Cleaning advice after some wet turning

[Oddy]

Had a go at turning some of my spoils from the recent NSW storms. Timber is fresh and very wet (some sort of stringy bark eucalypt I think - beautiful figured red colouring) but wanted to try a bit of it out before I went to the effort of salvaging some more.

Result is the bed of my lathe is covered in a sticky dirty film that is very hard to get off, even with a bit of acetone.
Thinking of taking to it with one of those nylon scourers.

Any tips for cleanup after a wet turning session? This is my first go at turning wet material.

[RoyG]

Oddy,

I've only tried turning wet timber once, and quickly decided not to do it again due to the potential corrosion issues with the lathe.

After trying a few different chemicals for cleaning up the mess, I settled on using Steel Wool (I had some #0000 Steel Wool on hand, but ordinary kitchen or hardware store steel wool would probably work for this job). I used the steel wool in conjunction with plenty of WD40 and a lubricant and as a bit of a solvent. I'd left the wet wood shavings mess on the lathe overnight, so there was some minor surface corrosion on some small of cast iron. The steel wool and WD40 removed the stuck-on gunk very quickly. For the painted or powder coated parts of your lathe, substitute a scotchbrite pad for the steel wool.

I used 600 wet and dry, with WD40 as the solvent, to remove any minor corrosion on the Cast Iron. Then a final wipe down with Turps. After that I used my normal CRC 3-36 anti-corrosion treatment - but you could use whatever anti-corrosion treatment that you've found to work in your climate.

Hope that info helps.

Regards,

RoyG

[smiife]

Hi oddy,
I use a paint scraper/ wallpaper scraper, any flat
metal type will do, i have used various grades of
sandpaper , go thru the grits and it comes up a treat
Clean it all up with a wipe of wd40, well thats what
I do not sure if it, s right but it seems to work for me!:C
Hope this helps

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

It's surprising what eucy oil will remove. ;)

No guarantees, but it's the first thing I reach for to remove saps 'n resins off my ways. I generally use it with a small scrap of fine steel wool (OOOO grade) and follow up with a spray of Inox to lube/protect the bed afterwards.

When wet turning, I've also developed the habit of putting a coat of wax over the ways, tool-rest etc. Nothing special, just a dab of Gilly Stephenson's good ol' carnauba wax for polishing furniture.

Oh, yeah... you've probably already realised this but... cleaning up after green turning is a bit like doing the dishes. It is so much easier when you do it straight away!

[NeilS]

I usually suck up any wet shavings off the lathe at the end of a session and then just spray the machined surfaces with Inox.

Any moving parts that slide together (eg banjo with bed) will then reduce/remove/resist any buildup of resin.

They are the only areas that matter to me; the functional areas of the lathe.

I have never bothered to 'clean' my lathe in any other way.

Buildup elsewhere is only cosmetic.

Still does the same job.

[BlackbuttWA]

When using any sand paper etc for cleaning the lathe bed I always wrap it round a piece of 50mm square timber. This keeps a nice flat surface & prevents rounding off the edges.
HTH
Col

[pommyphil]

I do lots of greenwood turning, just cleanup when you finish for the day. I use those green scourers and WD40 or Inox.

[orraloon]

I do the same as above as well as a bit of wax like skew mentioned.
Regards
John

[Oddy]

Thanks for the replies. The paint scraper was a good idea - that paired with the green scourer pad made pretty short work of it. I didn't have any eucalyptus oil, but alcohol and acetone both seemed to help a bit - not sure which was better.
A spray with the usual G15 rust inhibitor and good as new again. After that dries I usually apply a coat of silber gleit. I'll make sure I have a nice heavy coat of silber gleit before I attempt such a wet bowl again.
Now I have realised my bandsaw blade is all gummed up too from cutting out the blank :(

[Christos]

As mention in the thread need to get the stuff off the lathe at the end of the day. I haven't done much wet turning for a while but the habit of getting the dust off the lathe and any flat metal surface at the end of the day I believe helps with limiting rust. It would be better to completely remove all trace of dust from the shed but that is not really possible. So I also spray G-15 on all metal surfaces once a week.

[CAG]

I'll make sure I have a nice heavy coat of silber gleit before I attempt such a wet bowl again.

You can also cover the ways and the body of the lathe with cling film where it's in line with the blank. Just peel off after making a mess. You'd look funny if you and your face shield were also lined with the film though!