Possibly a dumb question about table saw rust

[William Hodge]

+1

We have a tropical storm / hurricane heading our way (if the cone is accurate). So I just went down and sprayed all my big machines with CRC 3-36. Out of curiosity, I checked the temp and relative humidity with the meter that lives in the shop. It's rainy season here, but the readings are pretty normal. 75F and 63% relative humidity with the split AC set at 75F. Totally normal readings for this part of Florida indoors. Upstairs in the house its 72F with 57% humidity.

No way you could get humidity below 50% here in any reasonable manner. So you take care of your machines, spray them every time you think of it, and do your best. Some minor rust will occur. As Erik said, "All machines will rust".

Do you guys in the south air seal and insulate?

In Massachusetts we air seal the attic, and anywhere else air flows through the building envelope. After that, we do a blower door test to see how tight the building is. If it's tight, we insulate with cellulose to R 40 in the attic, and whatever we can in the walls. Air sealing makes all the difference for keeping the houses humid in the winter, and dry in the summer. There is no chimney effect from holes in the ceilings.

So, getting to 45% or 50% RH in my shop is not a problem, even when the humidity outside is 90% during the day. We just had a heat wave, and the trunks of trees were condensing water, because the ground cools the trunks. All the rocks in the woods were sweating.

[Mel Fulks]

Not all of the Bullfrog stuff has to be applied. It is drawn to steel.

[Bruce Mack]

Another Minnesotan here. My shop is in the basement and has similar non-controlled humidity. I was upset at initial discolorations and acquired scratches. I found that rust erasers and ultra-fine silicon carbide paper created a different kind of blemish. The cast iron surfaces remained smooth whatever I did or did not. Like you said, they are harmless.

[Alan Lightstone]

Do you guys in the south air seal and insulate?

In Massachusetts we air seal the attic, and anywhere else air flows through the building envelope. After that, we do a blower door test to see how tight the building is. If it's tight, we insulate with cellulose to R 40 in the attic, and whatever we can in the walls. Air sealing makes all the difference for keeping the houses humid in the winter, and dry in the summer. There is no chimney effect from holes in the ceilings.

So, getting to 45% or 50% RH in my shop is not a problem, even when the humidity outside is 90% during the day. We just had a heat wave, and the trunks of trees were condensing water, because the ground cools the trunks. All the rocks in the woods were sweating.

Actually, very tight shop, and the wall to the garage is extremely well insulated (double 5/8" drywall, Green Glue in between, then R30 Rockwool, followed by double 5/8" drywall with Green Glue in between. Not sure many people have that much insulation in a wall, FWIW), but the largest wall area is cinderblock with stucco on the outside. Unfortunately, not insulated, but it is what it is. It's quite the luxury to have a shop this large down here in a house. Never seen one, actually.

I can dial in any temperature I want in the workshop. To freezing cold. But it's still a large shop and extremely humid down here.

Just checked my house RH. It's up to 72%. Ah, the storms coming....

[Steve Morrissey]

Thanks for the replies folks. Lots of good takeaways for me!

1. It seems these imperfections are a fact of life, and that the marks I highlighted in the picture aren’t anything to stress over and are alright if I don’t sand them out. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that was my read on these replies

2. Thanks for the pointers on various things used on the surfaces. I hadn’t heard of Boeshield before, looks interesting. I ordered some up.

3. I also like the suggestion to cover the tool tops with plywood or magnetic surface. I saw a video of a guy who does the magnetic cover on his bandsaw and it looks pretty straight forward, will be giving that a whirl because….:

4. While I like the suggestion of removing humidity from my garage, I’m not totally sure of the practicality. I have a dehumidifier, so I’ll be trying to run it in my 3rd garage stall that contains my shop, but I’m not yet certain it’ll be effective in the 3 car garage. Especially since I like to work with the garage door open, and with kids, the garage door is open a lot from their comings and going’s. At any rate, I’m down to try it, and can see it helping especially over night.

So yeah, thanks folks, this was super informative. It was a bit disheartening to sand and sand and sand and not see some of the tiny rust dots go away, but it seems that stems more from my lack of understanding on how pristine/rust free tool surfaces need to remain at all times.

Cheers!

Steve

[lowell holmes]

I coat my table saw with Johnson floor wax and it does not rust. I live in a moist climate. Sand the rust of with 120 sand paper and then coat the top with wax.