new/used tool tune-ups

[Jay Cowan]

Greetings all. I, like many here, have purchased many tools in the last couple of months. Of course my garage is uninhabitable in the winter and I had a baby so I have not had a chance to get my shop up and going properly yet.

Now that spring is in the air, I am starting to unpack boxes and get everything setup. My question is essentially this:

What are the best-practices/recommendations for setting up my tools. I already tuned up my new table saw, but now I have the following:

Ridgid Jointer (new)
Ridgid Planer (TP1300 used)
Ridgid Drill Press (new)
Delta Band Saw (used)

Although I have used all of the tool types above, I have only ever owned a drill press.

So now that I have them unpacked, what steps do I need to take to get the most out of them? What is the best way to tune them, things to look for, 'gotchas', rust-proofing, treating the table surfaces, etc?

So what advice does everybody have?

Thanks in advance,

j

[Joseph Tarantino]

get a dial gauge,an igaging angle cube and a good tri square. reagarding the belta BS, get a new blade (i don't care what is on htere now, if it's not new, change it) from iturra design (no website...just google iturra design for their phone number). lou iturra can really weld band saw blades and nothing affects the performance of a band saw like its blade. and lou has probably forgotten more than you and i will ever know about delta 14" BSs. he is a great resoure for getting your saw functioning properly.

you'll love the jointer, just check the table alignment with a good straight edge. the planer tables should be slightly higher at their ends than where they meet the planer platten. some use a dime under the straight edge at the outside edge to adjust the outfeed tables to help avoid snipe. HTH.

[Don Jarvie]

Get all the manuals out and follow the set-ups in them. That should get the tools in good working order.

[Jay Cowan]

Thanks for the replies. I have been going through the manuals the last few days so that has helped somewhat.

I remember reading that there are products that you can use on the cast iron surfaces to help with rust. I also read that some people use car wax.

Does anybody have any advice on that aspect? Any products other than WD40? It gets pretty humid here in the summer.

[Greg Portland]

People will tell you that you need fancy setup jigs, dial gauges, and other tools. A screw through a piece of wood works as a feeler gauge and will tell you if your tool needs attention. If you want to get fancy, get a set of feeler gauges from a local auto parts store. That will tell you how many thousandths you are off from true. A 3' straight edge (or level) is useful for leveling jointer tables and TS outfeeds.

WD40 is NOT a great rust preventative. Look for a product called Boeshield T-9... IMO that works the best.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Most use Johnstons paste wax or Renaissance wax. Don't use car wax. Boeshield works great, but it does leave a sticky film. I use that and Ren wax or Johnstons since it's MUCH cheaper than Ren wax. I use the Ren wax on wood buffing.

I'd not use anyting that has oil or grease. Use a dry lube, moly or teflon. Oil/grease attracts sawdust. Silicone dry lubes can affect finishing.