Table Saw Protection

[Highspeed]

Just got a new Craftsman table saw as a gift and I was wondering what I should do to protect the cast iron table from rust. I have read that you should use a non silicone paste wax but I can't seem to find it, so I sprayed it with my Boeshield. Is this adequate or should I try to find a paste wax? What kind of paste wax do you use? What kind of degreaser should be used first?

Thanks,

Lars

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Boeshield is good.

As a degreaser, kerosene works well. If you can't find kero, use lamp oil. Same thing but has a pretty color in it.

As for preventing rust, keep it coated with either Boeshield, Top Cote, or paste was. Next thing you should do is ditch the blade that came with it. Use it for construction work, but not for anything you want a nice fit and finish on.

Good luck with your new saw. Use it safely and it will make some beautiful things around the house. If you are new to woodworking, take a course to learn the basics.

[Silvan]

Or buy UltraPure lamp oil... No color, almost no smell. Makes a great trumpet valve oil too. Oh, and, hell, it even works good in oil lamps too.

But if that's too much trouble, and it was for me at the time, you can also get cosmoline off with mineral spirits and about twice as much rubbing.

[Doug Miller]

Boeshield will work fine.

You're right about using non-silicone paste waxes: silicone interferes with many wood finishes.

I was going to tell you to look for Johnson's Paste Wax, then I saw the "dot-ca" in your email. You can't buy Johnson's in Canada, unfortunately. A couple of guys here recommend Butcher's; maybe you can find that. I use Johnson's myself, as I don't have any trouble finding it here. I suppose I could send you some if you like (see sig line for real email address), but you might want to have a look at this, too:

Valley is a Canadian company, and I imagine they'd ship that within Canada.

I always use paint thinner (mineral spirits) as a degreaser: works fine, and it's dirt cheap (typically about US$2-3 per US gallon; not sure what that would be in CDN$ per liter or imperial gallon).

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt. And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

[max]

I have used lots of things over the last thirty years to keep my tools clean and more importantly slippery for the wood to slide over. The weirdest (and best) idea came from this old woodworker who used a blackboard eraser and either chalk or talcum powder for all of his cast iron tools. It seems that the cast iron has micro pores on its surface and the chalk fills them up making the surface super slick. max

[Highspeed]

Thanks for all of the help. I will look at that stuff from Lee Valley and look for Johnsons on my next trip south.

Lars

[Mortimer Schnerd, RN]

I degrease with a spray can of brake cleaner, available at any auto parts store. Then you can either spray with Boeshield or rub it down with Johnson's paste wax.