💵 I can save you 10% if you use the code "WITTWORKS" at the affiliate links below 👇 Carbon Coat Quick Kit: t.ly/lZvUK Reconditioning Oil: t.ly/NFSMN Abrasive Pads: t.ly/D5EuV
So you saying that this conditioning oil and your hand rubbing was able to remove a raised piece of rusted iron that was a little proud of the rest of the table, and WD-40 with a DA orbital sander couldn't remove it or didn't remove it? What's in that oil??? Or is your hand job a lot better than your mechanical sander??? It's either the oil removing iron that WD-40 couldn't remove, or your hand motion removed iron that your DA couldn't remove??? Or is it just the conditioning oil teamed up with your hand that could actually dissolve iron that WD-40 and a dual action orbital sander couldn't remove???
Easy fix, use Chemical guys “water spot remover” it’s a orange liquid that breaks down the Ph of the iron oxide. It will remove all the stains like it was never there. Been through this myself, it was a godsend. Also works on car glass water spots btw. It’s like a heavy duty CLR, but better. Also may sound crazy but rather then a tool wax, I would use the wax off baby bell cheese to wax my tool surfaces, works a charm.
Chef here. We clean the hot plates , and to get the surface looking like new, use some lemon juice. The acid will brighten up the surface almost instantly, then clean off and oil.
The “staining” is actually microscopic rust pitting. The very last thing you want to do is sanding to attempt to remove it. Sanding will remove material from the flatness of the surface and make things worse. That last bit of staining will cause no harm except for the cosmetic appearance.
if you ever have to do anything like this again may i suggest covering the cast in paper towels and soaking them in your solution of choice. wd40 pb blaster evaporust or that stuff from carbon coat. let the towels sit for a half hr or so. most of my tools are second hand and ive used this method to restore quite a few cast tops really helps.
Cost-Effective, Long lasting restoration for rusty Cars/Old machinery: 1. Use Mild Acetic or Citric acid solution to dissolve the rust first. It is extremely effective. Wire-brush. 2. Then go in with a hydrocarbon based solvent (WD40), Or just plain old 50-50 Kerosene+Diesel. (Wire-Brush and Sanding) 2.5. Use Galvanising Zinc spray for everything other than machined surfaces. 3. Spray finish everything with Polyurethane or acrylic clear-coat. (Wax/Polish/Buff optional) BAM. Rust proofed for 25 years.
I did a restore of a table saw that I bought used. Sanding with WD 40 worked up to a degree but, once I switched over to a better lubricant I noticed a big difference. Started with 80grit and worked up to 220grit and then gave it a lubricant and wiped it in two or three times before I felt I did all I could. Was pleased with the outcome.
It looks good. I don't know if it matters if it's a couple thou out, but are you worried about how flat it is? If there is a machine shop with a surface grinder in your area you can probably get them to grind the surface flat again. It might also clear off more of the staining
I would genuinely be shattered if I walked into my shop to see this. When I saw your community post I thought there's no way it could be as bad as he's making it out to be, but damn man, I feel for you. I'm sure you'll get this a billion times but would insurance have covered replacement parts?
Tbh if the motor housing is holding water I think you would just call the whole thing FUBAR, it's probably not worth the work/risk of failure assuming he has the right insurance and most of a replacement is covered.
@@vhoward1122 Note that it can also depend on the source of the water damage, and all of this is highly dependent on the fine print of the policy. Ie, my homeowners covers a burst pipe, but doesn't cover a failed sump pump (And boy do I wish I'd known that before my sump pump failed...)
My experience suggests that claims such as this, when the insurance company pays you, it’s really just a loan payed back under the guise of rate increases. Sometimes it’s better to eat the loss rather than forcing the insurance claim.
My table saw is 50+ years old the top is gray one of the wing has some pitting filled with epoxy. It had been stored outside had severe rust on the top sanded initially with 220 on a ROS then finer grits, not shiny but slick and smooth works great !
5 days ago I discovered I had a water leak that was dripping onto my jointer that I had just purchased. It was not a new jointer but I had been saving and searching for a jointer for a few years now. I was devastated when I found the cast iron bright orange with rust. After watching this video I do have some hope now. Thanks for the quick tutorial and links.
Oh my wow!!! Yes my heart sank a bit for you. My wife's grandfather passed away about 5 months ago and he has a saw stop. I mention this because we have talked to her grandma and when she is ready to let go of it I will be the one to get it. If I have something like that happen to it I would probably cry because it would mean so much to me for the simple fact that it belonged to my wife's grandpa. I'm glad you were able to salvage it almost back to the previous condition and I really like and appreciate your videos. They help people like me that are new to woodworking and I can't wait to learn more from people like you. Thank you and Happy Building 😁
I was given a table saw that had been sitting in a old storage building and had been rained on for 2-3 years. I did what you did and got a lot of rust off and the saw works as good as a new one.
Wow, I understand your pain. A few years ago, I laid pressure treated wood on the saw only for a few hours. Well, two days later, I put the wood where I should have put it if I wasn't in a hurry. I may try your fix. A lesson learned.
You might consider trying a scrub with Bar Keepers Friend to remove the "staining". It's a powdered cleanser with Oxalic Acid, used a lot in the carbon steel knife world to remove patinas, and it does a really great job in my experience.
Our local MakerSpace was the recipient of a water damaged Saw Stop. The original owner gave it to us after his insurance "bought him a new one". He didn't want to trust the electronics. I called Saw Stop and they said that if the saw turns on and runs, then the electronics are fine. We've used the saw for several years now, and saved any number of fingers, and the saw works great.
Wow, I do feel your agony. I would also have felt devastated. A month or so ago I laid a kiln dried 2x4 over my table saw. I should have laid this over the melamine extension, but thought kiln dried would not be a problem. A week or so later I was shocked at the rust under the 2x4. This was just high humidity not the standing water from your devastating water leak. A lesson learned. My rust and stains were not so deep. Sadly you may need a re-grinding to remove all the stains. Dave.
I had the problem. I bought a Delta saw that had been sitting outside for about a month and the surface looked just like yours. I got a Strip and Clean disk from HF and went to work with my angle grinder and WD40. After about an hours work I had a new shine on the top and put a coat of paste wax on it. Still looks brand new to this day.
I am so sorry. I understand your heart wrenching fear. I went through two basement floods with my 1967 craftsman table saw, jointer, planer, bandsaw and drill press. They all survived. But the anxiety the fear then frustration and anger was unparalleled. I know it will be alright. Every test makes us stronger. I am sorry and know that we have your back.
Look up stumpy nubbs video on what to do about rust like this. Essentially sand /buff it clean with naptha and finish with protective layer of paste wax. It works because i was given a jet tablesaw that had a rusted top i followed the steps and it looks brand new! Love your content keep it up and hope this helps get your prized saw out of medical leave and back to use!
So sorry you had to go through this tedium, brother. But from the moment I saw the thumbnail, I knew it was going to turn out okay. It’s amazing what a lot of elbow grease can do to restore cast iron suffering from topical rust. I echo what others have said in that I’m glad you still have a badass table saw and hope your insurance is good to you. Positive vibes from Texas.
I’ve restored old tools and always they come covered in rust. My favorite thing to do before finishing with scotch brite and oil similar to what you did is soak it in evaporust. For big surfaces soak paper towels lay them out flat then cover with Saran Wrap to prevent evaporation and wait. A few rounds of this does wonders.
Sorry to see this happen to you. I had this happen to my first table saw. Once I got it cleaned I ended up finishing it with Cerakote. 5 years of sweat and glue later and not single spec of rust. So now I Cerakote all my tools before I ever setup them up. Worth every penny.
@@bobd5119 The air dry series. I think it was the C-series line. It is not as durable as the bake on finishes, but even where it scratches off it still did not rust. Whatever additive for corrosion protection they put in it is top notch. It is also very slick. I only waxed my saw maybe once a year.
buy a bottle of Loctite naval jelly,it's a rust remover. then you'll probably need to use some fine carbide wet/dry paper to polish it to near-normal. Ace Hdwr has it for $9 for a 16 ox bottle. it works great on rust.
I would have started with Rust-Oleum Rust Dissolver. Cover the surface with heavy rags and poured this stuff on then covered with plastic. The next day used those pads. Pits don't matter on the surface. You can always fill them in with red paint to match the saw.
