Excellent dry lube

[woodchucker]

Saw on lumberjocks the recommendation for blaster dry lube (PTFE : teflon) as a good dry lube for tables. Doesn't intefere with finishes the guy was saying. Others agreed.

I picked up a can as I need to lube my trunion on the saw, it's packing with sawdust since the last dry lube I used may not have been dry enough.

Well was using my jointer and it was sticking .. decided to try it on the fence and table.

Went on wet... but dries quickly. I wiped off the white residue with a cloth... Very nice... We'll see how long it stays on... But for the moment... I like it.

[Leon]

Who makes it, where do you get it?

Also I have recently seen this product, pricey because Micro Fence is apparently the only distributor in the US.

[woodchucker]

Blaster is the company. I got it at Home Desperate in the tool section.

My can is different, more rounded at the top, new design.

This was 4.49 so not very expensive.

[clare]

I like Boelube and Boeshield. Have a can of Boeshield T( right now. About $16 for 12 oz spray can.

[woodchucker]

Wholly shit man... it wasn't my previous lube, I had so much saw dust covering the worm and gear... The saw dust was piled into the corners (I have a plate at the bottom to accept the vac. I think I need to re-arrange that to a upside down pyramid to keep it unpacked.

[Leon]

Just a thought here, one of my saws in the past had that problem of the dust getting packed into the gears. Now that I use a DC it is not so much of an issue.

My cleaning solution was to use "automotive brake cleaner" with the little red tube to direct the stream. Worked like magic. Obviously you want to follow up with a thorough lube job as the brake cleaner really gets in there.

[Leon]

I tried Boeshield about 15 years ago.... Too stickey/gummy for my liking. Yes I know you have to wipe it down but in Houston's humidity it was totally ineffective.

My favorite was the TopCote products when Empire made the stuff. They sold TopCote to Bostitch and it has never been quite as good IMHO, but still the best that I have run across.

[Swingman]

And still what I use as "dry lube" on all gears in the shop.

[Keith Nuttle]

On may table saw I have created an easily accessible box below the saw. In use the saw dust falls into the box. At the end of each job part of the clean up routine is to vacuum the saw dust out of the box, and vacuum the area under the table.

While I do not have a vacuum system on the saw, the box collects about

85% of the sawdust. There is a little the needs to be cleaned up from the floor around the saw. The system creates very little dust in the atmosphere

[wb8nbs]

The best dry lube I ever had was Dri-Slide. Haven't seen it in stores for m any years but there are some Google hits. Molybdenum Disulfide in a very t hin volatile solvent. Used it on motorcycle cables and whatever, it would be perfect for table saw trunnion parts.

Not having any of this magic stuff, I have to put wax on my trunnion gears. Twice a year I wheel the saw out into the drive way, remove the throat pl ate and stick a Toro leaf blower up it's skirt. Gets almost all the sawdust out. For the table itself, Caranauba paste wax.

[Morgans]

Keep in mind that once you use brake cleaner, you must NEVER put heat from a torch or welder on that part. ONE drop of that residue on it combined with the heat will make a poison gas that can scar your lungs for life. I don't have time to look up the article on it right now.

[Leon]

I have never heard of that. Not saying that is not possible but it seems like a non issue though as brake cleaner evaporates to a clean surface within a few minutes. The whole point of brake cleaner is to leave a spotless residue free surface.

[Morgans]

Take a look at this. Scary stuff.

[woodchucker]

Thank you. That's good info.

[Larry W]

It's well documentated that heat from welding and other sources can decompose certain chlorinated solvents into phosgene gas, which was used for chemical warfare by the Germans in WWI. I remember being cautioned about this when I worked in a chemical plant in the mid-seventies. The stuff is dangerous and nasty, though the article at brewracingframes.com appears to be somewhat sensationalized. It certainly IS something to be aware of. At the chemical plant where I worked about once a year steel tanks holding trichlorethelene and later perchlorethylene (It's been a while, not sure my spelling or the names are entirely correct) were drained for maintenance including welding any cracks & leaks. We were given SCBA (like SCUBA without the underwater part) equipment when we did that. Both chemicals among others can be present in some brake cleaners. I'd certainly not want to do any welding around brake cleaner, but would not go so far as to say it cound "never" be done to a piece of steel that had once upon a time been in contact with some. Just points up the need to be informed. Say what you like about OSHA and they have got a lot of things wrong, but there's no question that MSDS and some of their other requirements have saved lives and improved the health of industrial workders.

[Leon]

Well anyway, after using brake cleaner to clean the gears on your TS, don't use a MIG welder to, to, to, well don't use a Mig, Tig or what ever welder on your TS gears.... Scratching head.... Wondering how a welder got in to the steps of cleaning and re-lubricating the gears on a TS.

[Morgans]

"Leon" wrote

Good point. I guess it was an opportunity to pass on the hazards of brake cleaner, for general knowledge's sake. I don't even keep the stuff in the shop any more. I'll use acetone, or something else.

I did break a couple teeth off of a gear in a 1942 Gibson tractor transmission one time. No way to find a replacement and I needed it running, so I welded it back up with a MIG welder and an air cutoff wheel to shape the teeth back. Of course, it would have to be a helical cut gear, too. Add metal, grind, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat.

I expected that it would last for a while, then fail, but that would probably get me past the immediate need. You know, that was 15 years ago, and it has not broken yet. I had not even thought of that gear for ages.

[woodchucker]

I found that information useful... So don't feel bad. I never knew, and I do weld. I think I'll switch to acetone for brake cleaning too, as I buy it by the gallon..

Thanks again for saving my life possibly in the future.

[Leon]

LOL, don't get me started on a bath tub filled with over 4" of water. ;~)

Concerning the brake cleaner, the one you are referring to, is that the old stile that evaporated quickly or the relatively newer style that seems to not evaporate very quickly. Or does that cover both?

[clare]

anything with tetrachloroethylene - it breaks down into phosgene gas under high heat or the presence of flame (as do MANY chlorinated hydrocarbons - including Freon R12 (organochlorine compounds))