✅ SOLVED What is this Heavily crusted metal object?

[Molly_Hatchet]

Found in dried up stream in woods where there was a lot of agricultural activity in 17 and 1800s.
I wonder if someone can see the shape of what this is through the crust because I cant.

 

[DizzyDigger]

Molly, it's a heavily crusted piece of iron. How could anyone even possibly
have an idea of what lies underneath all that rust?

 

[4x4x4]

....Do try to remove the crust !
Could be anything between a wrench to a hinge

 

[Molly_Hatchet]

....Do try to remove the crust !
Could be anything between a wrench to a hinge

I've removed rust before successfully but its been a while... white vinegar and coarse salt bath (for what looks like could take 2-3 weeks) , then a baking soda bath for 10 minutes. Is there a better recipe? Thanks. This is going to end up being nothing but takes zero effort and little money sk Ill do it. I found a square nail and an oxen shoe back there.

 

[coinman123]

hit it on a rock a few times. I did that with all of my encrusted iron. I had a blob turn into a beautiful colonial axe head that I can put a handle on. I even put some stuff in my fire pit, after I got the encrustation off, it burned all the light rust off and made it a nice color.

 

[Molly_Hatchet]

I dont know... basic shapes that someone may recognize.? Ill remove the rust... itll be fun.

 

[Molly_Hatchet]

hit it on a rock a few times. I did that with all of my encrusted iron. I had a blob turn into a beautiful colonial axe head that I can put a handle on. I even put some stuff in my fire pit, after I got the encrustation off, it burned all the light rust off and made it a nice color.

Oh I WILL DO THAT!

 

[sawmill man]

LOL, i would not even bother soaking it .i would just do it with a hammer pecking all way around, it might revile something.

 

[50bmg]

looks like a knife blade to me

 

[Molly_Hatchet]

LOL, i would not even bother soaking it .i would just do it with a hammer pecking all way around, it might revile something.

Sounds good to me! Ill do it in the morning.

 

[jewelerguy]

looks like a dog turd to me

 

[Molly_Hatchet]

looks like a dog turd to me

yeah i know. I banged the rust off though. now it has a shape.

 

[Molly_Hatchet]

looks like a knife blade to me

nope.

 

[Molly_Hatchet]

I hammered off the rust.

Check it out..

 

[Old Pueblo]

The rounded lip looking part at the left in the second photo makes me think it could be part of the top of a wood burning stove.

 

[4x4x4]

....Agree , broken stove shard .
Now THAT was easy !

 

[coinman123]

That is why I always use a hammer on any big sturdy encrusted iron I find, probably done 30 pieces, broken none. I realized that fire/heat helps burn off some of the superficial rust afterwards when I started a campfire with an axe head in the bottom (while experimenting cleaning methods on iron). Sometimes pieces look too pitted after this method if they are too pitted, and you burn off all the rust (horseshoes and ox shoes). You also have to use a sponge to get all the (sometimes red) soot off. Your piece cleaned up very nice, probably at least one hundred years old, and probably older!

 

[Molly_Hatchet]

Hey Coinman. Thank you... well that saved me tons of time. Im still perplexed by the detail. And the grooved part has a curve that apears deliberate (wish i could post a video but it never works). So I dont know yet. But definately maybe. Ill look up old stoves and see where it fits in somewhere. Maybe its stove - just not part of a flat circle outline... somewhere else on the stove. The non-straight edge also looks decorative and deliberate and not like a break.

 

[Molly_Hatchet]

Stove part. yep. Thanks guys