July 1st, 2015.
Gimpyrobb:
Congratulations on cleaning the machine up, I guess 7*F+ would be a bit nippy. Perhaps you may wish to consider moving to either Texas or Florida as the weather there is much more conducive to machine overhaul. I used to see only one or two 32*F days in Paris, TX, and those were the days that the M35A2's starter solenoid would usually take the day off....
Thank you for the information on crocus cloth, I tend to use a more archaic machinist's vocabulary, so I am sure Ahab will benefit from the elucidation. When I have the part well cleaned, I have been known to use plain toothpaste for final polishing as it is nothing more then soft marble dust and will remove most discoloration and minor scratches without cutting the metal being worked on.
I was taught something of the machinist's trade by my father who finished his journeyman-ship at Weirton Steel in 1939, and he had been trained by a German master machinist who had begun his training in the 1880's in the Berlin, Germany area. Strange to say that I worked on machines at Harpers Ferry NHP which would have been on average about 100+ years old in 1939! I also taught myself and also learned blacksmithing on steam locomotives and their repairs, so you may say my training is truly archaic. I used to freak out machinists who have been trained on Digital and CNC machines when I could work a fit down to 1000th or 2000th of an inch using nothing more then outside or inside calipers and getting the feel of the machine(s) which I was running. Doubtful that many machinists today waste much time scraping in a bearing to get the proper running fit. Plus I can do foundry-work in brass and or steel or iron using the 1870's technologies.
Unfortunately, the world does not have much interest today in such craftsmanship, but if you can overhaul the machines in question, they will likely long outlast either you or I if it is cared for at all intelligently now and in the future by the users and operators
Have a Great Evening,
and thanks for the many thoughts, and laughs,
I never know what mischief you are going to find next!