Waxing jointer tables?

[glenn bradley]

I'm in SoCal so my schedule may or may not be right for you. I paste wax my machines about twice a year when doing regular maintenance; oiling rollers, greasing threads, checking nuts and bolts for torque, etc. It's usually one day of an annoying lube-fest. I will on-the-spot wax machine surfaces that are not nice and slick. You don't want to have to shove your material through the cutters.

[Bill Dufour]

Climate? I only apply wax is summer if the wood is dragging when it is pushed. In winter I apply it more often to prevent rust.
Bill D

[Richard Coers]

No wax on the jointer in my shop, but I control the humidity so I don't rust up my machines. Rust on machinery is about the dew point. Warm moist air on cold cast iron, and it flash over with rust in minutes. At my day job, the building AC was shut down over a long weekend holiday. When we came in, every bit of machinery was covered with rust. So bad on a giant knee mill, that you could see streaks of rust on the mill and puddles of rust on the floor. Took two of us a week to clean up the mess. If you just put a strip of cardboard on the tables, it prevents the moisture from settling on the cold steel. An alternative is to use baby powder on the cast iron. Absorbs the moisture and fills the pores of the cast iron so it feels really slick.

[John TenEyck]

I keep all my cast iron surfaces waxed. Jointer/planer, tablesaw, bandsaws, whatever. Not for rust prevention, to make things slide easier. I used to apply the wax, wait for it to dry, then buff it off, but then I guy in a commercial shop told me to apply it and go back to work, that there wouldn't be any problems. You know what? He was right. I've never had a problem with glue not sticking, whatever. And if you've never tried Lundmark paste wax you should. It's amazing stuff.

Wax makes things slide so much easier. Easier is safer.

John

[jack duren]

I just use Johnson’s paste wax as I need it. At work shop ever so often if the machine is used a lot, at home just once in awhile unless I’m fdoing a big job for a customer..

[Lee Schierer]

I've used Johnson Paste wax on all my cast iron and some wood and varnished table surfaces for years to reduce friction. On cast iron it helps resist rusting. For long term storage, I would recommend using Boeshield T-9. Spray on a heavy wet coat on the entire surface and leave it to dry. The next time you want to use that machine spray the surface with more T-9 and wipe it all off.

I rub an old candle on my aluminum snow shovels and then place the snow shovel under the oven broiler just long enough to liquefy the wax. Snow doesn't stick the surface and you don't have to renew it for many years.

[John TenEyck]

I've used Johnson Paste wax on all my cast iron and some wood and varnished table surfaces for years to reduce friction. On cast iron it helps resist rusting. For long term storage, I would recommend using Boeshield T-9. Spray on a heavy wet coat on the entire surface and leave it to dry. The next time you want to use that machine spray the surface with more T-9 and wipe it all off.

I rub an old candle on my aluminum snow shovels and then place the snow shovel under the oven broiler just long enough to liquefy the wax. Snow doesn't stick the surface and you don't have to renew it for many years.

Try Lundmark, Lee. I doubt you'll ever use Johnson's again for anything. Lundmark is easy on, amazingly easy off, much harder than Johnson's, and doesn't show fingerprints.

John

[jack duren]

Is there anything as soft as Johnson’s?

Believe me, I don’t waste what’s left.

[Cameron Wood]

Try Lundmark, Lee. I doubt you'll ever use Johnson's again for anything. Lundmark is easy on, amazingly easy off, much harder than Johnson's, and doesn't show fingerprints.

John

I was just waxing machine tables with the nearly empty can of Johnson's, & wondering where to get more, so I'll give it a try- thanks.

[Mel Fulks]

Johnson’s Wax is on Ebay for ONLY 60 dollars

[Lee Schierer]

Try Lundmark, Lee. I doubt you'll ever use Johnson's again for anything. Lundmark is easy on, amazingly easy off, much harder than Johnson's, and doesn't show fingerprints.

John

Wow, that's a interesting wax. I also have a 3/4 can of Butcher's Wax for bowling allies. It is also a Carnauba based wax. Between my two cans, I probably have enough for another 30-40 years or so for table waxing. I think the Johnsons I have now was purchased in 1985 or so.

[Bob Jones 5443]

I don’t think anyone has mentioned Briwax or Liberon paste wax. I’ve had the same can of each in the shop for probably 20 years. Whenever I can feel any lessening of slickness on table saw, jointer, or band saw, I wipe on the thinnest possible coat, give it twenty minutes, and buff with a terry cloth towel. I also wax the bearing strips on the fence rail. I keep waiting to see someone say it’s the wrong thing for the task, but so far, no ill effects. Also, I’ve never had a problem with wax getting on the work pieces. The suggestion in an earlier post to wipe down with mineral oil before glue-up sounds like a good idea to me, though.

Still, there is one caution. My fence table on the Unisaw is covered with a sheet of vinyl (linoleum?) used in low-cost kitchen counters. I found out the hard way that the wax products contain petroleum distillates to dry the wax, but they tend to dissolve the vinyl. Yikes. So I stick to the cast iron and stay clear of the extension.

For hand tools (chisels, bench plane soles and irons, marking knives, spokeshave blades, Starrett straightedge, dovetail saws, Forstner bits, router bits, even band saw blades while they’re on the saw, etc.), after using or sharpening (if applicable) and fully drying if needed, I run the tool over my Altoids can that holds the folded cloth lightly soaked with camelia oil, followed by a light wipe with a clean towel. One 8 oz spray bottle has lasted me since 2008 so far. It’s still 3/4 full.

I tell myself that it’s my care of tools that keeps the rust away (there is none in my garage shop), but it’s more likely just my luck for living in the Bay Area.

[jack duren]

If ai remember Briwax was hard…

[John TenEyck]

Wow, that's a interesting wax. I also have a 3/4 can of Butcher's Wax for bowling allies. It is also a Carnauba based wax. Between my two cans, I probably have enough for another 30-40 years or so for table waxing. I think the Johnsons I have now was purchased in 1985 or so.

Butchers Wax is good stuff, too, but you have to put it on very, very sparingly because it's really hard to buff off it you put it on too thick. It wasn't until I tried Lundmark that I found out how easy it can be. Sounds like you're set for life, though.

Both Butchers and Lundmark are white in the can. I don't know about Renaissance, or others, but Johnson's lost me when they reformulated to that ugly green, or at least it was the last time I saw it.

Happy New Year, all.

John

[Pat Germain]

I used the same can of Johnson's paste wax I bought in 1993 for all my machines. It ran out only a few months ago. It always kept the rust away and I NEVER had a problem with wax getting on any the wood. I just let it dry and buffed it thoroughly.

I tried to find Minwax paste wax, but nobody has in stock locally and it can't be shipped to my address. Just yesterday I picked up a can of bowling alley wax at my local Woodcraft. There are many treatments for cast iron. It appears they work well, but so does paste wax and it's a lot less expensive.