Last week I noticed in this group that "TAP" had some tools for sale in the Dallas area. Gave him a call, took a look, and grabbed a Jet JTAS-10XL that he had just gotten out of storage. Outfeed rollers, mobile base, extension table, router lift, unused Bosch router. Total of about 400 feet of plywood cut through the saw - lucked out! Grabbed a Jet drill press and a Grizzly 2HP dust collector he had laying around too. Picked it all up this Saturday AM (2 buds helped - for beer).
TS was clean, neat, looked new, BUT - TAP had wiped the table down with what he described as "white lithium grease" before he put it in storage. Probably not a bad idea, tho I might have used a better rust preventative. Did a minor clean up Saturday PM, set it all up (no probs, only sheered one Chinwanese bolt) and ran a couple of trial cuts to build a dolly for the drill press - what a pleasure! 3/4 plywood wasn't even there as far as the saw was concerned.
Tonight I decided a proper table clean was in order. So here's the process I used (neophyte that I am), and the results.
Step 1. Paper towels and paint thinner. Keep cleaning until towel shows no signs of gunk (2 passes). I would have used naptha but the water heaters are in the garage areas and naptha is a "bit" volatile to use close to pilot lights. ~5 minutes
Step 2 Old fashioned white polishing compound from the auto supply store (~$3.00). Rub on, rub off. Lots of surface oxidation on wiping clothes (old T shirts), so do it again. ~10 minutes
Step 3 Wipe down with paint thinner and paper towels to remove loose oxidation and rubbing compound residue. ~2 minutes
Step 4 Johnsons paste wax. Rub on, buff out. Do it again. ~10 minutes
Is that table slick? Being a guy who wonders if time is well spent, I ran a test as I went.
Test Conditions
6" rule held vertically at edge of table. 10" steel rule from top of 6" rule, slanting to table. Actually it's a 12" rule, but I put the 10" mark on top of the vertical 6" rule (30 degree slope if I remember the 3,4,5 triangle correctly). Sled was a 4" long hunk of maple 1X2, square at the leading end, unsanded on the bottom (not prepped in any way).The Test Hold sled at 10" mark on steel rule, let it slide down the slope and measure how far it moves across the table.
Results Untouched table (table had minor amounts of greasy residue) - max distance on table in 5 trys = 2" of leading edge of sled. The other 2" stayed on the slope.
Degreased table, 5 trys max 3". 1" of sled still on slope.
Polished table, 5 trys max 5", 1" from end of slope to trailing edge of sled.
Waxed table, 5 trys max 8", 4" from end of slope to trailing edge of sled.
You can make a TS table slicker!
Regards.
Tom