I purchased a property with some farm equipment included in the sale. Part of the equipment is a Sawstop he had barely used. My heart broke when I found that it spent the winter in an unsheltered old garage completely rusted on top. Hope I have as much luck saving it as you did. I would honestly be thrilled if it gets even close to looking this good again.
Dude the thumbnail alone made me cry, hope everything works itself out brother been watching you for a while now and your humility and honesty has always been refreshing
To most of us (specially DIYers) who payed for those tools in whole or in installments those tools might be like our children. Seeing your tools get damaged in anyway hurts a little.
I lived on a tropical island and ran a wood shop. Rust was always an issue just because of humidity on a regular basis but we had a typhoon come through once and damaged the cast iron on EVERYTHING. We sanded with 120 grit, then up the stages to 400, and then used paste wax to give a smooth finish so we could run wood smoothly across the surface. Everything went back to being operational and we just ensured the next time a typhoon came through to cover everything in plastic.
Similar thing happened to me on my Delta. I started sanding with 220 and worked it up to 4000 before switching to a polishing pad with polishing compound. Then finished with some carpenters wax and it was good as new
I feel your pain... my 3 week old f150 hybrid was rear-ended by a distracted driver (she was going about 40 mph faster than I when she hit me)... fortunately nobody was hurt, but my truck is still at the shop over a month later, and they still haven't been able to start the repairs... there is a good chance that the frame will need to be replaced... I hope I will get it back before this winter.
I will say, I didn't know of that company offered kit, but did something very similar with WD-40 and maroon scotch bright pads on my first table saw. I never got it all the way to a bright "new" cast iron color, but it did come back to an even darker grey, and worked fine for years. For the worst areas, I used a gasket scraper that uses a spring steel card as a scraping edge. This got some rust off, as well as the paint stains that were left by some prior owner using it as a painting bench. I did finish mine with BoeShield T-9 as a protective layer afterward. All that said, great work there, and best wishes with your shop recovery.
It’s cast iron, it’s flat. Use a flat board with 100 grit automotive grade wet or dry sandpaper. Work your way in steps to 600 or 800 or even greater. WD-40 is a good lubricant. No need for anything fancy. If you are looking for accuracy, disassemble and have it surfaced by a machinist. This is standard practice on cast iron cylinder heads and blocks. Keep the surface oiled or use furniture polish. Much cheaper.
I have an AC failure in my shop that I am presently dealing with. I am in the deep south, near the Gulf Coast so heat and humidity is a major concern. I am so glad my table saw has an aluminum top. So far the other machines are handling it OK. I am keeping a coat of oil on them.
I have an old Craftsman table saw that I got in pieces and had to refurbish. It was in extremely rough shape. A friend gave it to me during Covid lockdown and it was more therapeutic than necessity to rebuild it. The top was in as bad of shape as yours, and since it didn't cost me anything I used sandpaper and WD-40. I started with 100 and really got most everything done with that. I went up to 800 grit wet & dry with WD and other than the fact that these tops weren't milled that great to begin with (lots of milling marks) it came out great! For about 6 months after I had a wood block with 800 grit on it and would just block it out before waxing it. Iknow you probably wont want to be as aggressive , but it worked out just fine for me
As it turns out, I bought almost the same SawStop used recently (5 hp 220v) but didn’t have room in my shop for it since I’m currently converting my garage into a shop. I carefully wrapped up the SawStop with tarps, tied it down and, sadly, had to leave it outside on a pallet. The winds went wild and somehow blew the tarp off in a rainstorm and it rusted pretty quickly. I still don’t have room to work on it so I’ll have to do so when the shop is finished. Looks like I’ll be going through a similar process on mine before too long. I hope it comes out half as nice as yours!
Oh wow! Looking forward to seeing what you can do. I did find the sawstop sells the tops so you can replace them….for $800!!! Also, your hammer reinvented thumbnail is one of my fav on UA-cam. Brilliant.
@@wittworks Glad to know I can by a new top if I need to. Mine is even more rusted than yours, I really don't know if I can save it but I'll definitely try.
When we restored our older delta saw we used razor blades to scrap the rust away, use almost no pressure holding the blade at a 45 degree. Lube the surface with wd40.
Insurance companies are not in the business of paying. It’s all champagne and roses when they’re selling you your policy. I hope you have a happy ending.
Artificial white vinegar (acetic acid) is the same as rust removal sprays and you could use it to remove most of the rust by soaking and laying paper towels on the surfaces for 10 to 15 minutes before wiping down. It's also much cheaper when sold in larger containers for commercial kitchens (gallon or larger). Also useful for descaling glass containers or cleaning limescale from shower screens.
Cast iron surface appearance and precision flatness can be restored to better than new with a little elbow grease. Look up "lapping granite surface plate". You can use the wings on one another and then on the main table. It's hard to mess up and will be better than factory when you're done.
Commenting at the comment requested time. I purchased a 6" jointer that was rusted from an auction and , yes it took some time and some elbow grease, but I cleaned up quite nicely with just penetrating oil and work. Yes there is some staining in places but works just the same. So I say the saw will clean up and be perfectly usable (assuming the electrics are still good) but you may see some blemished that trigger you or other people. If your unhappy with the results I will gladly take it of your hands.
I've restored many old (decades) cast iron tables ... table saw, jointer, horizontal saw, band saws, etc .... and simply start with 80 grit pads. Seems to work fine for me and not much you can't get out. So, for whatever that's worth. Good luck!
I feel your pain. I brought my SawStop home last December. The top didn’t survive two weeks. I had the garage door up after a rain, and it evidently dropped down on the saw. Definitely not as bad as your situation, but my beautiful new table top has a black love mark now. I ordered Carbon Method immediately after. 😊
I had a fire in my boat shop 6 years ago. Among the machines I lost was a cast-base 10” Delta tilty tablesaw. Now I’m starting to move into a new shop, and I wanted to set up a router table on my 12” Walker- Turner tablesaw. I began to think about what to use for the actual table, and I thought about that old saw. It had been sitting outside the whole time, and the pot metal quadrants had melted in the fire, I didn’t have much hope for it. When I brought it into the shop though, a straight edge showed it to be un-warped, so I went after the surface with scrapers, then 3M pads. It cleaned up beautifully, actually a better surface than the old W-T saw it’s bolted to! A fire, then 6 years in the elements, and now perfect - I don’t think your saw should be much of a problem.
Well the best way for this . Me been a spray painter and worked on metal what you should do is sand with a sander p 100 p 180 p240 then with a scotch brite pad and a glove you get a liquid solution called dioxidene its phosgoric acid you go over it thoroughly and live it for 10 minute and repeat the procedure with the dioxidene. Then you neutralise it with in a bucked with water and methylated spirit you wipe on then quickly wipe off and the watch it shine but this type of method is for a experience person
You can rinse the Scotchbrite pad out with water, blow it out with compressed air and will clear out the rust so you can start over. T9 Rust remover and T9 Boeshield is best. I get sick when I see 1 speck of rust on my table saw. I know how you feel.
I bought a jet tablesaw off market place and the cast iron looked like that. I used sandpaper on my random orbital sander. started at 80 and worked my way all the way up to 400. the top is nice and smooth and no issues with it.
If the rust is that bad skip the 3m pads and start with real sand paper… wet sand it starting at about 600-800 grit, then hit it with 100-1200 grit, then switch to the 3m pads for final “buffing”… another note, he was cleaning the 3m pads using a piece of plywood… just clean them with water in a utility sink.
Same thing happened to me, same saw and everything, never got the stain out, but I put deep gouges in it with some pocket screws, so the stains don't bother me anymore😅
When I first saw the thumbnail I thought, "wow that's an odd looking table saw", and then I started watching and I thought it wasn't that bad, it's only rust. But then I tried to put myself in your shoes, after buying a brand new table saw and that happening, and I would've been upset. That said, I've never owned a quality table saw, except for my grandpop's very old Sears Craftsman saw. And recently I just bought another vintage Sears (belt driven) table saw from a nice guy on Craigslist and it has a decent amount of rust on the top. Which is surprising since we live in New Mexico and metal can stay bare for years without rusting. Compared to growing up in Jersey and metal rusts UNDERNEATH painted surfaces lol. So I'm sorry for your troubles but its given me hope and will help me get my table saw smooth.
