Refurbishing Draw Gauge

[papaw]

I have a old C.S. Osborne draw gauge it's dirty and beat up somewhat, I would like to refurbish it by removing the wood and sand it to clean and recoat. I also need to do some cleaning on the brass frame, I have removed the 3 screws without damaging anything but do need new screws. I see that the wood has a small piece of wood about 3/32"X 1/4" up by the finger rest. Question is how do I get the wood out of the brass frame without damaging the wood? Thanks for any help?

[needles]

if it were me I'd rather try to clean the wood insitu, removing it looks extremely difficult if not impossible without damage, but i could be wrong.

you could try oxalic acid to clean the wood, don't know if it will do anything to the brass though, just a thought.

al

[J Hayes]

Probably do more harm than good by taking it apart, looks good to me in the picture. You could just step finish it all together, wet/ dry paper starting at 320 grit working up to 1000 or so and keep the wood level with the brass. My Newark marked one that is very similar to yours seems almost as if the wood is "set" into the brass frame like a gemstone is set in a bezel, like the brass is hammered over the wood slightly for a seamless fit.

Edited October 27, 2014 by J Hayes

[karlpv]

Agree with the two responses above. Looks like rosewood. If mine, I would clean with a solvent such as alchohol, followed by a dishwashing detergent scrub, to remove the years of hand grunge. Then protect with lindseed oil, tung oil, and/or wax. McMaster-Carr carries nearly every fastener stll made. Nice looking tool.