LumberJocks Woodworking Forum banner

New here, question about table saw maintenance

5K views 34 replies 15 participants last post by  BoardButcherer 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Oi, it's me. The guy with too many questions.

I'm just starting to put a shop together and the first thing I did was buy a 3 phase converter and an industrial Sawstop cabinet saw that was going cheap at auction because it had been in a fire at a school.

Why not jump into a quagmire with 2 feet if you've got too much free time and a tool fetish, right?

So I already knew the saw had been liberally soaked in the fire by the sprinklers before buying it and had made up my mind to break it down, clean it up and put it back together. That's fine. Table saws are easy compared to some of the machines I've overhauled.

However this is taking longer than expected, and it's largely my fault. When I got the saw it was slammed full of sawdust in every conceivable nook, cranny and bolt-hole because the shop teacher had unhooked the dust collection, which I can guarantee is what started the fire at that school after seeing what I've seen (If you've got kids taking shop classes at their school I'd ask to take the tour and do a good inspection of every machine there. The only excuse for the lack of maintenance throughout this machine was plain idiocy combined with incompetence, seasoned liberally with laziness) So now I've got a healthy paranoia of dust build-up and in the process of re-painting every piece of the saw, inside and out, I'm trying to find ways to lubricate everything without attracting dust.

I've got the shafts taken care of, I'm making gaskets to keep in some thick grease and keep dust out. The open gears, trunion slides and other friction points aren't so easy though. I'm trying to find some dry lube that will soak into/get pressed into the cast iron and steel to keep things working smooth, and also keep the rust out.

I'm in Florida. Rust is a fact of life, AC or no AC. Sometimes the humidity is so thick it overpowers the climate control. There will be condensation.

So I've got a can of dry moly and a can of teflon spray. Both work great for reducing friction but don't even slow down the rust. It just creeps in under the moly.

Anyone know of a rust inhibitor that can be put in the slides, trunions and gears that will last a reasonable amount of time? Can't have any build-up or thick coating. No oils or grease, wax or paste. Need something I can rub in, buff out and pretend it isn't there.
 
See less See more
#4 ·
The Boeshield I've looked at. I decided not to try it because it says it leaves a waxy finish. Any waxy finish is going to get dust embedded in it by the moving parts and there will be a material buildup.

The Dyna Glide, however, I have not come across and sounds like it may work. I'd need to ask some questions from someone has used it though. Dynaglide is a trademarked name for the application of PTFE as a bearing material. It's another Teflon spray, so it's a matter of what they've added as a rust preventative that my current can of Blaster Teflon spray doesn't have.
 
#5 · (Edited by Moderator)
The Boeshield I ve looked at. I decided not to try it because it says it leaves a waxy finish. Any waxy finish is going to get dust embedded in it by the moving parts and there will be a material buildup.
- BoardButcherer
T-9 is just paraffin wax and mineral oil in mineral spirits. It's the mineral oil that leaves the residue and attracts dust, not the wax. Johnsons paste wax is paraffin and a couple other waxes in a solvent carrier (naptha). The main ingredient in all of them is wax, particularly paraffin. You can get some Gulf wax (paraffin) at the local store for a couple bucks a pound and use it straight. Works well and won't attract dust. Other dry-lube products will work as well, such as PB Blaster, and most use teflon as their main ingredient. None of the dry lubes do much in the way of rust prevention.

I have a few machines that live outside on a covered patio. Paste wax and a good breathable cover keeps them rust free year around. Don't overthink it.

Cheers,
Brad
 
#6 · (Edited by Moderator)
The Boeshield I ve looked at. I decided not to try it because it says it leaves a waxy finish. Any waxy finish is going to get dust embedded in it by the moving parts and there will be a material buildup.
- BoardButcherer

T-9 is just paraffin wax and mineral oil in mineral spirits. It s the mineral oil that leaves the residue and attracts dust, not the wax. Johnsons paste wax is paraffin and a couple other waxes in a solvent carrier (naptha). The main ingredient in all of them is wax, particularly paraffin. You can get some Gulf wax (paraffin) at the local store for a couple bucks a pound and use it straight. Works well and won t attract dust. Other dry-lube products will work as well, such as PB Blaster, and most use teflon as their main ingredient. None of the dry lubes do much in the way of rust prevention.

I have a few machines that live outside on a covered patio. Paste wax and a good breathable cover keeps them rust free year around. Don t overthink it.