I restore Vintage and Antique machinery. I have completed work for Private Owners, Corporations, National Museums and National & State Park Visitor Centers. CAUTION: Using a soft "Red" pad is not recommended. It can ruin the plane (flatness) of the saw table. I recommend you try using Flat (NEW) Carborundum sharpening stones of several grades with Isopar (odorless Kerosene) or Stove Fuel as the grinding Solvent. Use the same action you would as if you were lapping mating metal surfaces to maintain the flatness of the tabletop. You will be able to see this in the original grinding pattern from the manufacturer. As you remove material, the crowns of the pattern will be become obvious. If you remove more from one area as opposed to another, the crowns will be wider (lower) in the areas where more material was removed. All crowns should be the same width when finished. Indicating that you have maintained the original surface plane. NOTE: WD-40 gets sticky and attracts dust & debris over time and can cause "Fisheyes" in final finishes! I use the standard 100/240 Dual-Grit type stones to destroy rust on Cast Iron flat surfaces. You do not need to go crazy with Super-Fine grits - Read on to understand why. NEVER focus too much on one area! If the surface is that bad take the tabletop sections to an automotive machine shop as others have said in the comments. Have them remove as little as possible or risk weakening the sections or mismatching the ability to match planes upon reassembly. As other contributors have mentioned... Do not worry about the "Staining"! It adds character to your now unique saw table making it more identifiable should some low life grab it out of your shop. Want a perfect top - buy a new one! Once you are down to the surface you desire, I highly recommend white paper towels & Isopropyl Alcohol to remove all the Swarf from restoring the surface. After the pores have completely dried out (the alcohol has all evaporated) follow-up using a product named "Fluid Film". IT IS THE BEST corrosion inhibitor, PERIOD. You can get it at LOWE'S. Less is more with this product. Insert the pipette (for more even dispersal) and spray a light pattern from 18-20" over the "Open-Pore" surface. I have found that when you have applied as much as you believe to be the necessary amount - I have applied FOUR TIMES as much as is needed! Waste-Not! Using your fingertips, spread/massage (smear in circular action) the Fluid-Film into the pores. Remove any pooling. (You don't need that much.) Let it sit flat overnight. Fluid Film is Lanolin Based and continually spreads into pores and across surfaces on the molecular level. It is truly magical stuff! It even washes out of clothing easily! Next day using an Isopropyl [dampened] towel (Paper or Cloth) remove as much of the Fluid-Film as you are able, leaving only the pores full of the corrosion inhibitor. Take your time & wipe dry with isopropyl [dampened] towels, any leaching Fluid Film. That is any Fluid Film spreading out of the pores onto the surface to be waxed. NOW - you apply several coats of quality Paste Wax furniture polish. Minwax is the best but is now hard to find. Allow the polish to dry completely between coats. This is where the necessity for the Super-Fine abrasives is not essential - the application of the paste wax needs something to grab onto. Clean metal & a grit profile. You are now finished restoring your rusted saw tables. The lumber material will GLIDE over the Wax Surface as though angels have laid their hands upon the wood! Keep an eye on the condition of the wax treatment and reapply as necessary! This varies with Usage & Exposure. Enjoy your saw table. Best Regards, R. Newcomb, MKCM, USCG Retired
I congratulate you on your patience. If that happened to me I would jump right to like 100 or 80 grit metal working paper and get down to bare metal. Your approach was obviously better.....you demonstrated great patience.
You said you were surprised that in only a couple days this happened. I milled up some walnut (which I thought was dry) and set a couple pieces on my saw over night and came back to rust (not quite as bad as you had) that took hours to get off. Happens surprisingly fast.
Oh man I’m sorry this happened to you and the family. It’s not just the saw that was damaged obviously, but I can see why this might have been the focal point of the damage caused to you. I feel like cleaning the top is a little bit therapeutic for you as well as just an attempt to salvage something. Prayers that you heal from this wound! 🙏
Hi 👋 WittWorks , I am so sorry to hear 👂 you got problems with water damage, back in the 1979/8 I had just moved my work shop to a farm, I was renting a old cowshed, I had had to put plastic sheeting as a roof. Space, as there were small holes in the roof where drips used to come through onto my tools and equipment., and used to suffer very badly and condensation, The very kind farmer, purchased a very old Planer jointer from a auction sale , I believe the machine might have been outside for a long time, and they asked me was it worth getting when I said yes , they said that’s good cause it’s outside. I think they bought it more as scrap value than anything else., what is six weeks down the line, it looks like brand-new,, I was living in the UK at the time, the machine was made by a firm called Dominion, which I think was part of Watkin, which was up north, I contacted them about the table bed , told me if I could bring the tables up to there machine shop they could resurface it for me, so between landlords, son and myself, we stripped down the machine and took the tables to the place up north, where they resurfaced the beds of the tables , this cost me approximately £200 and it took them virtually a day, I’ve never seen a machine like this before they used to resurface the beds. All the tables it was huge, but after a few weeks work of repainting and doing some electrical work the jointer planer thickness, look like new, Anyway, after explaining my problem, you might be able to find somebody that can resurface the tops of your tablesaw to bring it back, looking like new, , I have since found out that old cast iron is a lot better made than what the new stuff they use nowadays, there is a curing process for when they make cast-iron table beds, which I believe on very good stuff can take up to 6 months to a year to cure, depending on the size of it, and then the cast iron is there in machine it’s finished size and polished, Good luck with the repairs and the renovation of your tools and machinery. I hope you can get some compensation from the insurance company. Hopefully see you back in the workshop soon., Phil from the moulin France,
I use rubbing compoundb on new steel to smooth it and remove stains, using a disc polish pad. For heavy stains Wet sand paper 180 or 220 wet a 8:10 nd dry with mineral spirits then 400 then 800 then 1000 then 1500. Rub down with concrete rust remover . .. The reust remover works on other parts befor sanding too. For really bad areas use phosphoric acid, "Ospho, or Naval jelly. The fine w&d paper removes just tiny amounts, so no distortions worth concern.
"NAVY GELLY" WORS!!! IF YOU BRUSH IT ON WITH A THROW AWAY CHEAP BRUSH...LET IT SIT TILL IT BUBBLES AND DARKENS.... RINS IT OFF OR WIPE IT OFF....RECOMEND PRESURED WATER HOSE KNOZEL....THEN LIGHT SAND
I'm in to the video about eight minutes, so please forgive me if you tried this eventually. How about using wet sandpaper for metal? Start with a four hundred grit and increase from there. It works on older model cars, but they're not made out of cast iron which is basically pot metal, so I don't know if I'm on to something, or not. I really enjoy your videos. Thank you.
I have a similar (ongoing) issue with my Sawstop in that my shop didn't have heat and is drafty as a barn (which is why we call it "the barn"). It's first year in residence I put a tarp over the saw hoping condensation wouldn't get to it but by spring it was a mess. I resurfaced it with a combination of PB Blaster an array of sandpaper grits, brown pads, and steel wool which got most of the rust out. Last fall I put a small space heater and two fans to circulate the air. I also got a magnetic cover for the table and monitored the temps with a remote thermometer and kept the barn just above freezing. It was costly in heating bills but it (mostly) worked and I had just a couple of small oxidation spots on the table this last spring. I am hoping to mostly finish the barn by end of next summer which include insulation and heating so I don't have to go through a spring resurfacing of the saw every year. I've been using paste wax and Boeshield to coat the table but am intrigued by the cabon coat.
So sorry this happened to you. I just reorganized my shop a couple weeks ago to avoid water pipes in my house. Had a slow drip from a pipe that ran just to the side of my cnc machine, if it was 6 inches to the left of where it lives would have been destroyed. Luckily I’m in an unfinished basement so I can see where everything runs.
My mom had a water leak while not home, and it traveled through furnace ducts to find its way to the basement. Surprisingly, the leak was over a garage which didn't have a basement under it, but the ducts went through the garage to the ceiling of the basement, which is how the basement got water damage. Three floors were damaged. $60,000 of damage, and 3 roll-off dumpsters. I live in a ranch, and the only water hazard is a water heater in the garage, and it has a pan piped outside if it doesn't leak with a spray outside the pan. But, if a storm damaged my roof, that could also cause damage until I could get a blue tarp up.
