Raw aluminum shaper fence plates staining maple door parts

[Peter Quinn]

I added a used shaper to my shop last month and I'm working it into my process with a small door job. It came with 3/4" thick solid aluminum fence plates the previous owner had made by a machine shop. These I like very much, but they are leaving stains on the hard maple I am presently using. Anyone have any tricks to seal raw aluminum to keep this from happening? I've used other aluminum fences that didn't do this but I believe they were anodized?

[Mike Heidrick]

Tings I would consider:

Send them to get anodized.
Cover the face with wood.
Try waxing them.
Change the faces out.

[Stephen Cherry]

maybe formica?

[Ole Anderson]

Add a layer of slick tape available at most woodworker supply places.

[Carl Beckett]

Add a layer of slick tape available at most woodworker supply places.

I have had this problem on a number of machines, and use this stick on sliippery tape (really about .030" thick UHMW, or Teflon, or something... not quite sure. But its slick.

Have never had problems with Anodize (until you get something that damages the anodized layer - hard anodize certainly is better than the standard anodize.

or a phenolic, or formica both sound good.

Wax inevitably wears off after a while, and the marking comes from abrading the Al in use.

[Jeff Duncan]

Try waxing first, but I wouldn't bother with sanding them. I was told by an old timer years ago that aluminum is a 'dirty' metal. Meaning that you could keep cleaning it but it'll never really come clean! It just keeps giving off that "dirt" or whatever you call it that colors wood black. Now there are a lot of types of aluminum and obviously the stuff they use on machinery these days doesn't have that property....but yours obviously does The stuff I've worked with for machining little parts here and there always has too, and only way I've gotten around it is with spraying a finish on it. FWIW I wouldn't recommend that as it'll just wear away over time

I use 1-1/2" hard maple for one of my machines but I don't have the same space constraints you do. My other machine may have a better solution for you though. It has a 1-3/8" face of baltic birch plywood made from gluing up 2 sheets laid perpendicular to each other. You could do the same with 1/2" baltic sheet to get a nice firm 1" face. Sand the face a little and put a coat of wax on it and your good to go! If you don't want to deal with waxing the laminate is certainly a good way to go also, and will surely wear better over the long run! I'm not sure I'd like the UHMV though....that may be a little more slippery than I want on the face when hand feeding??? Haven't tried it yet though so.....???

good luck,
jeffD

[Peter Kelly]

Could always get them powder coated. Fusion bonded epoxy finishes are certainly more durable than anodizing. Wouldn't cost all that much either.

[Joe Jensen]

I have an old SCMI jointer that I refurbed and I had the same issue with the raw aluminum fence. I tried polishing it but with my infrequent use it oxidized again. I ended up having it hard anodized, cost me like $50.

[Peter Quinn]

I have an old SCMI jointer that I refurbed and I had the same issue with the raw aluminum fence. I tried polishing it but with my infrequent use it oxidized again. I ended up having it hard anodized, cost me like $50.

This is a serious consideration for me. I noticed the fence plates have actually developed a wear line at around 1" above the table, probably the thickness of the previous owners average door thickness? I guess hard anodizing would solve both problems. I'm going to inquire with a machine shop in the complex where I work about a local plating source, maybe they handle that. I may run the plates through the wide belt sander and polish the faces prior to anodizing. I'm also considering machining some t-slots into the square ends to accept something like the aluminum bridges of the sort that Aigner sells as retrofits for older fences. Have you found the hard anodized fence wears well?

[Ken Grant]

sorry to bring this thread back from the dead, but I am having some similar issues with aluminum on a shaper fence as well as a couple router plates I made. Peter did you ever get your fence faces anodized? Anyone else have any suggestions?

[Ole Anderson]

sorry to bring this thread back from the dead, but I am having some similar issues with aluminum on a shaper fence as well as a couple router plates I made. Peter did you ever get your fence faces anodized? Anyone else have any suggestions?

Not trying to be smart, but do you mean some suggestions different from the 8 ones already offered in this thread? Aluminum oxidizes rapidly and what you see is the aluminum oxide rubbing off on the wood. If you clean all of the oxide off first, usually the problem resurfaces only after you let it sit for a while. Best solution is hard coat anodizing, easiest solution is to add a layer of "slick tape" something like this: http://www.rockler.com/nylo-tape-fri...oose-thickness

[Larry Edgerton]

Peter, the best stuff I have ever found was what came on my Uni originally. Its a wood product, EXTREMELY dense, man made lamination. There is no visible wear showing and although I have no idea how much stock it ran before I bought it I have run thousands of feet across it. I have been trying to find the same stuff with no luck. If you would like I can send you a sample and see if you have better luck.

I have tried 3/4"UHMW, too flexible except for use on one piece fences. I tried a split fence out of it and it was like a spring at the cutter. Tried backing it with aluminum and I could not get a good bond and it was getting too thick for small diameter cutters. Have been going to try Formica on aluminum, but have not gotten to it. Would like to try brass as well. Just because it is cool.

I keep looking at the Aigners but I use offset fences as much as not and they have no advantage in that case.

If you want a sample of the old fence, they cut one up before I bought it, PM me an address.

Larry

[ian maybury]

Standard decorative anodising isn't a big deal Peter, at least not over here - typically $50 for an item like a fence. Just be aware that whatever finish you have before anodising will remain. I typically block sand or lap my stuff on a surface table with maybe 600 wet and dry first, and then give it a quick rub with fine steel wool.

It doesn't seem to have any tendency to introduce distortion, and is easily drilled or tapped through if needed. There's fancier varieties of hard and electroless anodising which are probably a lot more expensive and chemically different, i've never used them.

I've had several items done locally (a planer thicknesser fence that was cuppped as supplied, and needed lapping flat which cut off the original anodising, and saw and drill press fences), and they have been 100% trouble free. e.g. the planer and low profile sub rip fence for an Incra TS LS positioner below:

a3 410 fence re-anodised & assembled.jpg diy low fence for incra ts ls.jpg

[pat warner]

"Anyone have any tricks to seal raw aluminum "
***********************
Work needs some sanding after routing & milling.
A very light sanding will remove aluminum smear too.

[Peter Quinn]

"Anyone have any tricks to seal raw aluminum "
***********************
Work needs some sanding after routing & milling.
A very light sanding will remove aluminum smear too.

Agreed, but it doesn't always get it! On a set of doors I'll sand every part prior to assembly and several more times prior to finish. But the last job (done on different shaper) was almost 1000LF of base molding for a contractor, i sure wouldn't want to hand sand that, and they really don't do it in the field prior to install.

Im going to look into getting them anodized, if that's too expensive I might try a 2K urathane sealer, or maybe the Formica, that's a real slick and tough solution I hadn't thought of. I have some 3M 88 adhesive that might hold it in use but let me peel it of when it needs changing. I love the solid aluminum plates, they are rigid and easy to use, perfect except for the smudging