Cheers,
Brad

- MrUnix
I'll give JPW a try after I buff in some of the moly to give the parts some extra wear protection. I've already been using JPW on the table tops and as such know how well it works, just didn't like the idea of having anything that the sawdust could be trapped in, but from what you and Fred are saying that doesn't happen. Or it at least isn't so bad that I've got to worry about things like the worm gear getting clogged.

The gears on that were half-filled with hard packed sawdust that just about had to be chiseled out when I tore it down, combined with thick bearing or axle grease of some variety.
 
#8 ·
I don't think wax is the best thing for lubricating gears and shafts. It is not really intended as a lubricant. Sawstop manual says to periodically remove built up dust from internal gears and threaded shafts with a wire brush and reapply a good quality, non-hardening grease. Using dust collection will help reduce the build up. I know it is a pain but if they were designed to be greased, that is what I would use.
 
#9 ·
I don t think wax is the best thing for lubricating gears and shafts. It is not really intended as a lubricant. Sawstop manual says to periodically remove built up dust from internal gears and threaded shafts with a wire brush and reapply a good quality, non-hardening grease. Using dust collection will help reduce the build up. I know it is a pain but if they were designed to be greased, that is what I would use.

- Lazyman
I won't be using wax for the lubricant, I've got dry lubes for that and they work well, I've used them in many other situations with great success. The wax is the rust inhibitor.

High maintenance isn't stopping me from using the grease either. Grease is just bad in any dusty environment. Doesn't matter if it's in your home shop or down in the bottom of a strip mining pit. It doesn't just draw dust to the parts that're greased but the surfaces around it, and is especially bad on porous surfaces like cast steel that wick grease.

I'll be putting the dry lube on twice as often as I would grease, but I'll be cleaning the gears once every blue moon in comparison and the machine should last longer as a result.
 
#10 ·
I would be a bit concerned about the electronics if the saw was drenched in water.

Does it run?

I use white lithium grease….......but then again I can't remember if I've ever even lubed my tablesaw in 15 years…...
 
#11 ·
I would be a bit concerned about the electronics if the saw was drenched in water.

Does it run?

I use white lithium grease….......but then again I can t remember if I ve ever even lubed my tablesaw in 15 years…...

- rwe2156
I actually broke it down before ever plugging it in, didn't want to risk damaging something.

It will run when I'm done with it, bad electronics or not. Every board is available as a replacement part if I'm feeling lazy. If I'm not, I've got a soldering iron and accounts with digikey and mouser. It's not a terribly complicated system.
 
#12 ·
WD-40 was developed back in the early days of the space program to prevent rust on fine machines parts in the Cape Canaveral area. It is designed to wick down into the pores of the metal and force out moisture. Most people don't realize this and think it is just a thin lubricant. I have been using WD-40 to coat my machines and tools for the past 50 years. I spry it on, let it sit overnight, then wipe it off, allowing it time to do it job. It leaves an invisible film that lasts a long time and does not affect the wood passing over it. I periodically spray down my machines and tools (including metal lathes and milling machines) and they all look close to new with no rust after all these years. live in Atlanta, GA which is very humid, but no salt air, thank God! Go to the WD-40 website and read up on it.
 
#13 ·
WD-40 was developed back in the early days of the space program to prevent rust on fine machines parts in the Cape Canaveral area. It is designed to wick down into the pores of the metal and force out moisture. Most people don t realize this and think it is just a thin lubricant. I have been using WD-40 to coat my machines and tools for the past 50 years. I spry it on, let it sit overnight, then wipe it off, allowing it time to do it job. It leaves an invisible film that lasts a long time and does not affect the wood passing over it. I periodically spray down my machines and tools (including metal lathes and milling machines) and they all look close to new with no rust after all these years. live in Atlanta, GA which is very humid, but no salt air, thank God! Go to the WD-40 website and read up on it.

- Planeman40
No thanks. I've worked with heavy steel and sheet metal for over a decade and used just about every oil based lube in a can known to man. WD-40 is definitely close to the bottom of the totem pole. If I was going to use a wet lube I'd break out my can of Kroil or Buster and call it a day.

In the shop I've been working in a can of buster will last as long as 6 cans of WD-40, and you'll still have rust using the WD-40. There's just no point in even comparing them.

Note that I said Buster, not Blaster. It's not an off-the-shelf lube.

To be quite honest, if I was going to use your method I wouldn't even use Buster. Good old fashioned Type III transmission fluid penetrates better and lasts longer. Wipe it on, leave it overnight and wipe it off. You've got several weeks of trouble-free use.

