# Cleaning Table Saw with Glue



## Siegel_KenEvil (Aug 18, 2010)

This might be a good trick or the dumbest thing in the world. I don't take the best care of my table saw. The other day, I was scraping off some glue that dripped on it and I noticed the surface under the glue was cleaner that the rest of the saw top. I got the idea to cover the entire top with a thin layer of old glue and it worked great for removing the surface rust. It wasn't hard to scrap off either.

Has anyone done this before?


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## kaerlighedsbamsen (Sep 16, 2013)

Now THAT is creative thinking!


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

Sort of like a deep cleansing "facial mask" for your table saw!


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## iminmyshop (Dec 9, 2012)

what kind of glue were you using?
Did you put anything on afterward to protect the surface from rerusting>


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## KelvinGrove (Mar 1, 2013)

Since not having a clue has never stopped me from commenting before…I'll jump in on this one as well.

It would seem that what ever is stuck to the table would have to be something which had come into contact with the table in some way. That would leave us with two possibilities. One would be corrosion and the other would be various lignin (sap) based compounds. It then seems logical that if the glue sticks to the lignin with a greater bond factor than corrosion has for the table, then when scraped off the glue would bring the lignin with it. And since , by nature, the corrosion is "falling off" of the metal the "rust", or most of it, would come off as well.

Now I need a little brush and to run a test to see if this is true.

What is that old thing about the greatest discoveries being made by accident.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Very interesting,but weird .


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## nicholasrhall (Aug 19, 2012)

I knew you meant this ironically Kelvin but just the same, I think I may have a new signature line

"Since not having a clue has never stopped me from commenting before…I'll jump in on this one as well."

At any rate, I'd say that now that it's clean, you should swab some SlipIt on there. It's cheap, and you won't believe how well it works. You'll wonder how you ever got on without it. I know I did. The friction between the tabletop and the wood you're cutting will drop 50% or more. The less force you need to exert pushing your hand towards a carbide blade, the happier you will be.

Also, this is the weirdest, coolest table cleaning methodology I've heard in a while. I'd try it myself, but I finally got my tabletop shipshape and friction free…


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## Siegel_KenEvil (Aug 18, 2010)

Above is a picture of my table saw after the glue mask followed by a coat of Johnson's wax. Below is a picture of my band saw 12 hours after the glue was applied. Most the glue flaked off with no help on my part. The same thing happened on the table saw in large places but not the entire top. 








I had the ole propane heater running when I put the glue on. Right now, it's about 5 degrees (F) in there so that might explain the flaking.


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## dankc908 (Dec 3, 2011)

Once again - what type of glue? This sounds interesting!


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## KelvinGrove (Mar 1, 2013)

Thanks Nicholas, The line is a take off on a guy I used to work with in the fire house (as you might imagine, fire fighters are as independent as hogs on ice) who would routinely join a conversation by saying "I don't know…but let me tell you"...

It always got a laugh.

And feel free to quote me on that line…preferably credited to "Mr. Wizard"


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## Siegel_KenEvil (Aug 18, 2010)

It's wood glue. I think it's called PVA or PV. There's a picture of the empty bottle I used which happened to be Elmer's Wood Glue.


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