Lubricant ion the wood is bad. it soaks in.

Try an awl into the hole and wiggle it around til it pops lose. If they are recessed in, try hitting the awl/nail punch, straight down onto it.

Thank you.

I had made sure none of the lubricant had made it onto the wood when I took the hardware off, so I'm glad I did.

I will try with an awl right now and hopefully I will get them off.

Take some white vinegar and mineral spirits (soda water) and put into a plastic squirt bottle (an empty bottle of windex, etc.) Shake the mixture and squirt directly onto the surface..Wait a few minutes and carefully try to pry it off.. If that doesn't work, wait longer. The vinegar mineral water mix should break down the rust and loosen them up. Don't worry about it rusting the metal further.. This is the exact mixture i use to remove rust from metal parts and sometimes i soak them in a jar for a couple of day.. The rust literally disintegrates into a reddish-brown powder..

When the water turns brown, you know the mix has done it's job..

Do you mean spirits or water?

Thanks

Like to see some photos of the drum.

Here are some pictures of the drums before I started cleaning it. I also wondered what to do about the reinforcement rings/hoops, but that's a later problem. For now I'm gonna focus on the hardware.

(also any of you why the photo I uploaded which is saved in "portrait" format on my computer, uploaded as "landscape"? Or is it that every photo uploaded on the forum should be in landscape?

jimorlando--

Water, like Club soda, or anything carbonated..

Im glad you cleared that up, I was thinking miner spirits (as in paint thinner).

That drum looks pretty bad, be careful getting that hardware off because it appears to be the best part of the drum, the shell looks like it has absorbed a lot of moisture.

Hey Jeff,

Managed to take all of the hardware off with a lot a patience. What would you think I should do about the shell? I was planning on stripping the inner paint to see how the wood looks; again this is not something i'm trying to sell, and the drum didn't cost me anything; it's just for the fun of it.

I can certainly send more photos but I would say, eventhough there has been a lot of water damage, the plies look "ok". The re-rings would definitely need some work though.

General question for all: Should I put all of the hardware in vinegar or just the bolts/washers? I was reading different threads today and I keep on seeing different things:vinegar, citric acid, WD40. I'm so lost. FYI