{"id":1537,"date":"2025-01-03T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-03T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/?p=1537"},"modified":"2024-12-30T10:05:34","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T15:05:34","slug":"how-to-take-care-of-garden-tools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/how-to-take-care-of-garden-tools\/","title":{"rendered":"How to take care of garden tools"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A
Use a stiff-bristle brush to clean dirt from garden tools. Photo courtesy of University of Wisconsin-Madison<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Shannon Henderson, ANR Educator, UGA Extension Forsyth County<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the weather turns cold, it\u2019s tempting to retreat into our warm living rooms and hibernate with hot cocoa and old movies. While this is an option for getting through the winter, we can also do some things to prepare for spring gardening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the best garden maintenance activities for winter is cleaning and repairing your garden tools. This is important for preserving your investment in your tools, but because our gardening season is so long, it\u2019s easy to put tools away expecting to use them again soon. And then the first frost \u2013 and the holiday season \u2013 slips in and we forget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This space between New Year\u2019s and Valentine\u2019s Day is a great time to gather up your tools and a warm cup of coffee for a little workshop and tool maintenance quiet-time. You\u2019ll also need:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supplies for cleaning garden tools<\/td>Supplies for sharpening garden tools<\/td><\/tr>
Stiff-bristle brush<\/td>Eye protection<\/td><\/tr>
Running water or bucket of water<\/td>Leather or heavy, protective gloves<\/td><\/tr>
Liquid detergent<\/td>File or whetstone<\/td><\/tr>
Several soft, clean cloths or paper towels<\/td>Shop vise or clamps<\/td><\/tr>
Rubbing alcohol, turpentine, or mineral spirits<\/td>Socket wrench, hex\/Allen wrench<\/td><\/tr>
Coarse steel wool, pumice stone, sandpaper<\/td>Sandpaper<\/td><\/tr>
WD-40 or other lightweight machine oil<\/td>WD-40 or other lightweight machine oil<\/td><\/tr>
Linseed oil or mineral oil<\/td>Clean, soft cloths<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Several
Clean rust from tools with coarse steel wool and use a file or whetstone to sharpen blades. Photo by Heather Kirk-Ballard, LSU AgCenter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The very first task is to remove any leftover dirt, sap, or plant residue. Sometimes, all this requires is a little elbow grease and a wire brush. Other times, some soap and water are in order. If there\u2019s a buildup of sap on your tools, use a solvent like alcohol, turpentine, or mineral spirits to remove the sap. Once the tool dries, inspect the metal for rust. If you find rust on your tools, scour it away with coarse steel wool. Brush away all grit and dust, then apply WD-40 or another light machine or engine oil to protect the metal through winter. Wipe away excess oil with a clean, dry cloth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the metal parts are clean, take care of the wooden handles. Neglected wooden handles could crack or sprout splinters. Allow the handles to thoroughly dry from the cleaning process, and then inspect them for rough spots or splinters. If you find splinters, trim them off as needed and then sand the area smooth. Finally, apply a light coat of linseed or mineral oil to preserve the wood, polishing away any excess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pruners, shovels, hoes, and chisels all have cutting blades, so check these edges for damage. If the blades are chipped or dull, you can sharpen them using a file or whetstone. Make sure that you have eye protection and gloves before you start this process so that you are protected from flying metal shards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
To sharpen tool blades, clamp the blade in a vise and wear eye protection and heavy gloves. Glide a file or whetstone in a long stroke away from you, being careful to keep the original angle of the blade. Photo courtesy of University of Wisconsin-Madison<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Secure the blade of the tool with a clamp or vise so it doesn\u2019t slip while you are working on it. Face the sharp edge of the tool away from you for increased safety. Using long strokes in a single direction \u2013 preferably away from you \u2013 glide the file or whetstone across the cutting edge. Try to maintain the original angle of the blade\u2019s edge. When you\u2019re satisfied with the edge, turn the tool over, clamp it back into the vise, and remove burrs with a light stroke of the file, whetstone, or sandpaper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For things like scissors and pruning shears, you may need to disassemble the tool to make sure that it is properly cleaned and sharpened. Clamp the tool to your work surface and expose the head of the bolt and nut. Use a drop of machine or engine oil to lubricate the joint as you disassemble the pivot, and make sure to keep track of the order of the parts so you can easily reassemble the tool. As you disassemble the tool, you can clean, sharpen, or replace parts. Some manufacturers have online resources that describe the best maintenance practices for the tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Wooden handles also need care to prevent cracking and splinters. Photo by Katharina Bill on Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you work through your pile of hand tools, don\u2019t forget about your power equipment. Clean grass clippings and debris from lawn mowers, weed eaters, and similar equipment. Empty fuel tanks or add a fuel stabilizer so that the fuel doesn\u2019t degrade in the machinery. Lastly, check the spark plugs, change the oil, and replace the air filters. This quick maintenance list will ensure that your power equipment will perform as expected when you pull them out in spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make sure you exercise caution when working with your equipment, especially when you are working with tools that have a bladed edge.  Always use the appropriate protective equipment and a healthy dose of caution to prevent injury. If you have any questions, please reach out to Forsyth County Extension. Happy honing!  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the weather turns cold, it\u2019s tempting to retreat into our warm living rooms and hibernate with hot cocoa and old movies. While this is an option for getting through the winter, we can also do some things to prepare for spring gardening.<\/p>\n

One of the best garden maintenance activities for winter is cleaning and repairing your garden tools. This is important for preserving your investment in your tools, but because our gardening season is so long, it\u2019s easy to put tools away expecting to use them again soon. And then the first frost \u2013 and the holiday season \u2013 slips in and we forget.<\/p>\n

This space between New Year\u2019s and Valentine\u2019s Day is a great time to gather up your tools and a warm cup of coffee for a little workshop and tool maintenance quiet-time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":192,"featured_media":1543,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[360,119],"class_list":["post-1537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anr","tag-garden-tool-care","tag-garden-tools"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/192"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1537"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1544,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1537\/revisions\/1544"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}