@Wittworks: Have you tried ""Bar Keepers Friend" ?! It has been around forever. They have several different formulations, but the one that had best all-around performance for me, was the old-fashioned powder form. My little needy project was a 55 year old Bridgeport Milling machine that had not been treated well (high-milage) and had been stored even poorer. My project was not as brilliant orange as yours but was deeper in many places. "Bar Keepers Friend" brought my surfaces back pretty respectable. Near shiny matte finish. Certainly, far better than the oils you were using at the beginning of the video. You will need to rinse thoroughly and then coat with turtle wax or similar for long term protection. I'll go back now and finish the rest of your video.
That is heartbreaking. You have my sympathy. Most of the machines in my shop are old cast iron, often purchased in poor cosmetic condition. I bought a jointer that had been stored outdoors. It looked like your saw. Boeshield RustFree has been very good at removing the old rust staining from bare cast iron surfaces. It's fairly noxious to use but it works. Good ventilation is a must but you don't want a breeze blowing across the surface that you're cleaning. Your mechanical process combined with RustFree would very likely give you bright cast iron again. I'm located on the humid Gulf Coast so I treat all of my cast iron machines with Boeshield T-9 once they're clean. I spray it on, let it soak for 24 hours, wipe off the excess and let it completely dry. Allow another day for the T-9 to dry. After all of that the surfaces still get paste wax but rust doesn't develop once the machines are treated. I have a schedule of cleaning the cast iron with mineral spirits every two years and retreating from scratch so I'll never have to do heavy cleaning again.
I cover everything with the tool covers. I have a cold garage and large temperature swings...no rush problems. In your case, the water would have run off.
If you can salvage the saw, I say get some kind of design applied to the surface of the table. Like covering a scar with a tattoo kind of thing. Just a thought. maybe you can resurface, do some kind of tool black coating and then re-coat it and once you wax the top with some paste wax to get the friction back down, etc....
Lucky it took me over 9 min to figure out how to get to the comments on my phone (I usually watch UA-cam on my desktop or laptop) so as much as I can’t wait to see the next video I will add you to My list of people that I will attempt to send some good vibes as a thank you for sharing your creativity and wit. And HOLY WOW THATS AMAZING!!!!
Oh I feel this pain. I left pressure treated five-quarter deck boards laying across my table saw for about a month while I traveled, and, where they were in contact, same result. I've got the saw back to working order, but need to put some more time in to it.
I have used machinist stones and wd40 on cast iron tables of CNC machines. This way it prevents you from "digging a hole". While it doesnt get all of the staining it gets it clean quickly and leaves a smooth finish. I also got a bit of rust on my sawstop, not the extent of yours but that is what I used.
Pro-tip folks... do not use the green Simple Green, and leave it on for more than a few seconds, because it leaves similar staining... ask me how I know. I need to get some of this reconditioning oil. If you end up having to replace the arbor block with the microchip, I'd love a video. I had to do it, but I found an engineer to do it with me, and I didn't get to film it because he was moving so fast. It was a wild process, and the SS instructions suck. Best of luck if you have to do it... keep track of the parts and label them!
My shop partially caught on fire around a year ago. All of my power tools and some hand tools were a total loss, I understand how you feel 100%!!! Our sawstop at work unfortunately experienced a lot of rust for similar reasons, we just used steel wool and WD-40. Staining is still really bad, but at least it’s mostly smooth.
I put Carbon Method on my Saw Stop when I bought it last June. I swear by that stuff. I live in hot and humid southeastern Alabama and my TS is still rust free. Apply it properly per the manufacturer’s instructions and it’ll serve you well.
You are now able to restore a vintage Delta or Powermatics! Welcome to the restoration club, you did an incredible job for such a horrible and unfortunate incident.
I've done this countless time restoring old iron. First thing to do is to stabilize the rust. Vinegar would be the best start. Once it's all done, and this goes especially for new machines, do a maintenance of paste wax to protect the surface.
I have a waterfront home in North Carolina. Rust is a constant battle on all my tools. With an air conditioned garage condensation forms immediately when ever I open the door. Wax helps very little and leaving WD40 on the surfaces makes it worse. I now keep all tools covered with ether a custom cover or just a towel laid over. CorrosionX works best but 30 weight works well. Before using I have to degrease and wax. Hand tools have to be kept in drawers or cabinets.
Boeshield T-9 and rust free have worked well for all rusty table tops I have dealt with. The rust free really gets rid of the rust, and the T-9 really protects the tabletop
Just saw this. You should chemically neutralize the rust with a thin layer of evaporust as the second to last last coat. Let it sit for ten to thirty minutes. On the very last cleaning, use the reconditioning oil to sand to desired level (ex: 400 up to 4000). Evaporust will neutralize rust in pours to preven further pitting. Oil puts a layer of protection.
Sand paper or emery paper , I've had that problem when I left my table saw down in my damp basement and it got very surface rusted and the sand paper on an orbital sander worked perfect, just start out with 120 and work your way up
So sorry, I had a similar issue and found vinegar and sandpaper (like you) took it back to original finish. I had water damage and one day walked into my shop (after some time off) and spotted a squirrel using my TS as a plate/cutting board for black walnuts! Side note I hope you pulled off your wings... you might find a bit of water found its way there.
happened to my (much cheaper) saw. unfortunately I suspect with my sanding out the top, I may have unleveled the surface. Or it unleveled itself and I happened to notice after. Just an ever so slight convex curve. perhaps because I went more aggressive at the front and back edge where the rust was worse. check to be sure youre still flat.
Wow just wow. Sorry that this happened to your house. I know its bad and we see its bad. But tools can be replaced. I am hoping that no irreplaceables like family memoirs and photos were damaged. We all know you and the tools will bounce back. Keep your head up.👽
Painful, hope you get it sorted. Just been cleaning old water damaged tools, first thing I used was Evapo Rust heated to 60 degrees and used an ultrasonic cleaner and finshed with my sander and DA polisher got some brilliant results. I left some tools in the solution for 48 hours which turned black but polished up lovely. Might be worth experimenting on some cast iron sample? Good luck anyway, hope you sort ot.
Had this happen before and Believe it or not I used 120 sandpaper( May want to wear a mask) but it worked perfect. Then I cleaned it and coated with paste wax.
This is heartbreaking! It is literally a nightmare in real life, I worked at our local ROCKLER and the AC dripped down on one of our floor model saw stops, same staining. Thankfully the electronics were good. also I didn’t sit for two days. Hoping that you’re able to get your saw replaced or at least back up and running.
Harbor freight has a surface conditioning tool that would bring your surface back to new. It would also help to grab a gallon of evaporust while youre there. Lay old towels on the saw top, soak them with evaporust and keep it wet for atleast 24 hours. Between those two, you'll be good as new.
💵 I can save you 10% if you use the code "WITTWORKS" at the affiliate links below 👇
Carbon Coat Quick Kit: t.ly/lZvUK
Reconditioning Oil: t.ly/NFSMN
Abrasive Pads: t.ly/D5EuV
So you saying that this conditioning oil and your hand rubbing was able to remove a raised piece of rusted iron that was a little proud of the rest of the table, and WD-40 with a DA orbital sander couldn't remove it or didn't remove it? What's in that oil??? Or is your hand job a lot better than your mechanical sander??? It's either the oil removing iron that WD-40 couldn't remove, or your hand motion removed iron that your DA couldn't remove???
Or is it just the conditioning oil teamed up with your hand that could actually dissolve iron that WD-40 and a dual action orbital sander couldn't remove???
Could have used a slightly more aggressive pad, sand paper, ot whatever you use.
@@eldie3d I honestly am not sure. Was perplexed by it. Could be that I let the oil soak on it longer?
Easy fix, use Chemical guys “water spot remover” it’s a orange liquid that breaks down the Ph of the iron oxide. It will remove all the stains like it was never there. Been through this myself, it was a godsend. Also works on car glass water spots btw. It’s like a heavy duty CLR, but better.
Also may sound crazy but rather then a tool wax, I would use the wax off baby bell cheese to wax my tool surfaces, works a charm.
Just setup my sawstop and wanted to do the carbon coat, i placed the order but your code didnt work for the 10% off :-/
Chef here. We clean the hot plates , and to get the surface looking like new, use some lemon juice. The acid will brighten up the surface almost instantly, then clean off and oil.
oh wow.
The “staining” is actually microscopic rust pitting. The very last thing you want to do is sanding to attempt to remove it. Sanding will remove material from the flatness of the surface and make things worse. That last bit of staining will cause no harm except for the cosmetic appearance.
