How do you wax your iron tops?

[Michael Poller]

(Pardon the pun in the title, couldn't resist, but mods feel free to remove if too risque )

So I have searched the forums but found no clear process showing how people wax there steel and iron tool beds.

I am specifically asking about applying paste wax, or butchers wax as some call it, to things like table saw tops, jointer tables and planer tables.

I have tried the hand method, basically the same as waxing a car, and find it cumbersome. I also end up getting to much wax in the miter slots that then needs to be cleaned up making the process even more of a PIA.

My shop is in the walk-in basement of a raised ranch. I also find that because my basement tends to be cool even on hot days since it is mostly underground without much direct sunlight, the tool tops are cold or cool resulting in difficulty getting the wax to apply and move easily.

My current thought is to do the following:
- Buy a cheap HF buffer/waxer. I am hoping using this will create enough heat to really get the wax on there as well as to get it off.
- Get a few pads for the buffer for wax application, and a few for removal
- Make some filler sticks to sit in the miter slots creating a flat surface. I am hoping this will prevent the wax build up in the slots resulting in less cleanup.

Questions:
- Do you think this is a good way to go? How do you do it?
- With a Dewalt DW735 13" Planer, do you think I will have issues getting the buffer inside the machine to wax the table? (assuming of course I have raised the planer to full height for easier access
- Should I be waxing the table saw t-slot miter slots? How would I go about accomplishing this?

Thanks in advance for any and all opinions and options on this topic.

[Todd Burch]

I buy block paraffin wax - the kind used for canning. Grocery store stuff. One box lasts several years. Comes in blocks. I just block it on and rag it around.

I also block the underside of my jigs - my primary jig being a cross cut sled.

[Michael Poller]

That's a good idea that seems so obvious not that I see it, I'm smacking myself for not thinking of it.

I use Butchers Wax from http://www.bwccompany.com/catalog-butchers.html

Sort of just a holdover as that's what my pops used, so it's what I started using.

My biggest problem stems from how difficult it can be to get enough heat into the wax and the cast iron to get a coat onto the tool top due to how cool my basement stays. Doing it by hand takes a lot of effort and makes my bum shoulder really ache and then i'm down for a day or two until it loosens up enough again to do anything productive w/out pain.

In the deepest of winter it thankfully doesn't go below 40 degrees or so, so nothing freezes, but in the hottest of summer days it barely gets above 65 degrees or so.

[Todd Burch]

They make liquid wax. Watco I think. (or perhaps the age of the can I have is showing my age?) Don't use most car waxes unless you want silicone on your finish.

[Rod Sheridan]

I use Johnsons paste wax and apply it by hand about 4 times per year....Rod.

[Jeff Ranck]

Boeshield sprayed on, let dry, and then paste wax. I live in the pacific NW and so it isn't really that warm most of the year. I don't have any trouble with good old Johnson's paste wax either spreading or buffing. I can do my table saw, jointer, etc. in about 5 min. total start to finish. I just use a rag to spread and buff.

[John Ricci]

I do the same thing as Rod said...JPW about 4 times a year and never a speck of rust on anything.

J.R

[Myk Rian]

Paste wax melted into the surface with a heat gun or hair dryer. Then buff it up.

[Charlie Jones]

Johnson Paste Finishing wax applied with steel wool then buffed by hand. The Finishing wax is softer than the regular.

[glenn bradley]

I guess we can make this as ceremonial and involved as we personally care to. Here's my voodoo method (no real science here):

3 or 4 layers of 4" square cheese cloth laid on top of a 4" square of cotton cloth (old t-shirt, whatever). Drop a blob of JPW on the cheese cloth and fold it up like a shellac pad. Rub the wax on, wait till it just starts to fog and rub it off with paper towels. I do a couple coats a few times a year. Don't forget your TS fence rails and router fence; I always get half cleaned up and then remember. . . Doh!

OK, now that I've told you, I'll have to kill you.

[Tom Hargrove]

I have used bowling alley wax on my machines. It goes on easy, wipes off easy, and protects things nicely in my basement shop.

[Ron Bontz]

Well I always used car wax. But I think I might try the JPW. Sounds like it works well. Since we are on the subject... any good ways to clean up a top to shiny new again?

[Jamie Buxton]

Johnson's Paste Wax. Rub it on. Maybe buff, maybe not. Done. Do it any time things don't slide smoothly.

[David DeCristoforo]

"...Rub it on..."

There it is! How hard can it be? How hard does it need to be?

PS No pun or innuendo intended.....

[Bill Houghton]

Well I always used car wax.

Car wax (at least most car wax) has fine abrasives in it - furniture wax is better, in my opinion, for making tool surfaces slippery and rust-resistant.