You don't use beeswax on your tablessaw? I would, only that what I've seen is a bit pricey. I use Johnsons Paste wax instead. If you want moisture moving away from your saw, place a "piano keeper" in the cabinet. This is a low-wattage heater used inside pianos to keep moisture out of them.
Where is your shop located in Seattle? I mean, is it in a garage, out-building, or basement? Mine's in my heated basement in the North end - LFP to be specific. I'm just wondering how much of a rust problem you've seen as I haven't seen much, if any, in my shop ... not that I've done anything spectacular to prevent it, or anything at all for that matter. :-)
And I do not think that it qualifies as a "shop" per se. In fact, I think that it would be an embarrassment to the word. But, I am working on it.
Two car garage (well my half of it anyway). Exposed insulation (no sheetrock). Gull-wing-type doors (as opposed to tambour/roll-top) have huge gaps around them, can see daylight around edges. Single pane window (swings out like a door). Not heated. During heavy rain (and expect this to happen any moment after yesterdays downpour), water sweats through concrete exterior wall. Not to mention wife parking her wet car in there. The nerve!
My tools do not get wet directly and I have never seen any condensation on them, but the amount of water vapor must be fairly high as I started seeing oranging on the sides of the webbed CI wings. Almost imperceptible but definitely there and I have only had the thing since Xmas and it was spotless then. Not a good sign of things to come.
Not much I can do about any of these issues as I will be a dad again this Wednesday and funds for all projects are on indefinite hold. But, I have some green Scotch Brites, #0000, WD40, and paste wax. If I can steal even an hour this weekend, I'll give a very quick once-over and slap some wax on it to at least stop the progression long enough for things to settle down a bit.
Of course there's a difference. But the difference is not relevant to this discussion, because *neither one* should be used in a wood shop.
Car *wax* contains silicone, and should *not* be used on woodworking equipment, because the silicone in the wax interferes with many types of wood finishes.
Car *polish* contains silicone *and* abrasives, and likewise should not be used on woodworking equipment, for reasons that I hope are obvious.
-- Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?
I tried the Boeshield but didn't care for it much. It wasn't slippery at all. I just use TopCote now. Haven't had any rust problems so far and it is nice and slick. Easy and quick to apply too so I do it more often. Maybe that helps too.
I only pursued this from personal experience, been using it for nearly 20 years with no ill affects. Never said it was the only way and I did my best to avoid name brand promotion.
SOME car finishing products contains silicone. not all do, and the ones that don't are formulated a bit stiffer and harder than furniture and floor waxes, which is actually a good thing for saw tops. Bridger
No, not all. But some do -- and you can't tell which do, and which don't. Best to stick with waxes that are *known* to be silicone-free.
Guess you've been lucky so far. Some other poor schlub who follows your misguided advice might not be so lucky. And then he'll post here, asking why his finish fisheyed.
-- Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?
Hi, Had an uncle that did that, favorite candy as a kid was chewing on the the part of the comb that he cut off before he put the frames in the extractor, grew up thinking all candy was supposed to have bee parts in it. :-Q Being cheap, I keep a plastic bottle half full of paint thinner(mineral spirits) in which I've dissolved a chunk of parrifin, squirt some on a rag and wipe the table down, let dry and buff lightly, if you're not going to use it for awhile just apply a heavy coat and let dry, don't buff till you're ready to use it. works for me.
when buying paste wax a good clue is to look for the word "carnauba". as far as I know there are no products on the market that contain both silicone and carnauba. Bridger
A Men! Thats one of the great things about NM compared to PA ( or WS ? ) :-) We do have to water the flower beds in the summer and even ocaisonally in the winter, but NO rust and lumber stored outside has a moisture content of about nothing. :-) it picks up moisture when you bring it inside from your breath. :-) ...lew...
I use Johnson's paste wax that I modify a bit by adding about 1/3 carnauba flakes in to raise the carnauba level. Makes for a harder wax finish and a better product for my cast iron surfaces. You can buy 1pound bags of flaked carnauba from Highland Hardware
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