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Hi - I decided to store my jointer in the shed instead of in the housefor the better part of a year, now the cast iron surfaces have a nice bit of rust on them. Any thoughts on cleaning it up so I can use it again? Steel wool or sandpaper come to mind, but I would hate to mess up the flat cutting surface. I tried WD 40 on a small spot and it doesn't do much except take off a bit of the surface rust.

I appreciate the help....

Laurie

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Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.

Wire brush on an angle grinder.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

Laurie: Don't worry about messing up the surfaces with emery paper or steel wool. You would have to work long and hard to do that. If you just use the cloth with a flat sanding block you will be OK.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

Steel wool and oil
then about 220 water paper and thin oil. Wash with turps.

My machines have often wintered outside under tarps...usually I just use an old belt on the 4 inch belt sander...works great...just do circular motions.

Then of course, you could always send the tables out to be machined...ya right.


blessings

be
Padma

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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Naval Jelly is the stuff of doom, smells horrible and is just really nasty, but it does work really well on rust, I put it on work it in a bit with steel wool and then let it dry, next day most of the rust will just scrape off with the naval jelly dust. If it is not too bad, skip the nasty stuff and just steel wool and some type of oil.
Rob

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I recently bought a table saw at a garage sale. The cast iron top was covered with rust. I just took my RO sander to it with some fine grit sand paper. I burned through about 6 disks, but in about 15 minutes the top was rust free.

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"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." G. K. Chesterton.

Next time, coat any exposed metal part with heavy grease prior to long term storage... there is a reason why new machinery comes with them.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

If it's only surface rust, orin and green Scotchbrite pads work well.

I find almost anything will take off surface rust. My favorite method is just a bit of mineral oil and a norton stone. You want somthing that is flat but any abrasive will work , it just take good ole elbow grease .

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

Scotchbrite. It's what's used anytime you need to clean or deburr a precision surface without changing it.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

Not sure who Orin is

Actually. I was trying to type oil and green Scotch Brite. The Scotch Brite pads have alwasy done a great job of removing rust for me.

If there are any pits that aren't removed by light sanding with 400 wet or dry and
WD40, I recommend Jasco Metal Prep. First remove the leftover WD40 with detergent, then follow directions on the Jasco bottle. It doesn't hurt to make the solution a little stronger than they recommend. Jasco Metal Prep is a phosphoric acid product. It attacks rust, but not steel. The rust is converted to a stable oxide that inhibits further corrosion. When your done, and it's dry, you can put a little oil on it again.

A little WD-40 and a utility knife blade works for me.

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Rich S

"The inconvenience of poor quality will linger long after the thrill of a bargain has been forgotten"

Thanks everyone - I'll try to get at it this weekend to fire it up!

Laurie

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Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.