Thread: protecting cast iron table top

Firstly welcome to the forums and you do raise a good question.

Fresh dry Raw wood, even softwood but especially hardwood, is quite abrasive (approaches that of fine steel wool) and neither of those surfaces would stand up to being constantly rubbed with it.
Some types of wood also contain silica and you can sometimes see sparks coming from blades especially under dimmed lighting.
Fresh MDF is surprising abrasive.

One of the best ways to keep the rust off CI tables is to use it (often) as the constant rubbing will apply a small amount of natural wood oil and also abrade the rust.
Of course if you just want to look at the saw instead of using it then either of the above coatings would work.

A TS cutting blade produces a considerable down force so the operator has to apply reasonable forward force. The net effect is the table top gets rubbed quite hard.
While in the first instance just the covering/caoting around the throat plate and blade would come away it would not be long before it started to look pretty daggy.

As I blue my own stuff I know how fragile bluing is under abrasion - one benefit of bluing is that when it abrades it can relatively easily be repaired, but any repairs that can be done in situ are even more fragile.
I would rather just wax rather than re-blue a TS top.

The largest thing I have blued is this 20mm thick steel DP table for drilling metal - I did it more as an experiment than a practical surface finish.
I have hardly used it so it still looks almost pristine but when I do use it I expect it to abrade pretty quickly
DPtable1.jpg

The process of bluing this size of abject was a right PITA. I had to buy an extra large SS roasting pan to do the job.
Broiling.jpg

Here is another example of how abrasive wood is.
This is a near new chainsaw bar with about 20 hours of use. The paint used on higher quality chainsaw bars is a very tough epoxy but doesn't last long.
Hcut1.jpg

I agree with Bob, use is the best answer but when I stopped woodwork for about two years I found t9 boeshield worked a treat for protecting cast iron tables. I still use it on areas of cast tables that don’t see as much use (extreme width often behind the fence etc).

G'day,

Wipe any residual dust off at the end of the day and cover with an old sheet or similar.
I live 300m from a beach in SE QLD and this keeps the rust off for me.

Hope this helps, Jeff

https://www.carbatec.com.au/workshop...lass-2-aerosol

Originally Posted by BobL

Firstly welcome to the forums and you do raise a good question.

Fresh dry Raw wood, even softwood but especially hardwood, is quite abrasive (approaches that of fine steel wool) and neither of those surfaces would stand up to being constantly rubbed with it.
Some types of wood also contain silica and you can sometimes see sparks coming from blades especially under dimmed lighting.
Fresh MDF is surprising abrasive.

One of the best ways to keep the rust off CI tables is to use it (often) as the constant rubbing will apply a small amount of natural wood oil and also abrade the rust.
Of course if you just want to look at the saw instead of using it then either of the above coatings would work.

A TS cutting blade produces a considerable down force so the operator has to apply reasonable forward force. The net effect is the table top gets rubbed quite hard.
While in the first instance just the covering/caoting around the throat plate and blade would come away it would not be long before it started to look pretty daggy.

As I blue my own stuff I know how fragile bluing is under abrasion - one benefit of bluing is that when it abrades it can relatively easily be repaired, but any repairs that can be done in situ are even more fragile.
I would rather just wax rather than re-blue a TS top.

The largest thing I have blued is this 20mm thick steel DP table for drilling metal - I did it more as an experiment than a practical surface finish.
I have hardly used it so it still looks almost pristine but when I do use it I expect it to abrade pretty quickly
DPtable1.jpg

The process of bluing this size of abject was a right PITA. I had to buy an extra large SS roasting pan to do the job.
Broiling.jpg

Here is another example of how abrasive wood is.
This is a near new chainsaw bar with about 20 hours of use. The paint used on higher quality chainsaw bars is a very tough epoxy but doesn't last long.
Hcut1.jpg

Perfect, exactly what I needed, real examples of someone actually trying it. Satisfy's my curiosity. The ceramic coating installed on the friends car is actually lifetime warranty. But he says it's not exactly an ultra thin coating.

Like you mention it might be great if your going to store the saw away but the woods will probably just abroad it. I may still call the installer guy tomorrow at least get his thoughts on it.

Where did you actually get the blue from?

Originally Posted by havabeer69

Where did you actually get the blue from?

I don't use a bluing agent.
Instead I use a traditional acid fuming method using raw concentrated nitric and hydrochloric acids and distilled water.
It's a very slow process and labor intensive process as it takes days to a week fro start to finish.
This method is not for the faint hearted and getting the raw concentrated nitric acid is quite difficult.
Considerable care is needed if you want to do it in your shed otherwise you can end up corroding everything in the shed.
I have a proper fum hood in my shed otherwise best place to do it is outside teh shed.
The resulting finish is more black than blue but is one of the most robust of the bluing finishes.

More info here, describes a few different processed More metal bluing - Page 3

Welcome to the forum

I was having a devil of a time with rust myself - I'd taken a chance to buy a few larger bits of kit (table saw, bandsaw, planer/thicknesser) but wasn't using them much as I was actually rebuilding coin to fit out a shed to work them in. Yes, I guess I did it backwards, but I had the chance to get a good deal etc.

What I found works well for me is a spray of Camellia Oil (https://www.carbatec.com.au/handtool...l-240mm-bottle). Spray directly on the cast iron, and then wipe really gently with a paper towel to ensure good coverage, but don't wipe too much away. Cover with a cheap bedsheet. Renew the Camellia Oil once every few months, or after using the saw and knowing you won't be using it again soon.

Keeping rust at bay is an ongoing job and needs to be done as often as required what ever oil or wax you use. The bad news is that there is no long term fix. Best we can do is slow the rust process down. It's just a job you have to keep on top of. It is also important to try as much as possible to provide a dry environment so perhaps look at ventilation options. Keeping the surface wiped down and covered is good practice as sawdust attracts moisture from the air. Any cover needs to breathe so old sheets are good, plastic is not.
Regards
John

I give my tablesaw a quick wipe over with G15 rust inhibitor if i know i won't be using it for a while - has to be wiped off again before use. Most important thing is what orraloon says above - cover with an old cotton sheet. I wind the tablesaw blade right up, so that it holds the sheet up off the G15-coated surface. Just about all machines in my shed are covered with sheets when not in use, works well.

That's interesting information Mr Brush - I wasn't aware the G15 needed to be wiped off (I have just bought some recently to test).

Thank you for posting that!

It'll make a mess of your timber if you leave it on !! G15 doesn't form a dry film like some other product - it stays "gluggy". I'm currently experimenting with spraying an aerosol "Dry Glide" product on machine tops, which is a PTFE-based product which does dry into a permanent protective film. Too early to tell yet how effective it is against rust, and how it holds up to wear.

A light coat of G15 on tools is fantastic for preventing rust. I tend to buy 4 cans of the stuff from Jim Davey at the Sydney or Canberra WWW show each year, which is enough to last me through to the next year.

Try CRC 3-36, works a treat.

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

It'll make a mess of your timber if you leave it on !!

I *think* that was the reason I'd picked Camellia Oil - it can be left on the cast iron and doesn't spoil timber (to date, I haven't had problems). That said, when I bought it from Jim Davey, he'd tested G15 versus a few other protectors (if I recall, including Camellia Oil), and the G15 outperformed all he compared against.

I just wasn't sure if the G15 was "timber safe" or not - now I know!

After having rust problems my self, I've invested in a can of Boeshield T9 to protect the cast iron when not in use.

Basically give the top a real good clean and spray a thick layer on, let it dry and no more rust will form. Obviously recoat as needed.

https://boeshield.com/

I got my can on eBay, but I'm sure you can find it in other places as well.