Ruler Clean Up

I believe this was my grandmothers. Why she had a "tinner's rule" I'll never know. But I remember my mother using it when sewing, telling me to "leave that alone!" Saw it in a closet and figured I'd clean it up.
I had some technical difficulties with my introduction and wrap-up so I decided to try presenting this video without any narrative. Short video - not a lot of boring talk - just boring sanding. :)
Thanks for watching.

[@briantraxler2780]

Very nice! Good production too. Sometimes the job doesn't need a narrative. Thanks for sharing.

[@mrbenmall]

I only saw this just now, in a spam file that I didn't know existed. Forgive my ignorance of KZbin. I'm sorry I didn't respond in an expeditious manner. Thanks for watching.

[@tshusker]

Just cleaned a #95 as well. Gradual grits from 120 to 240 (finally with 4/0 steel wool) with WD-40. Cleaned with mineral spirits and rubbed down with paste wax. Great job, Ben, and thanks for your channel!

[@mrbenmall]

Thanks Tom!

[@InformationIsTheEdge]

That was immensely satisfying to watch the lettering become visible during the high speed sanding block! The finished product looked like it was ready for another 50 years of service. Good work Ben!

[@mrbenmall]

Thank you very much!

[@michaelkowalski1130]

Learned something new here today. I have a four ft one hanging in my shop. Never spent enough time trying to figure out the back. Now I have something for one of those cold winter days.

[@mrbenmall]

Good luck! It's very satisfying.

[@frankg3072]

Nice job Ben. It’s nice to see something that had been in the family get cleaned up and hopefully passed on for generations!

[@mrbenmall]

Thanks Frank!

[@Michelle-Eden]

Your restoration of the maternal instrument, Of quantifying length, Rebirths the world of time and space, In a really jazzy way.

[@mrbenmall]

Nice, Michelle. Very nice.

[@rickcentore2801]

Very nice job Ben. I'd never heard of a "tinner's" ruler before and had to look it up. For anyone else who didn't know, the bottom scale is 3.1416 times the top scale to quickly calculate a circumference.

[@mrbenmall]

Interesting. I didn't know that. I guess it's a ruler used by people who make cans? Hence the name "Tinner?" Is that was you discovered?

[@3rdoldhen]

@@mrbenmall Cans, buckets, heat runs, stovepipes... BTW, it is beautiful & rare! Treat 'er well...

[@mrbenmall]

Thanks for the info Penny!

[@rickcentore2801]

More like people who install duct work (tin knockers). Measure the diameter, read the circumference right below it, and cut the insulation for a perfect fit without being too short or overlapping.

[@mrbenmall]

@@rickcentore2801 Thanks, Rick!

[@virginiagonzalez1138]

You gave that baby new life. Nice job!

[@mrbenmall]

Thanks Virginia!

[@TheSuperwrenchGarage]

Ben that turned out fantastic.... totally dig the old style of the yard stick

[@mrbenmall]

Thanks!

[@joeheilm]

Wow...rulers can be tough to clean up, nice work. The cinematic effects are first class. Cheers

[@mrbenmall]

Thanks Joe. In my failed intros to this video I had a spiel about you and that wheel and how everyone is now using one. Thanks!

[@danielgrenier3288]

I love rules. You did a great job with this too. ...and I always admire your production. You are too hard on yourself. Your videos always are so professional looking and sounding. Wonderful! Thanks for sharing your fun.

[@mrbenmall]

Thank you so much Daniel. The video production is the main reason I do this stuff. I find the production side of it very fun. (Except when run into snags)

[@MrDoeboy356]

Nice work buddy. Came out great.

[@mrbenmall]

Thank you MrDoeboy

[@nedeem]

What an awesome ruler....it turned out great!!!

[@mrbenmall]

Thank you K!

[@TheBoppa23]

Way to go, Ben. Another stellar effort.

[@mrbenmall]

Thanks DB

[@garyjones7198]

Very nice job Ben... Ready for another decade or 2...

[@mrbenmall]

Thanks Gary!

[@johncrable3349]

Hi Ben - good old Lufkin....made right here in Saginaw Michigan (once upon a time). I like the old style fonts. Yours turned out nice. Looks like the paint remained in the recesses for ease of reading. I saw another video where a small amount of paint was squeegeed across the surface (using small piece of wiper blade), followed by light sanding with 600 wet/dry paper - really looked nice. Thanks for sharing and have a happy day!

