I am a little late to this, and posted a message like this to a similar thread somewhere.
When I purchased my Unisaw in 1977 about the only place you got them was from a commercial supply house that sold machinery of all types. I purchased a 14” band saw at the same time. The delivery truck pulls up, two big guys get out and carry the saws into the basement, set them up, show me how everything worked. Out of a small box they hand me an eraser block for a caulk black board and a container of talcum powder. As best I recall I was told that to minimize chance of rust, to put the talc on the cast iron tables once a week and rub it in with the eraser for two months. They said the idea was to load up the cast iron. Then apply once every 4 - 6 months. They explained not to use wax because it would transfer to the wood and make finishing difficult. Several years later, same guys delivered my Powermatic planer and jointer, and again had a container of talc with them.
That was 40+ years ago and the tabletops are in great shape. For about 20 years, those tables were in a basement that was very damp all the time even with a dehumidifier was running all the time mildew would appear on my wood supply. Never had any rust.
Guess this is old school.
Bob
When I purchased my Unisaw in 1977 about the only place you got them was from a commercial supply house that sold machinery of all types. I purchased a 14” band saw at the same time. The delivery truck pulls up, two big guys get out and carry the saws into the basement, set them up, show me how everything worked. Out of a small box they hand me an eraser block for a caulk black board and a container of talcum powder. As best I recall I was told that to minimize chance of rust, to put the talc on the cast iron tables once a week and rub it in with the eraser for two months. They said the idea was to load up the cast iron. Then apply once every 4 - 6 months. They explained not to use wax because it would transfer to the wood and make finishing difficult. Several years later, same guys delivered my Powermatic planer and jointer, and again had a container of talc with them.
That was 40+ years ago and the tabletops are in great shape. For about 20 years, those tables were in a basement that was very damp all the time even with a dehumidifier was running all the time mildew would appear on my wood supply. Never had any rust.
Guess this is old school.
Bob
