SB lathe in salt water

S

sparkman

Plastic

Joined

Mar 6, 2008

Location

milford ct usa

• Nov 5, 2012

• #1

Hey folks i was given a 9 inch sb lathe that was in a salt water flood, the problem is i don't have time to give it a lot of
attention right now. Is there something i could coat it with to slow down the salt water corrosion till i can get back to it?

 

T

traditional-tools

Diamond

Joined

Aug 10, 2007

Location

West Coast

• Nov 5, 2012

• #2

sparkman said:

Hey folks i was given a 9 inch sb lathe that was in a salt water flood, the problem is i don't have time to give it a lot of
attention right now. Is there something i could coat it with to slow down the salt water corrosion till i can get back to it?

Click to expand...

The only real way is to take the machine apart and/or immerse it in something that will stop the rust.

You could spray the lathe with Rust Free by Boeshield and it will be able to stop the rust on exposed areas. But here's the rub...when a machine in immersed in salt water, it has gone into every nook and cranny of that lathe. Even if you get the exposed rust off, there will be a massive amount of corrosion inside and that will continue, possibly even spreading to external areas that have been coated with Rust Free or similar product.

You might consider taking the components off the lathe, a 9" is not that difficult, and soak them in something. You will need to clean the entire lathe, IMO.

Cheers,
Alan

 

K

kitno455

Titanium

Joined

Jul 9, 2010

Location

Virginia, USA

• Nov 5, 2012

• #3

Pressure washer, then spray it off with air, then hose it down with oil. You really need to get the salt off.

allan

 

S

SteveM

Diamond

Joined

Sep 22, 2005

Location

Wisconsin

• Nov 5, 2012

• #4

Running fresh water through it to get the salt out first. Allan's suggestion of a pressure washer is good, as is drying with compressed air.

About the only thing that WD40 is good for is displacing water (WD actually stands for Water Displacer) , so you could douse it in that. Get a gallon and use liberally. LPS makes a water displacing product too.

Boeshield is great stuff, but I'm not sure about the water displacing qualities and it may be too thick to get into the nooks and crannies.

Steve

 

gunsmithing1

Cast Iron

Joined

Oct 22, 2010

Location

Central Valley, CA

• Nov 5, 2012

• #5

Washer with water then alcohol let dry a few hours
Use 90 wt or hight oil and grease let stand for weeks or even better months check ever week to see it needs more oil/grease . I have use this on other tools works the best of any

Dave

 

A

abarnsley

Titanium

Joined

Mar 24, 2005

Location

Palmer, Alaska

• Nov 6, 2012

• #6

Pull the spindle out of headstock NOW... Should take less than 10 minutes..

Dunk headstock and spindle in oil (after a good wash as described above)..

Everything else on the lathe is low tolerance/ easy to fix/replace.

Plain bearings need to be smooth to work right.....

 

bradjacob

Titanium

Joined

Nov 18, 2008

Location

Easton, PA

• Nov 6, 2012

• #7

abarnsley said:

Pull the spindle out of headstock NOW... Should take less than 10 minutes..

Dunk headstock and spindle in oil (after a good wash as described above)..

Everything else on the lathe is low tolerance/ easy to fix/replace.

Plain bearings need to be smooth to work right.....

Click to expand...

I second that.

 

I

iwananew10K

Diamond

Joined

Sep 12, 2010

Location

moscow,ohio

• Nov 6, 2012

• #8

it`s just too easy to take a 9" apart not to do it.
break it down to the major components, hose it off, and soak it in oil.

absolutely pull the spindle if you want to save it. don`t forget the tailstock spindle.

 

S

sparkman

Plastic

Joined

Mar 6, 2008

Location

milford ct usa

• Nov 6, 2012

• #9

Thank you everyone, started tear down tonight with the time i had, and will keep going at it
with the free time i have.

 

I

iwananew10K

Diamond

Joined

Sep 12, 2010

Location

moscow,ohio

• Nov 6, 2012

• #10

just a thought.
maybe pay particular attention anywhere there are wicks- they lead to polished shafts and bearings.

some may even advocate pulling out all the wicks entirely??

 

N

nel2lar

Aluminum

Joined

Mar 19, 2012

Location

North Central Florida, USA

• Nov 6, 2012

• #11

I would say the better way is, if you do not break it down, Clean the exterior of the lathe and maybe wash with a light soap. Rinse, blow dry and use a good penetrating oil like P B Breaker. It will get into all the spots that has water, salt and what ever you cleaned it with. and push out the water. I would use about three can large cans of P B Breaker.
Nelson Collar