[@mrbenmall]

Yes, it's a well made ruler. The embossing is deep. I did remove a small bit, but not bad. I thought about trying to do a process like you described but luckily I didn't have to. Thanks!

[@glengrossnickle4985]

Great job Ben. When I saw it at the first I thought he will never get all that off without taking off the numbers. But you got it. Looks good. Thanks

[@mrbenmall]

Thanks Glen!

[@tfknauss]

Well that job measured up quite well! lol,,, good stuff to fix up items that jog our good memories or of others. Thanks Ben!

[@mrbenmall]

Thanks Todd

[@ScoutCrafter]

What a beautiful "Yardstick"! I love it! Great job bringing it back to awesome!!!!!!!

[@mrbenmall]

Thanks!

[@joelmccoin9727]

Howdy Ben, That came out great, Ya gotta love that detail. Great Video, Thanks

[@mrbenmall]

thank you Joel

[@Resto-Rob]

Looks beautiful! Great job.

[@mrbenmall]

I only saw this just now, in a spam file that I didn't know existed. Forgive my ignorance of KZbin. I'm sorry I didn't respond in an expeditious manner. Thanks for watching.

[@bigvicsworkshop]

Very Nice Ben! Very Nice!

[@mrbenmall]

Thanks Vic. Yeah that one turned out pretty good.

[@robertfakler8564]

Nice job Ben. I've never seen that type of ruler before.

[@mrbenmall]

Me either. Thanks Robert!

[@indianatone218]

Lovely ruler and numerals ,nice job m8

[@mrbenmall]

Thank you very much!

[@scaleautoworkshop4426]

Thanks Ben I really enjoyed the video. Great job on the ruler. Vaughn

[@mrbenmall]

Thank you!

[@Everythings_Adjustable]

Peaceful video 👍

[@mrbenmall]

Thanks!

[@larryborkstrom3580]

Its great again to be used a handy thing in the shop I love mine

[@mrbenmall]

Thanks Larry

[@КошмарКошмар-й2б]

Very good Ben 👍👍👍👍👍

[@mrbenmall]

Thanks!

[@ihrescue]

Ben does some fine work.

[@mrbenmall]

Oh please. But thank you, Michael.

[@marcmckenzie5110]

Ben, I learned a lot from you in this short video. I’ve been struggling with how to clean up lightly etched, higher precision or higher grade steel tools such as rulers, gauges, and handsaw blades. Maybe it’s patience starting as gentle as possible. I have a vintage Sandvik cross cut handsaw which is important to me, and months ago almost had it ready - but was interrupted for a couple of days - and flash rust really stained it. It’s a stumper!

[@mrbenmall]

Honestly, I had no idea what to do. I just figured it would be prudent to start off really gently and see how far that would take me. I hate flash rust. I have much to learn about rust prevention.

[@colinfblair]

Love the music

[@mrbenmall]

Thank you Colin!

[@guataco]

Nice, nice music and filming.

[@mrbenmall]

Thank you, Juan Carlos!

[@3rdoldhen]

BTW Ben, that ruler is valuable (as rulers go)... ck eBay... I love the circumference guide which would come in handy in our shop when framing round glass art... I'm sure someone in China is making plastic ones... lol Also I love your videos & your choice of music!

[@mrbenmall]

Thank you, Penny!

[@johngehris9513]

Looks great Ben

[@mrbenmall]

Thank you John

[@stephensmith8756]

Ben Interesting to see a fairly old American rule with metric graduations as well as inch. It's a Lufkin ? Shows how they were up there with Starrett and Brown & Sharpe as truly great toolmakers. Best regards from Australia

[@mrbenmall]

I was glad to see centimeters as well. I've been trying to use metric more just so I can learn it.

[@stephensmith8756]

Ben There's only two numbers you need to remember with inch to metric and metric to inch: 25.4, which is the millimetres in an inch; 0.3937, which is the decimal equivalent ( rounded to 1/10th thou' ) of the fraction of an inch that is a centimetre. Cheers

[@texasj49]

That is a really cool piece. Nice job on the clean up. Will you be displaying it? ~Jeff

[@mrbenmall]

I'll be using it in the house. Thanks, Jeff

[@357magdad]

Nice job Ben! That ruler looked like it had some interesting info on the back side.

