I ground 2 of the nuts down to remove the serrations like Mark said.I probably won't be able to put this old girl into wood till next spring,but I sure am looking forward to it.
My neighbor stopped by & I showed him the tank handle.He asked me if I knew anyone who had a sandblaster.I asked him hopw they'd just get on the inside & he told me they have a wand that they use.I told him that by the time it was finished being sandblasted it'd probably leak like a sieve.Not only that,the company he told me about that does it would most likely be cost prohibitive