Years ago my uncle had a similar bucket of sand for tools, the bucket was a taller metal barrel from gear oil that he cut down about half way, leaving two handles on each side he made by folding over a flap of steel on each side to form a pair of double layer handles. It sat atop a piece of old truck mudflap to prevent the bottom of the container from rusting out over time. To keep the weight down and to help oil retention he mixed in what I would say was about 30% of the volume in saw dust in with the sand. I made the whole thing lighter than if it were all sand and he said it helped keep the oil in suspension better. He likely didn't use bought sand, my guess was he likely just dried and sifted some dirt from the driveway.

put my sand in an old shop vac base with wheels and its holding up and roles nicely.

@granworks

6 жыл бұрын

That's a great idea!

Thanks for the feedback - makes sense. Appreciate the sharing!!

Helpful, sir! Very clever for cleaning shovels!

What a helpful & delightful channel! Great content, my friend.

We keep a 20 gallon trash can of this stuff on our tree trucks and at the shop. Really does do the trick. Instead of sitting around waiting for the oil to saturate the sand, just mix it with a few tools that need cleaned anyway, it won't hurt anything.

@granworks

6 жыл бұрын

Great idea!

ThankYou for creating this video It’s a reminder for me to do this.

Thank you so much for this video! I can see using a different oil for gardening but I've tried everything on my shovels and other tools. This is amazing!

I like this idea, but it seems to me that a designated spot in the yard that has a large container that prevents the oil from contaminating the soil would be a lot easier to use, and there would be no need to move a 60 lb. bucket that clearly isn't deep enough for the job.

I'd never be able to lift that 60-pound bag. Wonder if I could get four 15-pound bags. Hey, give me a break, I'm 73 and not very strong. And my spades are way way way more rusted than the one in your demonstration. I think I'll try vinegar first.

Good idea, alot of people like to use wd40 and sandpaper to finish sanding tools after resurfacing

@galehess6676

Жыл бұрын

Need a oil, not a water displacement product. Any oil, plant based or synth or animal. Boiled linseed is popular

Does it have to be motor oil?? I don't really want that residue in my client's veg gardens. Thanks for vid!

@granworks

5 жыл бұрын

No, it doesn't have to be motor oil. That's just the cheapest and most available oil and since there is no indication that it's unsafe when used with gardens, it's the most recommended oil. However, people do use alternate oils like mineral oil (it's food safe, but quite a bit more expensive than motor oil) or vegetable oil (not expensive, but you have to be careful that it doesn't get rancid).

@redlaserfox3988

5 жыл бұрын

@@granworks Thanks man! I'll chance rancid veg or canola oil for $5 over the motor oil which seems way more difficult to dispose of. I'm repairing/restoring work tools over this winter. Let you know how it goes. Thanks!!

@epistte

3 жыл бұрын

I dispose of the used engine oil from mowers or rototillers in the sand bucket. I learned this technique from my grandma and my dad.

I know nobody wants motor oil in our soil.. but has anybody ever noticed how the soil under a car with an oil leak makes the soil hard? Is there any science to this? Will used motor oil make lose sandy soil more stable and act like a bonding agent of sorts?

Alternatively, just apply oil.

I never have seen this but everyone in my family doesn’t care probably and they like buying new shovels every couple years

Its works and a good idea ..but alot of time and money to save 8 dollars lawn tools though..

I wonder if liquid coconut oil would work

If I have rusty tools will this remove the rust?

@granworks

Жыл бұрын

It will remove mild surface rust, but anything substantial will want to be removed manually beforehand.

It is amazing, it works very well! However, it depends upon the size and the shape of the tool.

@granworks

3 жыл бұрын

Oh, how so?

How do you think used motor oil would work?

@granworks

6 жыл бұрын

Good question! Maybe fine? I don't know for certain. Most of the "gunk" in used motor oil is microscopic metal shavings from the engine or carbon from the combustion process and those would likely be fine. But the rest of it is the oil broken down into fundamentally different polymers from the heat and I honestly don't know how those react. I would guess that it's probably fine because you don't hear about used motor oil eating away at the engine or anything... but again, that's just a guess.

@RS-tf5cp

3 жыл бұрын

@@granworks Used motor oil is carcinogenic. Use some other type of oil.

can I use mineral oil in the sand

@granworks

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, absolutely. Any petroleum-based oil will work -- I would avoid "natural" or "plant-based" oils since those could go rancid over time. I didn't mention mineral oil mostly because that could get notably expensive to do a 5-gallon bucket worth, while motor oil is dirt-cheap, comparatively. Doing a small bucket for garden hand tools would be a great idea, though!

The sand I bought at the store is damp from sitting out. Can I still add the oil or do I have to wait for it to dry out?

@granworks

4 жыл бұрын

I would spread it out to dry at least a little, first. The oil will definitely displace some of the water and will still protect the tools, but it'll be fighting the water all the time, too.