However the point of using a dry lube is that it's dry. I don't have to wipe it down. I don't have to clean up spots that I missed later. I don't have to worry about overspray when I'm trying to get the back side of the screw on the trunnion. If I miss the first couple squirts, that isn't going to turn into a ball of dust cancer next month.

On my table I'll use whatever I want. It's easy to maintain. Inside the machine there are a lot of areas that I can't clean without breaking it down, and I'm only pulling this table saw apart once every 20 years or so, if I have my druthers, unless something catches on fire.

I don't know what kind of saw you've been using for 50 years but there are parts on the Sawstop that users aren't meant to maintain, and are designed in a manner that they can easily fail. They want you to come back to the dealer after a few years. Prime examples are the load-bearing flat ball bearing that's un-lubricated and open to dust and moisture intrusion around one of the sliding vertical shafts and the sliding elbow joint comprised of 4 different types of metal that was already showing signs of galvanic corrosion even though I know the saw is only a year old.

I can't put wet lube on these. It'd just cause more problems than leaving them completely dry. I also can't access them while the saw is together without doing some gymnastics my 90lb Guatemalan friend once taught me, a bendy straw and a very unmanly squeak.
 
#14 ·
You obviously didn't read my post. I was talking about rust prevention, NOt lubrication! In fact I said "Most people don t realize this and think it is just a thin lubricant." You seem to be one of them.
 
#15 ·
You obviously didn t read my post. I was talking about rust prevention, NOt lubrication! In fact I said "Most people don t realize this and think it is just a thin lubricant." You seem to be one of them.

- Planeman40
Didn't miss it at all. An oil rust preventative is a lubricant, and an oil lubricant is a rust preventative. One begets the other, such is the magic of oil and that's why I often don't care about interchanging the terms.

Point still stands. The WD-40 won't last long as a rust preventative before I have to re-apply it. There are some areas that I can't re-apply it without disassembling the saw. JPW will last quite a while if I do it right.
 
#17 ·
A couple common misconceptions flying around here. This might clarify things:

WD-40 History

Excerpt: "the fledgling Rocket Chemical Company and its staff of three set out to create a line of rust-prevention solvents and degreasers for use in the aerospace industry."

I'm no chemist, but I believe solvents and degreasers do the opposite of lubrication. Before all you rusted-bolt fanatics get your knickers in a twist, WD-40 is handy for loosening rusted fasteners due to it's solvent characteristics; it dissolves the corrosion that prevents the fasteners from moving. It does not lubricate the parts.
 
#18 · (Edited by Moderator)
WD-40 was developed back in the early days of the space program to prevent rust on fine machines
- Planeman40

This. It also performs well in tests.

- RickM
Tests?...

I'll try to remember to read one of those before I throw my next half-used can of WD-40 that I bought on a whim in the trash and grab something else off of the shelf.

Seriously guys, when it comes to wet lubes and rust inhibitors I know my stuff. There are some days that I go home that you can barely tell what color of clothes I am wearing because everything is a nice dingy red-brown due to what I've been cleaning all day.

If I wanted a wet rust inhibitor I've got about $800 of it sitting on the shelf of so many vintages and countries of origin that you could mistake it for a shmaltzy bar shelf designed for someone who gets their kicks from aerosol solvents.

I'm here asking about dry rust inhibitors, because dry rust inhibitors are something I don't have a lot of experience with.

A couple common misconceptions flying around here. This might clarify things:

WD-40 History

Excerpt: "the fledgling Rocket Chemical Company and its staff of three set out to create a line of rust-prevention solvents and degreasers for use in the aerospace industry."_

I m no chemist, but I believe solvents and degreasers do the opposite of lubrication. Before all you rusted-bolt fanatics get your knickers in a twist, WD-40 is handy for loosening rusted fasteners due to it s solvent characteristics; it dissolves the corrosion that prevents the fasteners from moving. It does not lubricate the parts.

- Jon Hobbs
Wellll…. If you want to get technical….

One of the primary ingredients in WD-40 is mineral oil, and oil is oil. So it is a lubricant even if it isn't a good one and it has twice as much solvent in it as it does oil….

The mineral oil is still there, so technically it's still a lubricant.
 
#19 ·
I live on the Upper Texas Coast and have to deal with rust on my machines also. I found CRC 3-36 works well for me. Spray it on, let set for 30- 60 min. and wipe off. I also apply Johnsons wax starting in Feb or March depending on humidity. I wait several days before applying wax.
 
