I dreamed of owning a Delta Unisaw long before I ever cut the first piece of wood. You can read the story of how I became involved in woodworking in my article entitled Setting Up Shop.

It was a really big deal for me to get one, so I plan to take good care of it. There are several important aspects to saw care, but today I want to talk about maintaining the cast iron top. This applies to band-saws, drill-presses, and jointers as well.

Good maintenance of the cast iron surfaces of these tools makes them easier to use, and safer. The reason for both benefits is the same; the wood slides more freely across a well-maintained top. Free movement without unexpected hitches helps minimize the chance for kickback. Another benefit is the great feeling you get from working with equipment that looks like new. I hate to see rust on my cast iron–does that make me anal-retentive?

When I first got the table saw, I was concerned about how to keep the top rust free. It was in a location where I had to park my tractor with the snowplow attached during the winter. Moisture was a certainty. I read a lot about the topic. Some craftsmen use spray-on products, others endlessly discuss the merits and drawbacks of silicone lubricants. I fall passionately into the “don’t ever use silicone” camp. It leads to finish problems such as orange peeling, which makes dimples or pock marks in your finish.

After thinking a long time about the various ways to maintain my table saw top, I settled upon the use of paste wax. It seems easiest, and it’s very inexpensive. Here is what I do.

First, lower the blade completely and clear everything from the top of your saw. Don’t even think about trying to make it seem like I am the only one who puts things on his saw top. Maybe it’s not on the iron, but you can bet the extension wing has stuff all over it (at least some of the time) in my shop.

Next remove the fence, or at least make sure it is completely out of the way.  While you’re removing things, take out the faceplate and remove your guard, splitter, or riving knife.

Now find your random-orbit sander (ROS) and a 220-grit disc. You can use 150 or anything finer, but I think 220 is a good balance between speed and aggressiveness. Anything more course would feel uncomfortable to me because I don’t like obvious scratches in the top and I sure don’t want to ruin the flatness. Green Scotch-brite pads also work well. These pads are made in round versions to fit a ROS, and in rectangular form for hand use. In practice, you can use any of them with the ROS because the hook-and-loop fasteners on the sander grab the pads very nicely.

Turn on the sander and go to town. If you started with a top that is already darkened by old rust, you might try a courser abrasive, and I suppose it may be impractical to get the top back into like-new condition. Even so, you should find the condition is greatly improved, along with the usability.

My Table Saw Top after Sanding with 220-grit

This is My Bandsaw Top After Sanding

The tops look pretty nice, and it is tempting to go no further.  That would be a big mistake.  The cast iron is at great risk now because you have cleaned off everything that might have been protecting it from rust.  Take it from me.  Cast iron can rust very rapidly.  I have actually watched my saw top rust!

When we first moved to this location I had a need to bring some planks into the shop through one of the big ten-foot overhead doors.  I was in a hurry because it was raining hard and I didn’t want the to be soaked.  What I failed to think about was the fact that it was very cold in the shop and the wet air outside was about 20 degrees warmer than everything inside the shop.  Condensation was immediate and severe.  You may have seen this effect on a cold concrete floor at one time or another.  While I stood there, the cast iron surfaces glazed over with rust.  I tried to dry it with a towel, but all I did was make crazy patterns in the rust.  It was heartbreaking.  Fortunately it turned out not to be too difficult to fix.  It was this experience, however that led me to used the ROS for sanding rather than doing it manually.

The next step is to apply the wax.  One caveat is in order here.  Some wax products have ingredients like silicone in them.  Car waxes often fall into this category.  What you want is old-style floor wax such as Johnson’s Past wax, which is what I use.

Paste Wax Without Silicone or Other Additives is a Must

Find a clean cotton cloth.  I use old tee shirts for this.  Form a bunch like a kind of pad and charge it with wax by rubbing it around in the wax container.  Apply it liberally to the cast iron and your extension wings.  (Note that you can click on these pictures to see them larger.)

Liberal Wax Application

Let the wax sit a while.  Once the wax has begun to dry, use a clean cotton cloth to buff it out.  You can use the same tee shirt you used for application as long as you fold it in such a way as to prevent more wax from being applied.  I also find that I re-fold the tee a few times as I am buffing because it gets gummed up with wax and using a fresh spot works better for buffing.

Here’s the finished surface.

Good as New!

Below are links to help you find the products I use.  It helps me when you begin your online shopping here.

Larry