Menu
What's new

The Farm Shop

Didn't get the final clean-up pic, it did clean up a little better than the last pic, but called it good and gave it a couple of coats of wax. My dad always kept a sheet of luan on top of his when it wasn't in use. It kept drips from getting on his top and claimed that any condensation on the metal was sucked up by the luan. I might start doing the same as the garage doors do get some condensation on them and drip down when opened.

I'll work on getting the fastener/hardware cabinets, drill press, and compressor moved over this weekend now that some of the walls are covered.
 
Darren Wright said:
Didn't get the final clean-up pic, it did clean up a little better than the last pic, but called it good and gave it a couple of coats of wax. My dad always kept a sheet of luan on top of his when it wasn't in use. It kept drips from getting on his top and claimed that any condensation on the metal was sucked up by the luan. I might start doing the same as the garage doors do get some condensation on them and drip down when opened.

I'll work on getting the fastener/hardware cabinets, drill press, and compressor moved over this weekend now that some of the walls are covered.
Click to expand...
I, for one, am amazed at how much you are getting done! Huge project.
 
Darren Wright said:
My dad always kept a sheet of luan on top of his when it wasn't in use. It kept drips from getting on his top and claimed that any condensation on the metal was sucked up by the luan
Click to expand...
I always kept a sheet of thick cardboard on mine when it was in the garage (he sort of cardboard that big appliances are shipped in). I could work on top of the cardboard, and it also kept the saw top clean and rust free. I also kept my saw top rubbed with a plain white candle (paraffin). Over twenty years and no issues with rust at all.
 
John Bartley said:
I always kept a sheet of thick cardboard on mine when it was in the garage (he sort of cardboard that big appliances are shipped in). I could work on top of the cardboard, and it also kept the saw top clean and rust free. I also kept my saw top rubbed with a plain white candle (paraffin). Over twenty years and no issues with rust at all.
Click to expand...
Another member of the cardboard club here. :thumb:
 
Car wax is NOT what you should be using. Read the contents of every wax before using it.

The silicone in car wax will cause all kinds of problems when it gets on your wood projects. Finishes and glue will not bond to the wood wherever there is any silicone on the wood. Fisheyes in the finish are the first visible indication of silicone contamination. I banned everything containing silicone from my shop almost 50 years ago because of this, and I burned up a lot of good wood that I had in the shop at the time. My car waxes and anything else containing silicone are now stored in my garage, about 200' away from my woodshop. Johnson's Paste Wax is what I have been using and I had bought a new can of it just before it was no longer on the store shelves (lucky me). The old can that I had bought about 30 years ago still has some left in it, so between what's left in the old one and the new one, I shouldn't ever need any more. What I have should last me longer than I'll be making sawdust. I'm 82 now. I've never had problems with the Johnson's Paste Wax getting on my projects and causing any finishing problems for me, so it's all that I'll use now.

There are other brands of paste wax that are similar in composition to the Johnson's Paste Wax. Butchers Wax is one of them. I think one made by Minwax might be OK too, but I haven't tried it. All are getting expensive, but buying a can is almost like buying a lifetime supply of it. For the applicator, I use about 1/2 of a washcloth, and leave it in the can so it stays moist, full of wax, and ready to use the next time. I wipe it on, let it dry to a haze, and then buff it off, usually with another clean wash cloth. The first time you should repeat this process, to fill the pores of the cast iron with wax. It will feel smoother with each use. In use on the tool surfaces it will wear off and when my project parts don't seem to slide easily I'll re-wax the surfaces again.

My scroll saw table get's waxed every time just before I begin using it. The table saw, maybe once a week. Others like drill presses, sanders, etc. usually get waxed when I think of it and whenever I've got the can of wax out to put on one of the other tools and realize that I haven't waxed these in a while. When new wax is applied, it softens and mixes with any wax still on the surface, so I've never had problems with too much wax. For the gears and ways of my table saw I apply this same wax, but thick, using an old toothbrush as the applicator, and I leave it thick. The wax stays in place well and it's surfaces dry to a crust, but stays soft inside, so it doesn't collect sawdust like petroleum lubricants do. Another problem solved by using Johnson's Paste Wax or similar.

Charley
 
Butchers is pretty much all microcrystalline like renaissance wax. It works well for a lot of stuff and is reasonably priced... as these things go...

Trewax and Brixwax more like Johnsons. Trewax has a touch higher carnuba content and less harsher solvents so it doesn't strip patina off of brass like some of the others do (probably doesn't matter here but useful to know).

Another trick for pore filling on old cast iron tops is to rub the surface down with talc first and then put a coat or two on top.
 
It's been up in the 80's the past few days outside. The shop area, without any heat or AC running has stayed in the low to mid 70's inside. I have two servers running under my desk, which feels like a space heater running under there. I've been keeping a small fan on the floor blowing cooler air up between me and them to stay cool. By the end of the day my office is reaching about 80, but the shop is still in the mid 70's, so the office "door" (curtain) stays open.

Anyway, it's time to start looking at mini splits for the office, and maybe one for our attic for my wife's office. I've noticed that the R32 refrigerant units seem to run a bit cheaper and seems to be the new type that is being used. I also noted that most R32 units seem to have a minimum heating temp of 5F, where the Pioneer units I bought for the guest cabin have a minimum heating temp of -13F. The pioneer units are running 410a refrigerant. I'm not sure if it's the refrigerant or the design of the units that make the Pioneer heat at lower temps.

This winter we had a low in the negatives for less than a week and maybe below 10F for a week, which is typical, but I'm not sure it's worth the extra cost for the the Pioneer units (about $200 more). I could just run the electric heater on those really cold days if need be too.

I might just be thinking out loud here, it just seems like the way the shop is maintaining temps the lesser expensive (but well rated) unit would work, for my office at least.
 
Darren Wright said:
I might just be thinking out loud here, it just seems like the way the shop is maintaining temps the lesser expensive (but well rated) unit would work, for my office at least.
Click to expand...
If you don't mind me thinking out loud with you .....

Have you thought about doing a ground loop (say 5-7 feet down) with a few hundred feet of pex, then run it thru a radiator or two with fans behind them? If your ground temps are suitable you may not need to go the "compressor/evaporator/$k" route.

Just an idea .....
 
John Bartley said:
If you don't mind me thinking out loud with you .....

Have you thought about doing a ground loop (say 5-7 feet down) with a few hundred feet of pex, then run it thru a radiator or two with fans behind them? If your ground temps are suitable you may not need to go the "compressor/evaporator/$k" route.

Just an idea .....
Click to expand...
We do have a spring that runs year round and comes in at 55*F and I was considering doing a hydronic coil/fan for the outdoor boiler for auxiliary heating. I could just pump the spring water over through it as easily. I'm still looking at having to add the mini-split units though due to the humidity here throughout parts of the year, but certainly could reduce their frequency of run time and load. I'd have to put in some service ports to de-scale the coils from time to time as the water is pretty hard here.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top