Thread: Ebay bargain

Originally Posted by Shedhand

Very nice pick-up mate Looking to buy an 18 inch bandy myself. The one i want is about 2K. Unless you sell me yours for 280 bucks (After you fix it up of course). Double your money - better than bustard bank interest.

Nice try shed but somehow I think this one will not be going anywhere for a while. LOL

Originally Posted by Treecycle

The table looks great! What method did you use to clean it up?

I'll start a new thread on the process (with pics of course).

Decided against starting a new thread to show how I cleaned up the cast iron table top and will post it here instead.
The first thing was to use a scraper and remove as much of the surface rust as possible. This didn't take long but I didn't rush it as I didn't want to scratch or mark the table.
The next step was to soak the entire top of the table with with RP7 (you could use WD40 or CRC) and leave it soaking for and hour or two.
After it had soaked for a couple of hours I put some 280 grit wet & dry on my random orbital sander and went over the whole top in a figure 8 pattern. Once I was sure I had covered the whole top I cleaned off the mess and re sprayed the top and repeated the excercise (with a clean piece of 280).
The next step was to go through the grits 320, 400 and 600 again using the RP7 but this time without the ROS and just using the hands. I cleaned the table between each grit and started each grit with a fresh spray of RP7. This process was a lot more time consuming and needed a bit of elbow grease but I was happy wiyh the result.
Once this stage was complete and I was happy with the finish I gave the table a wash down with mineral turps and wiped it over with aclean dry cloth. Then I gave it a good going over with furniture wax and left it for 10 or so minutes before buffing off and repeating the wax on wax off process.
The following pics show the process.

Your method (up to the 400 grit W&D) is more or less what I used to use but when faced with 5 machines with large areas of rusted cast iron to deal with I experimented with a few other methods and this is what I ended up using.
Remove the rust with a brass coated wire wheel in a 5" angle grinder and then apply trad wax. It sounds harsh but it leaves a surprisingly smooth finish and is very quick.

It looks like all the hard work was well worth it. From the initial photos it appears that there were no major pitting problems from the rust which is good.
Does the wax act as a good rust inhibitor? If so, how often does it need to be applied?

Originally Posted by Treecycle

It looks like all the hard work was well worth it. From the initial photos it appears that there were no major pitting problems from the rust which is good.
Does the wax act as a good rust inhibitor? If so, how often does it need to be applied?

The wax definitely helps but longevity depends what you are cutting, Heavy green pieces of timber will rub the wax off fairly quickly compare to lighter drier wood.
I keep a cloth impregnated with wax hanging nearby and wipe the table down with it when I'm finished. When the waxed cloth goes hard I spray a little turps on it.

Originally Posted by Treecycle

It looks like all the hard work was well worth it. From the initial photos it appears that there were no major pitting problems from the rust which is good.
Does the wax act as a good rust inhibitor? If so, how often does it need to be applied?

Treecycle, you are correct there was no pitting which is another plus considering the price and as Bobl said the frequency of the application of the wax depends on use. Having the waxed-up rag is an excellent tip and I will wax one up today.
I have used this same method to clean up my 14" bandsaw and my surface planer as well and they to came up a treat.

Originally Posted by tdrumnut

Treecycle, you are correct there was no pitting which is another plus considering the price and as Bobl said the frequency of the application of the wax depends on use. Having the waxed-up rag is an excellent tip and I will wax one up today.
I have used this same method to clean up my 14" bandsaw and my surface planer as well and they to came up a treat.

If you don't want the rag to dry out storing it in a plastic bag or the wax container itself helps.

I like the soft wire wheel & then a buffer method best.

As I said in a previous post I have had the motor set up on the work bench and it appeared fine, so I decided to fit the motor back onto the machine hook up the lower wheel turn it on and see if there was any diference.
Well there was, as soon as I turned it on there was a medium to high pitch squeal not unlike that when the water pump goes on an old Holden or Ford.
Oh s--t was my first thought sounds like a bearing of some sort. So I got a little closer and listened a bit more and it sounded as it was coming from the fan or the fan cover. I pulled off the cover started it again and nothing, no squeal, no whine just the purr of the motor as if it was back on the workbench again. Checked out the fan all seemed well, checked out the inside of the cover all seemed well, started it up, off, on, off, on, off all seems fine.
OK so I put the cover back on shifting the orientation 1/3 as it has 3 mounting screws and tested it once more.
Swiched it on puurrrrrrfect, off, on, off, on, off, on this time leaving it running for a few minutes. Still purring, off, on off, on and finally off again.
Well I dont know why they said this machine needed a new motor and was only good for parts it really has me beat.

Jeez it just keeps getting better and better for you. Good score

Awesome!

........and then he scraped back a lump of lead ballast bolted to the base and found......a glint of gold. Some silly old bastard had hidden a whole gold bar there in 1962 and completely forgotten to tell anyone about it. Yes folks the woodwork fairy's blessing descends on just one of us every year. .....This year its tdrumnut.

Originally Posted by Toymaker Len

........and then he scraped back a lump of lead ballast bolted to the base and found......a glint of gold. Some silly old bastard had hidden a whole gold bar there in 1962 and completely forgotten to tell anyone about it. Yes folks the woodwork fairy's blessing descends on just one of us every year. .....This year its tdrumnut.

LOL. Thank you woodwork fairy I promise I will be a good boy for evermore..hahaha