In my unheated garage i have 4 big tools with cast iron tops, a unisaw a jet 18" bandsaw, a jet shaper and a powermatic 54a joiner. with a monthly application of topcoat the unisaw bandsaw and the shaper stay rust free but the joiner needs to be recoated at least once a week. Any idea why the joiner is different than the other three?
My shop goes pretty much unused in the winter.
thanks; Jim
by next winter the garage will be heated and insulated.
...
Difference in metallurgy and finish probably...
Probably different alloy compositions, even though listed as cast iron. I have a rust problem, and my jointer is the worst case. I apply Minwax furniture wax, and try to remember to cover the tool with a painters drop cloth. I live in NC; we have very humid cold, and condensation on cold metal is a problem. Horizontal surfaces are the worst.
Steve
Jim,
Others have stated about the cast iron being different and I'll leave it there but ask - are you covering the jointer with any kind of cover? It must be a breathable fabric so moisture does not get trapped. If you can't breathe thru the cover - don't cover your cast iron with it either.
Have any rubber mats or other coverings laying on the cement floor? Pick them up and see if there is any moisture trapped where they were laying. May want to remove them and then seal your cement floor when the weather permits.
About two years ago I ran a test (using my old 4" cast iron jointer) to see what products really kept rust at bay when exposed to an unheated shop in upstate NY area. I divided the jointer off into 4 sections and covered 3 sections with a different product.
I had Topcoat (or Boeshield - don't recall), SlipIt, Johnson's Paste Wax and left one section unprotected as the reference. The entire top was cleaned using WD40 and steel wool, then cleaned off with mineral spirits and allowed to dry before applying each product. The benchtop jointer was then placed in the corner of the shop - raised off the floor about 12" and left to rust for about two months.
The untreated section had a nice, even but light coat of rust. The difference between SlipIt and Topcoat was barely noticeable at the time with the edge finally going to Topcoat after waiting another month. But at the two month mark, SlipIt had the edge.
Rust was visible on both of those sections. The Johnson's wax section was third but just barely. After the about 6 months - there was a clear winner (Topcoat) but all sections had considerable rust - none of the products prevented rust. So re-application every month or two at the most (depending on humidity levels) is necessary.
Now it boiled down to cost-effectiveness. Topcoat/Boeshield loose there if you can re-apply before rust starts. Wax based products (Johnson's and SlipIt) slowly absorb moisture and will allow rust to start but are far less expensive. Johnson's (Butcher's wax also works) wax was the most economical and it's the product I use today.
I still purchase a can of Topcoat now and again for spraying router bits, blades and hand-tools simply because it's easier but only slightly more effective and longer-lived than the wax products.
Bob S.
Have you tried relocating the jointer to some where else in the shop? I could be a draft problem.
That's my best guess also, Leon. Up here in the Pacific Northwest (Bonney Lake, WA) we just had a ton of rain. Then, it warmed up to an unseasonably
55-60 degrees. I hadn't been out in the shop for about two weeks. When I went out and uncovered my tools (unheated, un-insulated shop) everything looked good but the bandsaw. I always cover all my tools with a cotton painters tarp. I neglected to cover the bandsaw, which, coincidentally, was closest to the large shop doors. Although coated with Topcoat, it had rust totally covering the table. I think all the rain and then the warm temperatures caused steam to form in the shop, probably more-so closer to the larger doors. The rust comes off really easily with a razor blade, so no harm done, but it was a sobering sight.Phil Visit my Web Site
Bonney Lake. Now that's a name one doesn't hear very often. BTW, you have a great winery on the hill.
And your sculpture going into town is kewl!
Is Stump Lake still ugly as it can be?
Glenna (grew up in Wapato but graduated White River High, but sense enough to leave, now
150 miles south for forever)
I find that my sweat or a drop of water will cause rust on my TopCote covered TS top if I neglect to wipe it off before it dries. IIRC TopCote which was originally developed by the guys now making and marketing Empire products. Again IIRC when I first started buying TopCote, 1989, it was marketed as a product that made the TS top more slippery and made no mention of preventing rust. I discovered that after using the product that I was no longer having rust problems after 5 years of fighting rust. I think that nothing will permanently stop condensation from forming rust but IMHO TopCote requires the least amount of effort for the most amount of protection.
Well, not so much a winery anymore. The wine tasting room has been replaced with an antique store. The restaraunt is still there, though.
Yeah, created by Bonney Lake artist Larry Anderson.
Stump Lake? You mean Lake Tapps? I always thought it was cool that they let the water out of it each year. Allows the shoreline property owners the opportunity to build/work on their docks. Yeah, when the water is out, the stumps look pretty nasty, but when the water is in its proper place, the lake is one of the most beautiful around.
That stinks! Oh, well, "progress." Many years ago, my son and I would stop there on the way to my mother's house. It was a good experience, and I even found a couple of wines I liked, in fact still have one or two someplace around here (packed when moving). Since I'm not a wine drinker, that's definitely a compliment to them. We were always going to time it to have dinner there near sunset. The view has to be incredible. Sadly, it was a "next time" thing, and now it will never be. Ironically, he is the one that was most concerned about me getting out and living my life fully. When I told him there was lots of time left for me, his response was that there was less than we knew. A lesson I should have already learned since my little sister died the day before her 21st birthday leaving behind two babies. Though my son had only 25 years on this old earth, he did, indeed, live his life fully, living more in this seven years of adulthood than most live in 50 or more.
One of his many accomplishments was set design and construction for different high school/college productions around town. No one every taught him, he just took to it naturally. It's one of the many things that are part of the everyday life that we take for granted. With him here, it wouldn't have taken five years to get my table saw back into service after buying this house! (Of course, I'd probably have never gotten near it either.)
Yup, that's the one. I could never believe that people would even consider swimming there! Yuck. I never did hear the story of how it came to be stumps in a lake. Did they cut the trees and later divert water to there? I doubt it is like our "stump farms" on the slopes of Mt. Saint Helen. You probably figured out that it apparently always had the stumps showing "way back then."
Do you know if those were Douglas Fir or perhaps Oak trees? For as long as they've been there, it seems like they must be hardwood. Maybe there's an old-timer around that knows.
Glenna
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