Why not used an old wheel barrel, that way when you need to move the sand &/or tools it’s already on wheels. Or one thought further, why not build a box on a dolly in a prone position? This would help the whole metal portion of the tools to be covered by sand & mobile also.

@granworks

6 жыл бұрын

I love those ideas! :-D

@alisonj1384

2 жыл бұрын

Or a heavy duty tote if you have a protected place to put it.

Wouldn't a plastic tub (concrete/mortar/... type) where you can use shoveling action & cover the entire shovel/tool be better?

@granworks

7 жыл бұрын

So more of a flat-and-wide bucket than a tall-and-narrow one? That's an interesting idea that hadn't occurred to me. It's worth a test, though -- I'll find a way to make this happen in the not too distant future and see how it works.

Can you use kitty litter instead of sand

@granworks

5 жыл бұрын

That's a very good question! I don't know. Kitty litter absorbs oil much better than sand, which is why I've used it to mop up oil spills before. Sand can be used for that, but it doesn't do as complete a job. So would a more absorbent material work _better_ for this since it can hold more oil or would it work _worse_ because it doesn't give it up? Yep, good question.

cant you just rub the oil on the metal tool?

It will work but STOP - that's waste of time! Need one bucket for each tool?

@granworks

6 жыл бұрын

Not at all -- I have two buckets and they hold four shovels and several trowels and smaller garden tools. And they even need to hold the tools full-time -- that's just a convenience. I use the buckets to "clean" off all of my garden tools after using them, even if I store the tool elsewhere. The coating of oil is a great rust preventative for quite awhile.

Good idea for removing rust. Terrible idea (motor oil) for gardens/soils. Mineral oils contaminate fresh water because they never oxidise (i.e. go rancid and break down). I'd invite you to use a raw/pure plant-based oil instead of a mineral-based oil instead. Even if it goes rancid - who cares - one can replace it easily/responsibly. Linseed oil (pure/raw not boiled, as it has solvents) and perhaps beeswax (for viscosity control) seems to be best tool care lubricant General rule: if it's a machine then use non-edible oils else use edible oils Regards

@galehess6676

Жыл бұрын

darn. that's great. i have a tub of scented beeswax i decided stinks and can't be used to condition furniture.... now i know what to do with that juice

Mom? Can I borrow some olive oil?

I've had great luck using kerosene.

@galehess6676

Жыл бұрын

good point, kero or diesel are used by good old boys to undercoat vehicles to prevent rust and it works 100

How would you ‘see’ evidence that using an oil covered tool to dig in your vegetable garden is bad? Would you ‘see’ it if you just poured motor oil in your garden bed? And plenty of stuff done for generations has been proven to be bad for us...smoking, asbestos, etc.

@78ginop

5 жыл бұрын

Exactly what I was thinking

@DkpProductions

Ай бұрын

I gotta be honest for 30 years I've just put tools in the shed... They generally snap a handle or bend in half before rust is a problem!

Load of crap,old paint brush ,old oil and brush it on when not in use.done.

Why do we even need this in our life i hate school

@00zarzu00

6 ай бұрын

this is practical and it’s also not school.

And how does one dispose of this environmental nightmare when the time comes?

@granworks

7 жыл бұрын

Heh, you and I have wildly different opinions on constitutes a "nightmare", it seems! But seriously, disposal isn't a big factor for this. The oil and sand both should last essentially "forever" since the former won't evaporate and the latter doesn't degrade (much). Thus I can expect to use it for a very long time. Worst case is that the bucket degrades, but then I can just replace the bucket. If it does need to be disposed of for some reason then the procedure to follow is for "oil absorbents". That is, there is already a well established procedure for what to do if you spill oil while changing your car's oil. The procedure is to first absorb it with sand, kitty litter, sawdust, pads, or any number of other absorbents. Then, check with the local Hazardous Wastes department to see if they accept it. This is mostly true in California. Most other places the next step is to simply throw it out. TL;DR: this product is long lived enough that disposal is a very minor issue and then has a well established procedure for doing so, should the need arise.

@ripdinecola7250

5 жыл бұрын

Gonna feed it to baby sea turtles. Stop trolling a working man with stupid comments.

@VinnySuccessJesusfam

3 жыл бұрын

Simple find a not popular part of the yard did a nice hole ..pour it in...simple...i change my own oil and tranny's myself..and use the old stuff to paint my wooden fences and under surface areas of my decks etc...stop termites etc..and looks beautiful..tye red tranny fluid gives it a nice color. I have a lot of land and keep constantly painting or staining all my fences

@waynepolo6193

2 жыл бұрын

@@VinnySuccessJesusfam yep, it also gives the local water table a certain _je_ _ne_ _sais_ _quoi…_

That background guitar is really annoying. Plus, motor oil, clean or not, does not belong in the garden/environment. We know better than the old boys. Did like your other tool videos. This one, not so much.

@DkpProductions

Ай бұрын

Seems like a terrible idea, we have 50+ year old garden tools that just hang in a shed... Surface rust will literally disappear after using it again.