Jointer fence/bed rust problem

i have the same problem with rust in my shop because it is not heated at all times. I use damp ridein the shop i place them by the scroll saw ,jointer ect.. so far so good

-- danny s "the first to lose are the first to give up"

The last thing I would do would be to cover it. It will trap in moisture. You need air circulation so as not
too allow moisture to settle.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

It must not get cold enough in your area for the garage floor to freeze,

so moisture might be coming up through the floor.

You should have some sort of venting, so the moisture can escape the building.

-- Dick Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

I don’t think wax is enough to prevent rust. I use T9 Boeshield on all my cast iron tools, and works great. I live in rainy Seattle.

-- Mike - "Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." (Scott Adams)

danny—what’s damp ridein? google didn’t give me much…

otherwise, all sounds reasonable.

don’t cover.
add venting to the garage (may not be possible in the short term…).
use boeshield (bought some).

thanks gents :-)

I used to use a paste wax, But then I realized that it traps water in the pours of the cast iron. I spray WD40 on my tools once a week. Virginia Beach can be very humid most of the year. The WD40 has worked very well.

DON”T USE WD40 !!!! The silicone in the spray will contaminate and ruin many applied
finishes on your project. Fish eyes are not any fun at all after dozens of hours spent building a project.
Boeshield is a good product, not as slidy slick as wax but very good protection.

-- Paul

sorry damp ride.. it is sold at lowes,wal-mart,and others it basic use is for basements or damp areas of a house it traps moisture in the can.

-- danny s "the first to lose are the first to give up"

I have a similar problem with my table saw. The wax was getting a little thin, and then a little stumble got a little coffee on the top. I’ve taken the rust off with steel wool a couple of times, but it keeps coming back. The problem is that the wax traps humidity against the iron. Try to find a day when the humidity is pretty low, and then clean the bed really well and make sure it is absolutely dry before you re-coat it with wax (or T9).

However, if you don’t expect a dry day fairly soon, I’d keep cleaning it off frequently until then. Surface rust is pretty easy to remove and won’t cause much damage, but if you leave it, it could get deeper and start to pit the surfaces.

Danny and Ben – I think it’s Damp Rid.

-- What exactly is "The Move" and who are you calling a "Quirky Jerk"? -- http://www.north40custom.com

WD40, paste wax, Boeshield, and even bee’s wax can and will cause fish eyes if used not used correctly. I have stained many projects and have not experienced any fish eye problems. Some woodworkers will not use Boeshield because it creates friction. Some people do not like wax because it traps humidity. The subject of preserving machinery surfaces is, and will always be opinionated.

It’s a trade off with any product that you apply to metal surface related to woodworking.

I’m also in Seattle, pretty moist…I only use paste wax and it’s all I’ve needed in for my tools in my unheated shop. Seems it takes a few applications to get the right protective build, but once there, it works without worry (for me and my tools). That said, I wouldn’t knock the Boeshield product. I’ve used it in the past. It’s a bit sticky, but protects really well.

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

I apply a liberal coat of Johnson paste wax and use a heat gun so it gets into the pores. Let it dry and buff it. It won’t protect from direct water attacks.

-- Dave Herron, Boise, ID -- How hard can it be? It's only wood!

I like the heat gun idea…wax only applies so well in the cold…

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

I live close to the ocean and and get a lot of moister from the prevailing onshore breezes. I have the same issues with rust. A while back I accidentally left a block of unfinished mahogany on my new jointer table. The piece had already been jointed and was perfectly flat. It sat there for a few weeks during a time when I wasn’t doing much work in the shop. Later I discovered that there was a lot rust on the jointer table. When I picked up the wood there was a perfect rectangle without any rust underneath. Since then, I have been using the T9 Boeshield product, but the rust keeps coming back. Would it make sense to cut some boards of wood—something cheaper than mahogany—to cover the entire table?

-- Scott, San Diego

Ben,

Another idea that comes up once in awhile on the metal machining forums is the type of heater you use. Apparently guys have had problems with condensation, not only because of a quick heat on a cold tool, but because burning propane produces water. Just a thought.

-- Tom, Central New York

I had this problem for a while too, just buffed and waxed my table saw and the problem has not come back. heck I think I used car wax since it was all I had laying around. I may be a hater here but I refuse to use, buy or own WD-40. I have never liked that stuff. Once you put that on somthing you have to keep spraying it on there or the rust will come back. I have used damp rid in our pop up camper and it works great, but it would seem to me you would have to have 50 cans in an average garage to do any good and everytime you opened a door they would have to start all over soaking up the moisture.

Hey ww_kayak is that “chet” from weird science?? One of the top ten all time great movies from my childhood, in fact I bought the DVD a few months ago and still laughed by butt off.

-- It seem's I just make scrap wood and saw dust most of the time !

I only discovered this through accident, well, lazyness really, but I left a thick layer of woodchips on my planer one winter and it prevented rust wherever they were. The chips must act as a buffer against the heat/humidity changes? Very similar to what Swied said above. Anyway, it seems to work in my unheated barn. And heck, it’s cheap and in great supply ;).

-- Robb

The saw dust / wood chips make a great (and free I might add) moisture absorber!

-- It seem's I just make scrap wood and saw dust most of the time !

But at the same time a thin layer of dust left on an unprotected cast iron surface will cause it to rust as the dust absorbs moisture! I think those of us that work in unheated spaces, just need to claim some indoor space!

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

try Topcote, maybe a dehumidifer would help.

I have the same situation- unheated shop, Ontario weather. I tried a bunch of treatments, but the best thing that I found is to blue the table with Hoppes gun blue, buff it, and forget about it.

-- The only easy wood project is a fire