Bingo! Don't turn it into a potato chip for the sake of some ideal of aesthetics.
if you ever have to do anything like this again may i suggest covering the cast in paper towels and soaking them in your solution of choice. wd40 pb blaster evaporust or that stuff from carbon coat. let the towels sit for a half hr or so. most of my tools are second hand and ive used this method to restore quite a few cast tops really helps.
Cost-Effective, Long lasting restoration for rusty Cars/Old machinery:
1. Use Mild Acetic or Citric acid solution to dissolve the rust first. It is extremely effective. Wire-brush.
2. Then go in with a hydrocarbon based solvent (WD40), Or just plain old 50-50 Kerosene+Diesel. (Wire-Brush and Sanding)
2.5. Use Galvanising Zinc spray for everything other than machined surfaces.
3. Spray finish everything with Polyurethane or acrylic clear-coat. (Wax/Polish/Buff optional)
BAM. Rust proofed for 25 years.
Agreed or naval jelly or evapo-rust.
yeah soak in paper towels and maybe plastic wrap on top to prevent the paper towels drying out for a longer soak. evaporust is pretty amazing
I did a restore of a table saw that I bought used. Sanding with WD 40 worked up to a degree but, once I switched over to a better lubricant I noticed a big difference. Started with 80grit and worked up to 220grit and then gave it a lubricant and wiped it in two or three times before I felt I did all I could. Was pleased with the outcome.
It looks good. I don't know if it matters if it's a couple thou out, but are you worried about how flat it is? If there is a machine shop with a surface grinder in your area you can probably get them to grind the surface flat again. It might also clear off more of the staining
I would genuinely be shattered if I walked into my shop to see this. When I saw your community post I thought there's no way it could be as bad as he's making it out to be, but damn man, I feel for you. I'm sure you'll get this a billion times but would insurance have covered replacement parts?
Still waiting to hear back. 🤞
Tbh if the motor housing is holding water I think you would just call the whole thing FUBAR, it's probably not worth the work/risk of failure assuming he has the right insurance and most of a replacement is covered.
Only if he had a rider on his homeowners insurance that also covered the contents of the home for water damage.
@@vhoward1122 Note that it can also depend on the source of the water damage, and all of this is highly dependent on the fine print of the policy. Ie, my homeowners covers a burst pipe, but doesn't cover a failed sump pump (And boy do I wish I'd known that before my sump pump failed...)
My experience suggests that claims such as this, when the insurance company pays you, it’s really just a loan payed back under the guise of rate increases. Sometimes it’s better to eat the loss rather than forcing the insurance claim.
My table saw is 50+ years old the top is gray one of the wing has some pitting filled with epoxy. It had been stored outside had severe rust on the top sanded initially with 220 on a ROS then finer grits, not shiny but slick and smooth works great !
5 days ago I discovered I had a water leak that was dripping onto my jointer that I had just purchased. It was not a new jointer but I had been saving and searching for a jointer for a few years now. I was devastated when I found the cast iron bright orange with rust. After watching this video I do have some hope now. Thanks for the quick tutorial and links.
Oh my wow!!! Yes my heart sank a bit for you. My wife's grandfather passed away about 5 months ago and he has a saw stop. I mention this because we have talked to her grandma and when she is ready to let go of it I will be the one to get it. If I have something like that happen to it I would probably cry because it would mean so much to me for the simple fact that it belonged to my wife's grandpa. I'm glad you were able to salvage it almost back to the previous condition and I really like and appreciate your videos. They help people like me that are new to woodworking and I can't wait to learn more from people like you. Thank you and Happy Building 😁
I was given a table saw that had been sitting in a old storage building and had been rained on for 2-3 years. I did what you did and got a lot of rust off and the saw works as good as a new one.
Plain white vinegar removes rust fairly well. Can be used in the first steps to remove the bulk of rust then dry and oil after
Wow, I understand your pain. A few years ago, I laid pressure treated wood on the saw only for a few hours. Well, two days later, I put the wood where I should have put it if I wasn't in a hurry. I may try your fix. A lesson learned.
I use t-9 on all my machines which are in a damp humid basement. And have not had one rust issue so far. Table saw jointer drill press etc.
You might consider trying a scrub with Bar Keepers Friend to remove the "staining". It's a powdered cleanser with Oxalic Acid, used a lot in the carbon steel knife world to remove patinas, and it does a really great job in my experience.
Yup bar keepers friend does wonders, use it on my pots and they gleam better than new
Our local MakerSpace was the recipient of a water damaged Saw Stop. The original owner gave it to us after his insurance "bought him a new one". He didn't want to trust the electronics. I called Saw Stop and they said that if the saw turns on and runs, then the electronics are fine. We've used the saw for several years now, and saved any number of fingers, and the saw works great.
that's great!
Wow, I do feel your agony. I would also have felt devastated.
A month or so ago I laid a kiln dried 2x4 over my table saw. I should have laid this over the melamine extension, but thought kiln dried would not be a problem. A week or so later I was shocked at the rust under the 2x4. This was just high humidity not the standing water from your devastating water leak. A lesson learned. My rust and stains were not so deep.
Sadly you may need a re-grinding to remove all the stains.
Dave.
I had the problem. I bought a Delta saw that had been sitting outside for about a month and the surface looked just like yours. I got a Strip and Clean disk from HF and went to work with my angle grinder and WD40. After about an hours work I had a new shine on the top and put a coat of paste wax on it. Still looks brand new to this day.
That’s great! I’ll look into the disk!
I am so sorry. I understand your heart wrenching fear. I went through two basement floods with my 1967 craftsman table saw, jointer, planer, bandsaw and drill press. They all survived. But the anxiety the fear then frustration and anger was unparalleled. I know it will be alright. Every test makes us stronger. I am sorry and know that we have your back.
Look up stumpy nubbs video on what to do about rust like this. Essentially sand /buff it clean with naptha and finish with protective layer of paste wax. It works because i was given a jet tablesaw that had a rusted top i followed the steps and it looks brand new! Love your content keep it up and hope this helps get your prized saw out of medical leave and back to use!
So sorry you had to go through this tedium, brother. But from the moment I saw the thumbnail, I knew it was going to turn out okay. It’s amazing what a lot of elbow grease can do to restore cast iron suffering from topical rust. I echo what others have said in that I’m glad you still have a badass table saw and hope your insurance is good to you. Positive vibes from Texas.
I’ve restored old tools and always they come covered in rust. My favorite thing to do before finishing with scotch brite and oil similar to what you did is soak it in evaporust. For big surfaces soak paper towels lay them out flat then cover with Saran Wrap to prevent evaporation and wait. A few rounds of this does wonders.
Sorry to see this happen to you. I had this happen to my first table saw. Once I got it cleaned I ended up finishing it with Cerakote. 5 years of sweat and glue later and not single spec of rust. So now I Cerakote all my tools before I ever setup them up. Worth every penny.
Which Cerakote version do you use?
@@bobd5119 The air dry series. I think it was the C-series line. It is not as durable as the bake on finishes, but even where it scratches off it still did not rust. Whatever additive for corrosion protection they put in it is top notch. It is also very slick. I only waxed my saw maybe once a year.
buy a bottle of Loctite naval jelly,it's a rust remover. then you'll probably need to use some fine carbide wet/dry paper to polish it to near-normal. Ace Hdwr has it for $9 for a 16 ox bottle. it works great on rust.
I would have started with Rust-Oleum Rust Dissolver. Cover the surface with heavy rags and poured this stuff on then covered with plastic. The next day used those pads. Pits don't matter on the surface. You can always fill them in with red paint to match the saw.
I would have started with the insurance claim. With all of the other damage in the house, he's already covered the deductible.
I purchased a property with some farm equipment included in the sale. Part of the equipment is a Sawstop he had barely used. My heart broke when I found that it spent the winter in an unsheltered old garage completely rusted on top. Hope I have as much luck saving it as you did. I would honestly be thrilled if it gets even close to looking this good again.
Dude the thumbnail alone made me cry, hope everything works itself out brother been watching you for a while now and your humility and honesty has always been refreshing
I may have cried. thank you 🙂
To most of us (specially DIYers) who payed for those tools in whole or in installments those tools might be like our children. Seeing your tools get damaged in anyway hurts a little.
yeah it hurts. SawStop did NOT give me that saw.
I feel your pain man. When I first saw the damage it felt almost as bad as getting kicked in the groin….
