Recurring rust on bandsaw table

[sky]

I came to be the owner of a bandsaw with the cast iron table. I cleaned the table up and waxed it - - it looked great. A little while later (a month maybe) the rust was back. So I cleaned and waxed it again. Again, before long the rust was back. What's up with this recurring rust? I would expect the wax to protect it longer than a month or two. The environment is slightly humid (basement) but not terribly so.

[wa2crk]

There may be some residual rust in the cast iron. Cast iron is notoriously porous and can retain moisture for a long time. Try baking it with a heat lamp for a while to drive out the moisture and then re-wax.
Bill V
This assumes that you are not rubbing the wax off with the work you are doing

[JPG]

Cast tron is porous and will soak up the wax and solvent with a single application.

I would warm it up to drive any moisture out as suggested above, then wax it profusely while warm and DO NOT buff. Whit a day and reapply wax. DO NOT buff until the solvent evaporates(over night will do).

See if that helps longevity.

Also I would wax/buff lightly after each use session.

You ARE using 'Original Johnson's Paste Floor wax'?

Realize buffing is removing wax.

[rlkeeney]

I purchased my cast iron table bandsaw in 1981. It was stored in my garage in NC about 2 miles from the Atlantic ocean. I move to Florida where I had no garage. I kept all my woodworking tools in a metal storage building and worked outside about 300 yards from the Gulf of Mexico. Humid all the time. I moved again. Tallahassee FL was the next stop. It lives in the garage here. Humidity is worse than in the other two places. We start at 99% most mornings and rarely go below 50%. I don't have rust on my bandsaw table and never have. All I do is blow the dust off and wipe it down with Johnsons Paste Wax when I am done. I do the same for my other cast iron tables.

[rcplaneguy]

Also NC here. Shopsmith in humid garage. Agreed paste wax helps, but after a few months cast iron tables and steel way tubes would have early oxidation. My solution? Dehumidifier set to 55%. That along with JPW totally stopped the issue.

[garys]

If you live in a humid climate, rust is part of the game. If you live in a dry climate, you likely won't have to deal with rust on a Shopsmith as long as you keep it indoors.
Avoiding rust in a humid climate near any big body of water is like avoiding snow in the north. You aren't going to win that battle.