorial videos i liked. I sketched some pine trees with a pen, and they don't look bad. I'll have to get used to painting them
on handles.
Stencil Idea
It might be possible to make outlines of shapes, print them out on paper, wrap or stick the paper to a tool, then spray it with another color. I might try to print an outline of a tree or a deer or something and paint it on to a repaired tool.
I tried this and first of all, the spray paint blew away the paper stencil, even though i thought it was taped to it pretty good. Also, farm implement paint appears to resist being painted over, maybe farm implement paint isn't a good paintable surface. I also tried to use stamps, they didn't work because the stamp ink was not strong enough to cover the farm implement paint, or maybe the surface wasn't flat enough for the stamp to be properly pressed down. I could try it with a brush too, this is what I'm going to do, but I'm thinking of not using stencils or stamps, I think I will just learn how to paint simple things on it with a brush.
paint update, 8-30-2022
I bought a green can and a black can of rustoleum farm implement paint and recorded part of the repair of a trowel. I sanded it a little bit using a flap disc again and recorded this, I intend to sand it more with a dremel tool. I also bought a dremel 4000 kit. I'm going to record more tomorrow and maybe i'll make a tool restoration youtube video if it all looks ok, people will probably leave negative comments because they generally get rid of the rust with vinegar and will claim that I'm damaging the tools. I like my method of grinding off the rust and instantly painting it though, because it might be faster and is less wet and would be easier to use on larger tools. I might try the vinegar method too, maybe that will be my response to the bad comments, that is if I complete the video and if i post the video at all, two very big ifs.
Shovel Repair
Shovel, July 2022
Materials and Tools used:
- Angle Grinder
- Metal Flap Disc: I think this one.
- Rustoleum Rust Reformer
This worked out suprisingly well. I sharpened the shovel, then painted it with the rust reformer. I unfortunately didn't take any before photos, only after. It was easy and relatively painless compared to most other things i try to do. I later learned that there is a type of paint called farm implement paint. Maybe everyone besides me already knew.
I might use the rust reformer as a base coat and farm implement paint as a second coat in the future, maybe this is a good idea, maybe it isn't. I don't know how to find out. I feel like googling it will lead to inconclusive results. (update: lol, no it didn't, i found out right away that it's a great idea, so that's what i'm going to do.)
I know there's also shovel and broom handles in every store, though i've never used them as anything other than to make weapons when i was a kid. I could see carving, then sanding, then painting a handle from wood or a large tree branch too. With this kind of paint, some metal, and some basic welding or even bending though, it could be possible to make tools extremely inexpensively. I may try this with the welder at workshop 1 and a sheet of metal in the future, if i even need to weld anything, which maybe i don't, maybe i just need to (hopefully accurately) cut a sheet of metal with an angle grinder with a metal cutting disc and then bend it. Maybe i'll make a small garden trowel in the future. It also could be possible to drill a hole in a rock, carve the rock a bit, paint the rock, put a handle in the rock, paint the rock and handle, and actually have it look like a modern metal hammer, but really be something out of the stone age.