I lived on a tropical island and ran a wood shop. Rust was always an issue just because of humidity on a regular basis but we had a typhoon come through once and damaged the cast iron on EVERYTHING. We sanded with 120 grit, then up the stages to 400, and then used paste wax to give a smooth finish so we could run wood smoothly across the surface. Everything went back to being operational and we just ensured the next time a typhoon came through to cover everything in plastic.
Similar thing happened to me on my Delta. I started sanding with 220 and worked it up to 4000 before switching to a polishing pad with polishing compound. Then finished with some carpenters wax and it was good as new
I feel your pain... my 3 week old f150 hybrid was rear-ended by a distracted driver (she was going about 40 mph faster than I when she hit me)... fortunately nobody was hurt, but my truck is still at the shop over a month later, and they still haven't been able to start the repairs... there is a good chance that the frame will need to be replaced... I hope I will get it back before this winter.
Oh wow. That’s the worst. Glad you’re ok.
I will say, I didn't know of that company offered kit, but did something very similar with WD-40 and maroon scotch bright pads on my first table saw.
I never got it all the way to a bright "new" cast iron color, but it did come back to an even darker grey, and worked fine for years.
For the worst areas, I used a gasket scraper that uses a spring steel card as a scraping edge. This got some rust off, as well as the paint stains that were left by some prior owner using it as a painting bench.
I did finish mine with BoeShield T-9 as a protective layer afterward.
All that said, great work there, and best wishes with your shop recovery.
It’s cast iron, it’s flat. Use a flat board with 100 grit automotive grade wet or dry sandpaper. Work your way in steps to 600 or 800 or even greater. WD-40 is a good lubricant. No need for anything fancy. If you are looking for accuracy, disassemble and have it surfaced by a machinist. This is standard practice on cast iron cylinder heads and blocks. Keep the surface oiled or use furniture polish. Much cheaper.
I'd sand it more aggressively until the stains come out. You can always sand it back w/finer grit to get back to a smoother finish/look.
Why bother?
@@bloho_design because it bothers the OP.
I have an AC failure in my shop that I am presently dealing with. I am in the deep south, near the Gulf Coast so heat and humidity is a major concern. I am so glad my table saw has an aluminum top. So far the other machines are handling it OK. I am keeping a coat of oil on them.
I have an old Craftsman table saw that I got in pieces and had to refurbish. It was in extremely rough shape. A friend gave it to me during Covid lockdown and it was more therapeutic than necessity to rebuild it. The top was in as bad of shape as yours, and since it didn't cost me anything I used sandpaper and WD-40. I started with 100 and really got most everything done with that. I went up to 800 grit wet & dry with WD and other than the fact that these tops weren't milled that great to begin with (lots of milling marks) it came out great! For about 6 months after I had a wood block with 800 grit on it and would just block it out before waxing it. Iknow you probably wont want to be as aggressive , but it worked out just fine for me
As it turns out, I bought almost the same SawStop used recently (5 hp 220v) but didn’t have room in my shop for it since I’m currently converting my garage into a shop. I carefully wrapped up the SawStop with tarps, tied it down and, sadly, had to leave it outside on a pallet.
The winds went wild and somehow blew the tarp off in a rainstorm and it rusted pretty quickly. I still don’t have room to work on it so I’ll have to do so when the shop is finished. Looks like I’ll be going through a similar process on mine before too long. I hope it comes out half as nice as yours!
Oh wow! Looking forward to seeing what you can do. I did find the sawstop sells the tops so you can replace them….for $800!!!
Also, your hammer reinvented thumbnail is one of my fav on UA-cam. Brilliant.
@@wittworks Nice! I’ll see how well I’m able to clean it up but it may come to that. Thanks for the video!
@@wittworks Glad to know I can by a new top if I need to. Mine is even more rusted than yours, I really don't know if I can save it but I'll definitely try.
When we restored our older delta saw we used razor blades to scrap the rust away, use almost no pressure holding the blade at a 45 degree. Lube the surface with wd40.
Hope your insurance company comes through for you dude 🤞
still ghosting me
@@wittworks well their HQ is right down the street from you. March in there and demand to speak to the CEO 😆
Insurance companies are not in the business of paying. It’s all champagne and roses when they’re selling you your policy. I hope you have a happy ending.
I used a wet dry sandpaper with WD-40 paint thinner to clean up used car wax for final cover turned out almost good as new It was 1000 grit
I have that wood extension table in storage if you need one.
Artificial white vinegar (acetic acid) is the same as rust removal sprays and you could use it to remove most of the rust by soaking and laying paper towels on the surfaces for 10 to 15 minutes before wiping down. It's also much cheaper when sold in larger containers for commercial kitchens (gallon or larger). Also useful for descaling glass containers or cleaning limescale from shower screens.
Cast iron surface appearance and precision flatness can be restored to better than new with a little elbow grease. Look up "lapping granite surface plate". You can use the wings on one another and then on the main table. It's hard to mess up and will be better than factory when you're done.
Commenting at the comment requested time. I purchased a 6" jointer that was rusted from an auction and , yes it took some time and some elbow grease, but I cleaned up quite nicely with just penetrating oil and work. Yes there is some staining in places but works just the same. So I say the saw will clean up and be perfectly usable (assuming the electrics are still good) but you may see some blemished that trigger you or other people. If your unhappy with the results I will gladly take it of your hands.
I've restored many old (decades) cast iron tables ... table saw, jointer, horizontal saw, band saws, etc .... and simply start with 80 grit pads. Seems to work fine for me and not much you can't get out. So, for whatever that's worth. Good luck!
I feel your pain. I brought my SawStop home last December. The top didn’t survive two weeks. I had the garage door up after a rain, and it evidently dropped down on the saw. Definitely not as bad as your situation, but my beautiful new table top has a black love mark now. I ordered Carbon Method immediately after. 😊
oh wow!
Vinegar cleans rust very well
I had a fire in my boat shop 6 years ago. Among the machines I lost was a cast-base 10” Delta tilty tablesaw. Now I’m starting to move into a new shop, and I wanted to set up a router table on my 12” Walker- Turner tablesaw. I began to think about what to use for the actual table, and I thought about that old saw. It had been sitting outside the whole time, and the pot metal quadrants had melted in the fire, I didn’t have much hope for it.
When I brought it into the shop though, a straight edge showed it to be un-warped, so I went after the surface with scrapers, then 3M pads. It cleaned up beautifully, actually a better surface than the old W-T saw it’s bolted to!
A fire, then 6 years in the elements, and now perfect - I don’t think your saw should be much of a problem.
Oh wow.
Oh, man. So sorry this happened to you. Glad you were able to restore it as well as you did. It looks great. Nice job! Good luck on the rest of it.
Well the best way for this . Me been a spray painter and worked on metal what you should do is sand with a sander p 100 p 180 p240 then with a scotch brite pad and a glove you get a liquid solution called dioxidene its phosgoric acid you go over it thoroughly and live it for 10 minute and repeat the procedure with the dioxidene. Then you neutralise it with in a bucked with water and methylated spirit you wipe on then quickly wipe off and the watch it shine but this type of method is for a experience person
You can rinse the Scotchbrite pad out with water, blow it out with compressed air and will clear out the rust so you can start over. T9 Rust remover and T9 Boeshield is best. I get sick when I see 1 speck of rust on my table saw. I know how you feel.
Don't know if it's been suggested but the Boeshield Rust Free is a rust miracle worker.
I bought a jet tablesaw off market place and the cast iron looked like that. I used sandpaper on my random orbital sander. started at 80 and worked my way all the way up to 400. the top is nice and smooth and no issues with it.
If the rust is that bad skip the 3m pads and start with real sand paper… wet sand it starting at about 600-800 grit, then hit it with 100-1200 grit, then switch to the 3m pads for final “buffing”… another note, he was cleaning the 3m pads using a piece of plywood… just clean them with water in a utility sink.
Same thing happened to me, same saw and everything, never got the stain out, but I put deep gouges in it with some pocket screws, so the stains don't bother me anymore😅
THROWING THE KREG JIG AWAY RIGHT NOW
When I first saw the thumbnail I thought, "wow that's an odd looking table saw", and then I started watching and I thought it wasn't that bad, it's only rust. But then I tried to put myself in your shoes, after buying a brand new table saw and that happening, and I would've been upset. That said, I've never owned a quality table saw, except for my grandpop's very old Sears Craftsman saw. And recently I just bought another vintage Sears (belt driven) table saw from a nice guy on Craigslist and it has a decent amount of rust on the top. Which is surprising since we live in New Mexico and metal can stay bare for years without rusting. Compared to growing up in Jersey and metal rusts UNDERNEATH painted surfaces lol.