[@mrbenmall]

Thanks! It is bizarre. I can't figure out what the markings are all about.

[@Jason-fp7vi]

Missed the intro and outro but understand you had audio problems. It happens! Still a great video. Your music is so classy. I love the mix of the real audio of sanding and the die grinder plus the music. Love your videos, as always. Nicely done. Just over 700 subscribers! As I say everytime, you deserve many more. Great work!

[@mrbenmall]

Thank you very much Jason.

[@DonnaMSchmid]

Beautiful work, Ben! (Oh, and I love your choice of music!)

[@mrbenmall]

Thank you Donna!

[@johnmclaurin]

Great job Ben, have a couple of rulers that need that type of cleanup?...Good music also!

[@mrbenmall]

Thanks John

[@chrisseats]

Another great video! Your editing is top notch! What kind of fiber wheel are you using on your grinder? The results are always impressive.

[@mrbenmall]

Thanks Chris. Here the link to the wheel: www.amazon.com/uxcell-Thick-Abrasive-Polishing-Buffing/dp/B0719S6Y8N/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=fiber+wheel&qid=1559440389&s=gateway&sr=8-7

[@soldiermedic4148]

Love the music. What was the jazz piece we were listening to?\

[@mrbenmall]

It is a piece of music made available to content creators on KZbin. I found it on their KZbin music library. The name of the piece is called Book Bag. The name of the artist is E's Jammy Jams. Supposedly.

[@tomdale1313]

good stuff...

[@mrbenmall]

I only saw this just now, in a spam file that I didn't know existed. Forgive my ignorance of KZbin. I'm sorry I didn't respond in an expeditious manner. Thanks for watching.

[@brianrust5275]

Awesome job man!! I really liked the finish that wheel left! What are those called? It’s nonabrasive right?

[@mrbenmall]

It's a fiber wheel available on Amazon. It is abrasive. It will produce sparks (somewhat). But it puts a satin finish on metal so so well. Here's the link: www.amazon.com/uxcell-Thick-Abrasive-Polishing-Buffing/dp/B0719S6Y8N/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=fiber+wheel&qid=1559440389&s=gateway&sr=8-7

[@laddlll]

nice!!

[@mrbenmall]

Thanks laddlll

[@ObsidianDragon616]

what grit sandpaper did you use...... I got a 6-inch ruler I wanna clean would 220-grit do. Iv heard that it's good for dirt and rust removal.

[@mrbenmall]

I don't remember the exact numbers. I think I started with 800 and realized I could be more aggressive so I dropped to about 350 or so. But I'm not sure. Trial and error is all I can say. THanks

[@lotsabirds]

👍👍👍✌

[@mrbenmall]

Sorry I only saw this just now. Thanks!

[@chegvra]

Will this method remove rust?

[@mrbenmall]

To a degree, I think so. Probably not heavy rust.

[@salchristiano6606]

Gotta get me one of those scuffing wheels you have.

[@mrbenmall]

www.amazon.com/uxcell-Thick-Abrasive-Polishing-Buffing/dp/B0719S6Y8N/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=fiber+wheel&qid=1559440389&s=gateway&sr=8-7 There's the link. Good luck! Thanks!

[@loreneroseberry8222]

How do you get the black back into the markings after it's worn off?

[@mrbenmall]

I didn't. The markings remain visible because of the engraving, However, I considered painting the ruler black and then removing (by sanding) all the parts that were not in the debossed areas.

[@DavidPlass]

Aw, I miss the "Hi, I'm Ben. Welcome to my channel." and the wrapup. It makes your videos more relatable. But, what a beautiful result on that unique ruler.

[@mrbenmall]

Thanks David. I shot my intro and outro 3 times and had problems each time. (no audio; out of focus, etc) Finally just said screw it. I'm not quitting that format. Just changing it up on occasion.

[@jfssparky]

I would call this a (lay out rule) we used it in 80s and 90s and so on tables for sheet metal lay out table when we had to think about about fitting and not just put it in a computer and push a button

[@mrbenmall]

Yes, I worked in graphic design and advertising back then (before computers) we had similar rules for building mockups and display boards. Thanks Sparky!

[@jayashridodmani7893]

plz. upload video about plastic rulerscsle

[@mrbenmall]

Power sanding a plastic ruler might be pretty funny, actually.

A proper ruler 36 inches non of this mm stuff.,