Lathe Bed Maintenance

[XSSkeet]

Evening All,

Well, just got the 1236 set up in the shop, and still have the chore of removing all the grease/wax off the lathe bed.

As this is located in a unheated shop and with the South Carolina weather, we never know what we will have. What do you guys/gals protect the machined surfaces on the bed with?

I hate rust!

Bill

 

[JimGo]

I use paste wax. Simple, cheap, and easy to apply.

 

[Easysport]

Beats me. No rust in Arizona.[][]

 

[alamocdc]

Any good paste wax should do.

 

[XSSkeet]

Thanks Guys... Paste Wax it will be...[]

 

[angboy]

I have the same exact lathe as you and the Jet people told me that all that was needed was to use turtle wax once a month on the bed. So that's all I do.

 

[woodwish]

I used to use Johnson't paste wax but it really is made for wood and not metal. Tried a few other waxes and other items but finally found any good paste wax designed for cars seems to work. Avoid the ones with silicone, any stray silicone can wreak havoc with finish on wood. I think I am using a premium version of Turtle Wax designed for classic cars (it was on sale at WalMart). Even though my shop is air-conditioned 24/7 I still have rust problems if I don't wax often, it's just a fact of life on Florida's Gulf coast. I turn a fair amound of wet wood so I make a habit of waxing the lathe bed weekly, more often if I turn a lot. Clean the shavings off often, and ALWAYS vacumn/brush the bed when I finish for the day.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Johnson's paste wax. No good shop should be without it. A thousand uses, works on anything.

 

[Kemosabe62]

The army turned me on to Johnson's paste wax to buff floors. Used it ever since on alot of stuff.

 

[wayneis]

I use a product called Top-Cote for all of my table tops and lathe bed. It has worked so good that all my tools look new although they have recieved a lot of use. This comes in a spray can and you just spray the surface one or so a month and thats it. I also use Dry-Cote on my saw blades and that works equaly well. These were recommended by the store that I bought my Table Saw from and I have used it sense. I also use their bearing lube for my router bits that have bearings.

Wayne

 

[Mudder]

Originally posted by Rifleman
<br />Johnson's paste wax. No good shop should be without it. A thousand uses, works on anything.

In my area the Johnson's paste wax is hard to find so an alternative would be Butcher's bowling alley wax. I checked the MSDS on both products and they are extremely close in their ingredients. I believe the onlt differences when I checked was the percentages of the waxes used.

One thing...... Be very careful of automotive waxes as many contain trace amounts of silicone. Not all of them do but with the paste waxes being so cheap I prefer not to take any chances.