My cast iron tablesaw is in need of some serious refinishing. Three years of using it as a workbench has taken it's toll -scratches, stains, etc. I know I can wax and polish it so that everything slides, but I'm wondering what type of abrasive will put a nice finish on it. Anyone done a refinish with good results?
"Sandflex" blocks, a rubberized abrasive, works real well on stains and rust... it's a brand name and you can usually get them at Rockler or WoodCraft. They can be used dry, or with a lubricant. So far I've yet to find anything that works better with less effort.
That said, any effort to take anything but miniscule scratches out may leave you with and undesirable, non-flat top, so go carefully.
Without knowing exactly how bad your table is, I can only recommend what I do on my saw every year or two (you know, rust marks from the "spilt" beer bottles and such...).
:-)
I use wet/dry sandpaper starting at 320 and spraying with WD-40 with each application. Work my way up to 1200 or so - as shiny & slick as you want. Get this stuff from Pep-Boys in the auto finishing area. They have up to 3000 or 4000 I think. Takes a little time, but works great!
I don't like waxing/silicon spray because it prevents the stain from penetrating and may cause blotching. Maybe just in the miter slot.
You don't really want silicon _anywhere_ on your table saw top.
It's not "blotching" that silicon causes, but fisheye, which is caused by the silicon reducing the surface tension of the sealer coat over the contaminated area, resulting in a round crater(s) in the finish that resembles, what else ... a fisheye. ;)
I perhaps am always the . .odd duck in the flock. In another life I use some very precise steel forms and years ago Fred at The Japan Woodworker introduced me to Camellia Oil - it is my understanding that the Japanese use it on their folded steel swords. It work great on my special forms and Hock plane blades and it doesn't have the adverse effect or the potential that silicon (wd40 . .ect)does. On the porous casting of a table saw top it works great. Fred now sells an applicator for it - but if you have a short piece of bamboo laying around in the shop you can roll up a course cotton a diameter to than can be stuffed into the hollow of the bamboo and then saturate it with the oil. Then every so often you just brush the applicator over the bare surfaces. Eventually after years the surface will take on a patina all its own where the oil has been drawn into the cast iron. . . .. . .just another option
Camellia oil is indeed what is used on Japanese swords. I got my first bottle of it in my first sword kit and since then I've been buying it in pints for use on other tools. It's a beautiful, light oil that smells good too.
Japan Woodworker carries it, and a believe places like Highland Hardware and Woodcraft do also.
Don't trust "Camellia Oil" on a sword. Modern camellia oil is a fish oil, with camellia essence added. It's not bad for woodworking tools, I use a lot of it myself. It's not "archival grade" for fine sword use though and it won't last for really long term storage without oxidising.
It's a good oil for hot-oil bluing of steels - as are most fish oils, and especially whale oils.
Genuine camellia oil is available (Chinese herbalists, traditional Japanese hairdressers), but the pH looks suspect for metal preservation.
Take a barbecue lantern on a pole (cheapest UK source of thick bamboo), saw off a few inches around a septum and make yourself an oil pot, just like you describe. Mine lives on the benchtop and I use it a lot. If you try to buy thick bamboo from a garden centre, they break out the internal septa before shipping it, supposedly to avoid water pooling and possible mosquito transmission.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.