The A3 31 is shipped on a wood platform attached to two steel bar channels. This in turn is bolted to a wood pallet. I elected to leave the unit on the platform and pallet for now. I’ll have to figure out how to get it down at a later date.
There were bits of disintegrated plastic all over the interior of the box, along with lots of dead bugs and spiders.
The rust damage is fairly extensive on the jointer beds. The far end of the bed is where the person selling the unit tried to sand the rust out with a little WD40 and 600 grit paper.
Here is a closer look at one of the jointer beds.
The planer bed is in good shape, with just a little rust here and there.
The rust damage on the planer bed shaft is unfortunately significant.
I took the cutter-head cover off so I could rotate the cutter-head. It rotated cleanly, with visible no rust. Interestingly, the planer roller had wood shaving embedded on it. I guess this was from a test cut at the factory.
I need to clean off the dirt and grime that accumulated around the unit. A lot of the grease seems to have become tacky and hardened. I’ll remove that with some mineral spirits. After that, i’ll tackle the rust on the jointer beds.
-- David W. Cupertino, CA
8 comments so far
a1Jim
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16928 posts in 474 days
posted 102 days ago
Good luck it’s going to take some hard work and time but it will be worth it.
-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon
John Ormsby
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503 posts in 633 days
posted 102 days ago
I recommend you get some Evapo-Rust to get rid of the rust if you intend to take the machine apart to restore. Evapo-Rust will take all of the rust off the parts because it is better to soak them in the solution. Have fun.
-- Oldworld, Fair Oaks, Ca
djwong
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10 posts in 116 days
posted 102 days ago
I plan to use Evapo-Rust on the small pieces. On the jointer beds, I will try Boeshield Rust-Free, and Bar Keeper’s Friend powder cleanser mixed with oil. Thanks.
-- David W. Cupertino, CA
davidroberts
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243 posts in 382 days
posted 102 days ago
i guess i’m coming in at the middle of this. i assume you bought it new at a significately reduced price? otherwise, someone gots some splainin to do.
-- david roberts, houston area, "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but that has never been a problem for me."
djwong
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10 posts in 116 days
posted 102 days ago
I bought this from the estate of a private party that had purchased it but never got a chance to use it. It was left in the crate for 2 or 3 years. One of those deals on craigslist that seems too good to be true. See my first blog entry. Thanks.
-- David W. Cupertino, CA
mtnwild
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2021 posts in 424 days
posted 102 days ago
I use a product called “Top saver” really works good on table surfaces and many other things. Will not stain wood or other materials. I use it a lot on old rusty knives mostly, but it’s made for machine table surfaces. Great find there, lucky you….............
-- mtnwild (Jack), It's not what you see, it's how you see it.
charlton
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43 posts in 305 days
posted 102 days ago
I echo the Evap-O-Rust route…however, if you can’t take the thing apart…or are unwilling to do so right off the bat, I would try wrapping paper towel soaked in Evap-O-Rust around the parts the are rusty. Keep a bit of the paper towel dipped in a dish of EOR so that it can continue to wick new EOR as it evaporates (which it does very slowly). If that fails, then take the thing apart and soak it.
It doesn’t look too bad and I think you got an absolute steal.
davidroberts
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243 posts in 382 days
posted 100 days ago
djwong – those deals are the best kind. i wouldn’t have shop equipment without craig’s list. but the level of effort to get the machines into tip top condition can be a chore. i’ll post a picture of my jointer some day. a real mess, er challange.
-- david roberts, houston area, "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but that has never been a problem for me."