Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Cleaning Ways
Gary Bills in NC
>I've been turning a lot of white oak lately and the ways (and my hands)get covered with black stuff that is very hard to get off. I can sand it off the top suface of the ways but it is hard to get off the underside of the ways and the disk under the banjo and tailstock, etc. Anybody know what will cut this stuff? I've tried several solvents with no luck.
Rust.
steve antonucci
>In a word.
The tannins in the wet white oak will react with the ways, tooling, and anything else in the way. I have turned white oak in the past, and I steel wool the ways to get it up, but they still don't shine.
Steve
Lemon Juice
Lyn J. Mangiameli
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Re: Cleaning Ways
Larry G.
>David Ellsworth (in a demo here) suggested that keeping the ways slightly "rough" will prevent tailstock creep. He advised against lubricating them.
Larry