Equipment Maintenance

[Rick Thom]

I am noticing the screw mechanisms for adjusting the blade on my table saw are getting noisy and harder to turn. I believe they need to be lubricated periodically. Normally I would just get out the grease gun and give them a few shots but I thought that since it's in such a dusty environment some may have found other solutions/ products that work better. I don't recall that even when new there was much if any grease on the threads.
Do you periodically lubricate these mechanisms, and if so, what products are you using?

[Norman Hitt]

I am noticing the screw mechanisms for adjusting the blade on my table saw are getting noisy and harder to turn. I believe they need to be lubricated periodically. Normally I would just get out the grease gun and give them a few shots but I thought that since it's in such a dusty environment some may have found other solutions/ products that work better. I don't recall that even when new there was much if any grease on the threads.
Do you periodically lubricate these mechanisms, and if so, what products are you using?

I've used numerous lubricants over the years, but even with the High Tech Greasless lubricants (that are touted to not collect dust), the most consistantly reliable thing I've used, (and keep going back to), is Johnson's Paste wax. Just pack some in the gear slots and on the jackscrew and run it back and forth a few times resmearing it into the gears two or three times, then wipe offr the excess, and you're good to go. I redo mine every few months, and it keeps everything working smoothly. You will also need to lube the arbor's Bevel cradles the same way.

[Tyler Howell]

Dry lude with no silicon. Spray on teflon works well for me.

[tod evans]

rick, i slather everything with wax. .02 tod

[Jim Becker]

Blow 'em out with air and then use the dry lube mentioned. Even with my limited use, I blow out the mechanism every few months to keep things working smoothly.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I have struggled with the run dry / wax / dry lube / silicone / grease question and in the end went with red grease and a gun. You can safely drill and tap for a grease fitting anywhere there is room in the parts to accept the fitting and not suffer structural compromise from the removal of metal.


REASONS:

First off: Some wear points and gear boxes were not meant by the engineers who designed them to have much by way of lubrication if any at all. You can tell which they are by looking at them. Did the factory pack 'em with grease? Are the boxes sealed? If the gears are open & are cast-on-cast or cast-on-bronze then it is likely the engineers contemplated the set up as self lubricating and wanted no lube. Sadly, No one pairs Gear materials for self lubricating applications any more preferring instead shaft seals.


Run Dry:
That's what I did for my machine tool measuring instruments because the smallest bits of dust could ruin them or knock off the calibration. I think it's overkill and the wrong choice for machine tools used in wood working as they are heavier and have more profound wear points from the weight and stress.

Wax: I believe that wax will attract and hold the small dust particles that actually will wear away the metal trapping int in a nice entrained lapping compound. Exceptions to this may be Carnauba wax and the like but I don't have pure carnauba and I'm not altogether sure that it'd really be the exception anyway. Clearly wax will not attract or retain the large dust particles and chips however those aren't small enough to become trapped in the screws nor small enough to work past bearing seals and into gear boxes. In a gear box wax is going to get hot and flow. In that state it will stick to everything as surely as will grease. If soo then, the only question is will it lubricate as well?


Dry lube: I never convinced myself that the stuff will stay or flow where it's needed when it's needed and certainly not in any quantity sufficient to do what I put it there to do.

Silicones: Same questions as dry lube and I have never satisfied myself that silicone isn't iteslf an abrasive. Besides it messes with finishes.

Grease:
It's hard to fault a good grease. The technology is old and well proven. So then what about greases ability to stick to everything?? Well the tiny dust particles that will wear out my screws and nuts and gears are going to have to be flushed out with frequent greasing with the gun. Once a day isn't too often once a week isn't too little. And whether I'm using wax or grease if I am very, very concerned about small particulate matter I'll still have to break all the parts down once a year incpect the seals, clean everyting in a solvent lube, and re-assemble.
(No I will not do that - not unless things sieze up)

I like grease better than wax as I am more sure that it's going to do it's job, be where I want it, and I am quite sure that wax isn't nearly as good as grease at lubricating.

[Jesse Cloud]

Sounds like things are a little gummed up down there. Blow it out with compressed air and/or clean it with an old toothbrush or a brass brush. Apply some inexpensive paste wax (save the briwax for furniture) and run it up and down a few times.

[Brent Smith]

I agree with Jesse about a good hands on cleaning. I use graphite as a lube on my saw. Sawdust doesn't adhere to it and it's a lot less messy than grease or wax. The drawback (and there's always one) is that you have to do it a bit more often.

Brent

[Rick Thom]

Thanks for the tips. I gave it a good coat of wax and that seems to help. The gears seem to be a quite tight fit and I expect without some form of periodic lubrication, they will wear.