polish/wax table tube receivers

[tfrayne]

I have been working on cleaning/waxing/lubricating my 1998 Mk V. I think I've got the way tubes and all the table tubes good but I'm having trouble getting to the inside of the receiver on the headrest and carriage.

I'm reluctant to use something really abrasive and thus far I have been able to attach a piece of fine steel wool to a 1/4" spade bit on a cordless drill motor. The steel wool gets tangled in the spade bit and spins inside the cylinder but there is no real pressure to do any polishing. I haven't been successful in finding a drill attachment that will get in that space, provide a little outward pressure and a light abrasive.

I did try a small fine wire-wheel but it was a bit too wide in diameter to fit inside. I saw a YT video but I cannot find it now where someone used some sort of automotive tool for cleaning brake cylinders. I looked at that but it seemed pricey, possibly to wide and probably too abrasive.

I'm looking for suggestions, or is this whole idea overkill?

[edma194]

Don't know what you are after. I wrap a piece of very fine grit paper, 400 or higher, around a dowel and just give it a few go rounds. All that's needed is to clean it.

[SteveMaryland]

I have had good results using blue Scotchbrite. It is the least abrasive of the Scotchbrite materials. The green Scotchbrite is more abrasive so I use it sparingly.

Also, a cylindrical brass-wire brush works very well for cleaning up large bores.

[tfrayne]

Ed, that may be what I’m looking for. Sounds like it just needs to be clean, which it is. No need to polish like the way tubes?

[DLB]

I have been working on cleaning/waxing/lubricating my 1998 Mk V. I think I've got the way tubes and all the table tubes good but I'm having trouble getting to the inside of the receiver on the headrest and carriage.

I'm reluctant to use something really abrasive and thus far I have been able to attach a piece of fine steel wool to a 1/4" spade bit on a cordless drill motor. The steel wool gets tangled in the spade bit and spins inside the cylinder but there is no real pressure to do any polishing. I haven't been successful in finding a drill attachment that will get in that space, provide a little outward pressure and a light abrasive.

I did try a small fine wire-wheel but it was a bit too wide in diameter to fit inside. I saw a YT video but I cannot find it now where someone used some sort of automotive tool for cleaning brake cylinders. I looked at that but it seemed pricey, possibly to wide and probably too abrasive.

I'm looking for suggestions, or is this whole idea overkill?

As good as your machine looks, I would do wax only first and see how it works. I would avoid abrasive unless needed. Some of the tubes are plated, so minimum abrasive to get the job done will give longest life. Getting inside some of the bores for wax on/off is tight, but worth it. Headrest way tube holes: only contact areas are near the ends, this should be easy with the headstock off the machine. Carriage and accessory table mount holes are a little harder, but if you wax the bores from both sides you should get good coverage. Hardest bore for me is the quill, even though it is a little bigger. It is just hard to reach the whole bearing surface.

- David

[tfrayne]

I guess I will leave well enough alone. It’s easy to get wrapped around the axle when trying to make something “more betterer.”

[Hobbyman2]

wrap a rag with wax on a dowel and then use a clean one on the dowel to clean it off , I try not to remove any metal with abrasives .

[ShoptimusPrime]

I'd advise against using a cylinder hone which you were describing. They can take off material from the cast aluminium faster than you can shake a stick. Not so much so on a hardened steel cylinder sleeve. I'd also not recommend using a metal shaft or metal brush of any kind to clean the inside the aluminum castings. I've found that most of the wire wheels labeled as "brass" wire wheels are actually steel wire with a very thin brass coating. Take a magnet and test the wires before trying to use any wire wheel on aluminum.

Please try this method and let me know what you think.

When I clean my machine or restore one, I take a dowel and cut a slot in it and wrap it with an piece of paper towel or old t shirt so that it is a tight fit. A few squirts of simple green and chuck the dowel in a drill and 2 or three passes and it's squeaky clean. If the holes are still rough I use the same technique with a little mother's mag and aluminum polish. This works wonders on the headstock way tube holes, quill bore, table tube holes, end castings and the various wedge lock holes if they are sticky or if the headstock doesn't slide well after the way tubes are waxed. Make sure to clean off the polish before waxing.

Waxing the holes is the same as above. Paper towel wrapped around a dowel and spread jpw on the towel and go to town. I find this method works very well. I believe the localized heat generated by using the drill helps to open the pores in the metal and melt and polish the wax on the surface of the holes. I try and clean and wax the tubes on the table and aux tables once a year or more often if I've been making a lot of sawdust.

I agree that using abrasives on the tubes or the aluminum parts is a bad idea and should only do so sparingly. The mag and aluminum polish shouldn't remove any material, only the aluminum oxide surface layer.

After I clean and wax my way tubes I can slide my headstock with one finger using this method, after the lock is released of course.

[BuckeyeDennis]

Good to know, ShoptimusPrime. I’ll give that technique a try next time.

[john_001]

Actually, those look fairly clean, in that you can see bare metal. When mine get gunked up, they get a kind of "varnish" of polished wax and sawdust, but I don't see that on yours.