So I'm sorry for your troubles but its given me hope and will help me get my table saw smooth.
I restore Vintage and Antique machinery. I have completed work for Private Owners, Corporations, National Museums and National & State Park Visitor Centers.
CAUTION: Using a soft "Red" pad is not recommended. It can ruin the plane (flatness) of the saw table.
I recommend you try using Flat (NEW) Carborundum sharpening stones of several grades with Isopar (odorless Kerosene) or Stove Fuel as the grinding Solvent.
Use the same action you would as if you were lapping mating metal surfaces to maintain the flatness of the tabletop.
You will be able to see this in the original grinding pattern from the manufacturer. As you remove material, the crowns of the pattern will be become obvious.
If you remove more from one area as opposed to another, the crowns will be wider (lower) in the areas where more material was removed.
All crowns should be the same width when finished. Indicating that you have maintained the original surface plane.
NOTE: WD-40 gets sticky and attracts dust & debris over time and can cause "Fisheyes" in final finishes!
I use the standard 100/240 Dual-Grit type stones to destroy rust on Cast Iron flat surfaces. You do not need to go crazy with Super-Fine grits - Read on to understand why.
NEVER focus too much on one area! If the surface is that bad take the tabletop sections to an automotive machine shop as others have said in the comments.
Have them remove as little as possible or risk weakening the sections or mismatching the ability to match planes upon reassembly.
As other contributors have mentioned... Do not worry about the "Staining"!
It adds character to your now unique saw table making it more identifiable should some low life grab it out of your shop. Want a perfect top - buy a new one!
Once you are down to the surface you desire, I highly recommend white paper towels & Isopropyl Alcohol to remove all the Swarf from restoring the surface.
After the pores have completely dried out (the alcohol has all evaporated) follow-up using a product named "Fluid Film". IT IS THE BEST corrosion inhibitor, PERIOD.
You can get it at LOWE'S. Less is more with this product. Insert the pipette (for more even dispersal) and spray a light pattern from 18-20" over the "Open-Pore" surface.
I have found that when you have applied as much as you believe to be the necessary amount - I have applied FOUR TIMES as much as is needed! Waste-Not!
Using your fingertips, spread/massage (smear in circular action) the Fluid-Film into the pores. Remove any pooling. (You don't need that much.) Let it sit flat overnight.
Fluid Film is Lanolin Based and continually spreads into pores and across surfaces on the molecular level. It is truly magical stuff! It even washes out of clothing easily!
Next day using an Isopropyl [dampened] towel (Paper or Cloth) remove as much of the Fluid-Film as you are able, leaving only the pores full of the corrosion inhibitor.
Take your time & wipe dry with isopropyl [dampened] towels, any leaching Fluid Film. That is any Fluid Film spreading out of the pores onto the surface to be waxed.
NOW - you apply several coats of quality Paste Wax furniture polish. Minwax is the best but is now hard to find. Allow the polish to dry completely between coats.
This is where the necessity for the Super-Fine abrasives is not essential - the application of the paste wax needs something to grab onto. Clean metal & a grit profile.
You are now finished restoring your rusted saw tables. The lumber material will GLIDE over the Wax Surface as though angels have laid their hands upon the wood!
Keep an eye on the condition of the wax treatment and reapply as necessary! This varies with Usage & Exposure.
Enjoy your saw table.
Best Regards,
R. Newcomb, MKCM, USCG Retired
I congratulate you on your patience. If that happened to me I would jump right to like 100 or 80 grit metal working paper and get down to bare metal. Your approach was obviously better.....you demonstrated great patience.
Put it this way you did a awesome job trying to restore the finish but as long as equipment performs as it should thats a blessing 🙌 .
You said you were surprised that in only a couple days this happened. I milled up some walnut (which I thought was dry) and set a couple pieces on my saw over night and came back to rust (not quite as bad as you had) that took hours to get off. Happens surprisingly fast.
Oh wow.
Oh man I’m sorry this happened to you and the family. It’s not just the saw that was damaged obviously, but I can see why this might have been the focal point of the damage caused to you. I feel like cleaning the top is a little bit therapeutic for you as well as just an attempt to salvage something. Prayers that you heal from this wound! 🙏
Hi 👋 WittWorks , I am so sorry to hear 👂 you got problems with water damage, back in the 1979/8 I had just moved my work shop to a farm, I was renting a old cowshed, I had had to put plastic sheeting as a roof. Space, as there were small holes in the roof where drips used to come through onto my tools and equipment., and used to suffer very badly and condensation,
The very kind farmer, purchased a very old Planer jointer from a auction sale , I believe the machine might have been outside for a long time, and they asked me was it worth getting when I said yes , they said that’s good cause it’s outside. I think they bought it more as scrap value than anything else., what is six weeks down the line, it looks like brand-new,, I was living in the UK at the time, the machine was made by a firm called Dominion, which I think was part of Watkin, which was up north, I contacted them about the table bed , told me if I could bring the tables up to there machine shop they could resurface it for me, so between landlords, son and myself, we stripped down the machine and took the tables to the place up north, where they resurfaced the beds of the tables , this cost me approximately £200 and it took them virtually a day, I’ve never seen a machine like this before they used to resurface the beds. All the tables it was huge, but after a few weeks work of repainting and doing some electrical work the jointer planer thickness, look like new,
Anyway, after explaining my problem, you might be able to find somebody that can resurface the tops of your tablesaw to bring it back, looking like new, , I have since found out that old cast iron is a lot better made than what the new stuff they use nowadays, there is a curing process for when they make cast-iron table beds, which I believe on very good stuff can take up to 6 months to a year to cure, depending on the size of it, and then the cast iron is there in machine it’s finished size and polished,
Good luck with the repairs and the renovation of your tools and machinery. I hope you can get some compensation from the insurance company. Hopefully see you back in the workshop soon., Phil from the moulin France,
I use rubbing compoundb on new steel to smooth it and remove stains, using a disc polish pad. For heavy stains Wet sand paper 180 or 220 wet a 8:10 nd dry with mineral spirits then 400 then 800 then 1000 then 1500. Rub down with concrete rust remover . ..
The reust remover works on other parts befor sanding too.
For really bad areas use phosphoric acid, "Ospho, or Naval jelly.
The fine w&d paper removes just tiny amounts, so no distortions worth concern.
"NAVY GELLY" WORS!!! IF YOU BRUSH IT ON WITH A THROW AWAY CHEAP BRUSH...LET IT SIT TILL IT BUBBLES AND DARKENS.... RINS IT OFF OR WIPE IT OFF....RECOMEND PRESURED WATER HOSE KNOZEL....THEN LIGHT SAND
PROBABLY A 20-30 MIN TO HOSE OFF TO RESURFACING PROSES GOOD LUCK
that pitting was gnarly. great job restoring it.
Yes, thanks
I'm in to the video about eight minutes, so please forgive me if you tried this eventually. How about using wet sandpaper for metal? Start with a four hundred grit and increase from there. It works on older model cars, but they're not made out of cast iron which is basically pot metal, so I don't know if I'm on to something, or not.
I really enjoy your videos. Thank you.
So sorry for you having to go through this! Hope you never have anything like this happen again. May the shop gods be with you!😢
I have a similar (ongoing) issue with my Sawstop in that my shop didn't have heat and is drafty as a barn (which is why we call it "the barn"). It's first year in residence I put a tarp over the saw hoping condensation wouldn't get to it but by spring it was a mess. I resurfaced it with a combination of PB Blaster an array of sandpaper grits, brown pads, and steel wool which got most of the rust out. Last fall I put a small space heater and two fans to circulate the air. I also got a magnetic cover for the table and monitored the temps with a remote thermometer and kept the barn just above freezing. It was costly in heating bills but it (mostly) worked and I had just a couple of small oxidation spots on the table this last spring. I am hoping to mostly finish the barn by end of next summer which include insulation and heating so I don't have to go through a spring resurfacing of the saw every year. I've been using paste wax and Boeshield to coat the table but am intrigued by the cabon coat.