#20 ·
I live on the Upper Texas Coast and have to deal with rust on my machines also. I found CRC 3-36 works well for me. Spray it on, let set for 30- 60 min. and wipe off. I also apply Johnsons wax starting in Feb or March depending on humidity. I wait several days before applying wax.

- TDH
You like CRC? Try the 6-56 next time, it cleans up salt damage much better and keeps it from happening again. My brother has a deep sea fishing boat and there's always a couple cans rattling around in the bottom of the engine compartment. Other metal parts of the boat are showing bits of corrosion, but everything in the engine compartment is squeaky clean.

I don't think he even uses it anymore. I think he just leaves the cans down there and they occasionally spritz the place when he hits a patch of rough water.
 
#22 · (Edited by Moderator)
I won't argue. I will just let this statement from the WD-40 Company say what it does.

"In 1953, in a small lab in San Diego, California, the fledgling Rocket Chemical Company and its staff of three set out to create a line of rust-prevention solvents and degreasers for use in the aerospace industry.

It took them 40 attempts to get their water displacing formula to work, but on the 40th attempt, they got it right in a big way. WD-40 was born. WD-40 stands for Water Displacement, 40th formula. That's the name straight out of the lab book used by the chemist who developed the product."

And it has prevented rust on my machines and tools over 50 years of use with an application about once every year or two in a very humid southern climate
 
#23 · (Edited by Moderator)
WD-40 was developed back in the early days of the space program to prevent rust on fine machines parts in the Cape Canaveral area. It is designed to wick down into the pores of the metal and force out moisture. Most people don t realize this and think it is just a thin lubricant. I have been using WD-40 to coat my machines and tools for the past 50 years. I spry it on, let it sit overnight, then wipe it off, allowing it time to do it job. It leaves an invisible film that lasts a long time and does not affect the wood passing over it. I periodically spray down my machines and tools (including metal lathes and milling machines) and they all look close to new with no rust after all these years. live in Atlanta, GA which is very humid, but no salt air, thank God! Go to the WD-40 website and read up on it.

- Planeman40
Thanks for the Info Planeman40! I didn't realize all that. Also your "Direct" Second Post.

The popular one is "If Wayne & David had of stopped at 39 tries, there wouldn't be any WD-40." ...lol… I saw a discussion about whether it was Flammable or not.

So…............ I tried it. Put the Red Tube in …. Light your lighter and put it under the spray!

Shades of a WW2 Flamethrower!!! YIKES!

Rick
 
#24 ·
I too owned 5 boats at one time (25-65 foot long). Have retired so spend a lot of my time woodworking. As far as the CRC 6-56 goes worked great on the boats but on the cast iron tool tables left a film that made the wood harder to move across table esp. on my table saws. Took awhile to wear off went to CRC 3-36 works good just have apply more often. Also on the 65 footer had two de-humidifiers (one for cabin and one for engine compartment) that starting in mid May to Oct just ran 24 hours non-stop. I have spent a lot time in FL and entire Gulf Coast, to be honest humidity on Texas Coast can be the worst.
 
#25 ·
Poly is definitely a no. These are working surfaces, it'll flake off in a matter of a few hours of use.

I too owned 5 boats at one time (25-65 foot long). Have retired so spend a lot of my time woodworking. As far as the CRC 6-56 goes worked great on the boats but on the cast iron tool tables left a film that made the wood harder to move across table esp. on my table saws. Took awhile to wear off went to CRC 3-36 works good just have apply more often. Also on the 65 footer had two de-humidifiers (one for cabin and one for engine compartment) that starting in mid May to Oct just ran 24 hours non-stop. I have spent a lot time in FL and entire Gulf Coast, to be honest humidity on Texas Coast can be the worst.

- TDH
I was thinking more about undercarriage use for the 6-56. A little persistence helps there.

Another question, since you've definitely had more experience with this than I have. What's a good marine grade rust stopping paint?

Thought I'd have a little fun and use some Hammerite on the saw and it turned out great on the cast iron, but it's an absolute nightmare to get it to finish right on smooth materials. Next piece of machinery I repaint I'm looking for something both bullet and idiot-proof and I know a lot of marine grade paints are both.

I've used a lot of standard rust-killer/inhibitor paints but never been satisfied with any of them.

Texas is definitely the most miserable humid heat I've had the displeasure of experiencing. However, only in Florida have I had a shirt that was freshly washed the night before grow mold about 6 hours into a 10 hour work-day.

I could definitely use a vacation away from the swamp right now. 80+ for more days in February than it was below 80. Some snow would be a nice change of pace.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top