So sorry this happened to you. I just reorganized my shop a couple weeks ago to avoid water pipes in my house. Had a slow drip from a pipe that ran just to the side of my cnc machine, if it was 6 inches to the left of where it lives would have been destroyed. Luckily I’m in an unfinished basement so I can see where everything runs.
My mom had a water leak while not home, and it traveled through furnace ducts to find its way to the basement. Surprisingly, the leak was over a garage which didn't have a basement under it, but the ducts went through the garage to the ceiling of the basement, which is how the basement got water damage. Three floors were damaged. $60,000 of damage, and 3 roll-off dumpsters.
I live in a ranch, and the only water hazard is a water heater in the garage, and it has a pan piped outside if it doesn't leak with a spray outside the pan. But, if a storm damaged my roof, that could also cause damage until I could get a blue tarp up.
@Wittworks: Have you tried ""Bar Keepers Friend" ?! It has been around forever. They have several different formulations, but the one that had best all-around performance for me, was the old-fashioned powder form.
My little needy project was a 55 year old Bridgeport Milling machine that had not been treated well (high-milage) and had been stored even poorer.
My project was not as brilliant orange as yours but was deeper in many places. "Bar Keepers Friend" brought my surfaces back pretty respectable. Near shiny matte finish. Certainly, far better than the oils you were using at the beginning of the video. You will need to rinse thoroughly and then coat with turtle wax or similar for long term protection.
I'll go back now and finish the rest of your video.
That is heartbreaking. You have my sympathy.
Most of the machines in my shop are old cast iron, often purchased in poor cosmetic condition. I bought a jointer that had been stored outdoors. It looked like your saw. Boeshield RustFree has been very good at removing the old rust staining from bare cast iron surfaces. It's fairly noxious to use but it works. Good ventilation is a must but you don't want a breeze blowing across the surface that you're cleaning. Your mechanical process combined with RustFree would very likely give you bright cast iron again. I'm located on the humid Gulf Coast so I treat all of my cast iron machines with Boeshield T-9 once they're clean. I spray it on, let it soak for 24 hours, wipe off the excess and let it completely dry. Allow another day for the T-9 to dry. After all of that the surfaces still get paste wax but rust doesn't develop once the machines are treated. I have a schedule of cleaning the cast iron with mineral spirits every two years and retreating from scratch so I'll never have to do heavy cleaning again.
I cover everything with the tool covers. I have a cold garage and large temperature swings...no rush problems. In your case, the water would have run off.
If you can salvage the saw, I say get some kind of design applied to the surface of the table. Like covering a scar with a tattoo kind of thing. Just a thought. maybe you can resurface, do some kind of tool black coating and then re-coat it and once you wax the top with some paste wax to get the friction back down, etc....
Lucky it took me over 9 min to figure out how to get to the comments on my phone (I usually watch UA-cam on my desktop or laptop) so as much as I can’t wait to see the next video I will add you to
My list of people that I will attempt to send some good vibes as a thank you for sharing your creativity and wit.
And HOLY WOW THATS AMAZING!!!!
Oh I feel this pain. I left pressure treated five-quarter deck boards laying across my table saw for about a month while I traveled, and, where they were in contact, same result. I've got the saw back to working order, but need to put some more time in to it.
I would do a cold blue on it and never worry about the appearance again...
I have used machinist stones and wd40 on cast iron tables of CNC machines. This way it prevents you from "digging a hole". While it doesnt get all of the staining it gets it clean quickly and leaves a smooth finish. I also got a bit of rust on my sawstop, not the extent of yours but that is what I used.
What happened to the video that descibed how the damage occurred?
So sorry that that happened. Glad you could salvage what you did.
Pro-tip folks... do not use the green Simple Green, and leave it on for more than a few seconds, because it leaves similar staining... ask me how I know. I need to get some of this reconditioning oil.
If you end up having to replace the arbor block with the microchip, I'd love a video. I had to do it, but I found an engineer to do it with me, and I didn't get to film it because he was moving so fast. It was a wild process, and the SS instructions suck. Best of luck if you have to do it... keep track of the parts and label them!
I’m hoping I don’t have to swap it out. But that water makes me nervous.
Evaporust is your friend. you may have to scrape it to remove the stains.
My shop partially caught on fire around a year ago. All of my power tools and some hand tools were a total loss, I understand how you feel 100%!!!
Our sawstop at work unfortunately experienced a lot of rust for similar reasons, we just used steel wool and WD-40. Staining is still really bad, but at least it’s mostly smooth.
I put Carbon Method on my Saw Stop when I bought it last June. I swear by that stuff. I live in hot and humid southeastern Alabama and my TS is still rust free. Apply it properly per the manufacturer’s instructions and it’ll serve you well.
That’s a bummer! I’ve used Naval Jelly to remove rust before. It works really good, and I think you can get it at Lowes.
You are now able to restore a vintage Delta or Powermatics! Welcome to the restoration club, you did an incredible job for such a horrible and unfortunate incident.
Thank you
I've done this countless time restoring old iron.
First thing to do is to stabilize the rust. Vinegar would be the best start.
Once it's all done, and this goes especially for new machines, do a maintenance of paste wax to protect the surface.
I bought my delta unisaw used in this condition and it’s been a champ ever since I cleaned it up.
this is a great advertisement for using paraffin and a buffer on your table saw regularly.
Thanks for the video!
Have a better week!
IF you have a local machine shop, find one with a Blanchard Grinder all done
I have a waterfront home in North Carolina. Rust is a constant battle on all my tools. With an air conditioned garage condensation forms immediately when ever I open the door. Wax helps very little and leaving WD40 on the surfaces makes it worse. I now keep all tools covered with ether a custom cover or just a towel laid over. CorrosionX works best but 30 weight works well. Before using I have to degrease and wax. Hand tools have to be kept in drawers or cabinets.
Boeshield T-9 and rust free have worked well for all rusty table tops I have dealt with. The rust free really gets rid of the rust, and the T-9 really protects the tabletop
Just saw this. You should chemically neutralize the rust with a thin layer of evaporust as the second to last last coat. Let it sit for ten to thirty minutes. On the very last cleaning, use the reconditioning oil to sand to desired level (ex: 400 up to 4000). Evaporust will neutralize rust in pours to preven further pitting. Oil puts a layer of protection.
I’ve had this happen. I used a wide chisel for the proud spots and steel wool to make it shine. My saw, however, is far from new.
Sand paper or emery paper , I've had that problem when I left my table saw down in my damp basement and it got very surface rusted and the sand paper on an orbital sander worked perfect, just start out with 120 and work your way up
So sorry, I had a similar issue and found vinegar and sandpaper (like you) took it back to original finish. I had water damage and one day walked into my shop (after some time off) and spotted a squirrel using my TS as a plate/cutting board for black walnuts! Side note I hope you pulled off your wings... you might find a bit of water found its way there.
happened to my (much cheaper) saw. unfortunately I suspect with my sanding out the top, I may have unleveled the surface. Or it unleveled itself and I happened to notice after. Just an ever so slight convex curve. perhaps because I went more aggressive at the front and back edge where the rust was worse. check to be sure youre still flat.
Wow just wow. Sorry that this happened to your house. I know its bad and we see its bad. But tools can be replaced. I am hoping that no irreplaceables like family memoirs and photos were damaged. We all know you and the tools will bounce back. Keep your head up.👽
My Craftsman contractor saw used to get leaked on constantly, WD-40, steel wool, and elbow grease usually brought it back. The table worked fine.
Painful, hope you get it sorted. Just been cleaning old water damaged tools, first thing I used was Evapo Rust heated to 60 degrees and used an ultrasonic cleaner and finshed with my sander and DA polisher got some brilliant results.
I left some tools in the solution for 48 hours which turned black but polished up lovely.
Might be worth experimenting on some cast iron sample?
Good luck anyway, hope you sort ot.
Had this happen before and Believe it or not I used 120 sandpaper( May want to wear a mask) but it worked perfect. Then I cleaned it and coated with paste wax.
This is heartbreaking! It is literally a nightmare in real life, I worked at our local ROCKLER and the AC dripped down on one of our floor model saw stops, same staining. Thankfully the electronics were good. also I didn’t sit for two days. Hoping that you’re able to get your saw replaced or at least back up and running.
Harbor freight has a surface conditioning tool that would bring your surface back to new. It would also help to grab a gallon of evaporust while youre there. Lay old towels on the saw top, soak them with evaporust and keep it wet for atleast 24 hours. Between those two, you'll be good as new.