Shopsmith Forums

The title should be: Evapo-Rust vs. Liquid Wrench vs. PB Blaster

Although not a Shopsmith-related issue, I did buy the Evapo-Rust to clean rust from a Shopsmith, but haven't gotten around to that project yet.

Two weeks ago, I bought at auction a Makita surface planer, model 2040 that's planes wood up to 400mm/15 5/8" wide. Plugged it in before the auction and it purred, and it also passed a visual inspection of the feed rollers, etc. Got it home and plugged it in to plane a board and it was a different story. It made an awful metallic banging sound as the board bounced up and down. Upending the planer and loosing a few screws showed a egged-out bearing (more like a bushing) and the shaft of the roller extremely scarred. And, one of the four steel bearing holders/feed roller adjusters also was rusted in place.

To loosen the assembly and remove it from the upper aluminum casting of the planer, I first tried a pneumatic impact wrench, but to no avail. Then, I soaked the assembly in Liquid Wrench for a few days, trying to free up the frozen assembly. It didn't work. Then I tried PB Blaster for the better part of a week. Every time I passed the planer, I took a couple of wacks at it using a large crescent wrench, pipe extension and a three-pound hammer. It didn't budge. Yesterday, I drained the PB Blaster and filled the assembly with Evapo-Rust. Today, after a few hits, the assembly broke free and I was able to remove the assembly.

If the Evapo-Rust hadn't worked, I was thinking of using a propane torch, but was reluctant to do that for fear of warping the aluminum casting that housed the assembly. Then there also was the possibility of drilling out the stuck assembly, but that would have ruined the adjuster and bearing holder and they cost about $50.

So, a couple of ounces of Evapo-Rust saved me that much. Now, if only I can fine someone who can fill the gouges in the feed roller shaft with metal and then machine it to size, I won't have to replace that $200 roller.

When I put it back together, I'll be sure to use a liberal amount of anti-seize compound.

pennview wrote: So, a couple of ounces of Evapo-Rust saved me that much. Now, if only I can fine someone who can fill the gouges in the feed roller shaft with metal and then machine it to size, I won't have to replace that $200 roller.

When I put it back together, I'll be sure to use a liberal amount of anti-seize compound.

I have been able to find rubber-like sleeve(s) to fit on a drive feed roller for several non-supported wood working equipment. I glued the rubber-like sleeve(s) onto the feed roller and adjusted the feed roller for the additional size.

I have also been able to find no longer available parts for wood working equipment by searching all currently available parts lists for similar equipment. I find many times, the basic design appears to have been sold or copied by another company and will be a drop-in replacement.

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the info.

Here's what I'm dealing with regarding the feed roller. That scarred portion of the shaft should be the same diameter as the shaft toward the feed sprocket.

[ATTACH]9151[/ATTACH]

After reading the "STUCK CHUCK" thread, I realized (recalled) that I had used both Liquid Wrench and PB Blaster before trying the Evapo-Rust. Neither of those two freed up the frozen bearing holder/adjuster. Today when I freed the assembly the can of Liquid Wrench was still beside the planer, so I forgot all about the PB Blaster untll reading the other thread. I've used Liquid Wrench for many years and this was my first use of PB Blaster, which I had heard such good reviews about. I'll have to go back and edit my original post.

pennview wrote:Hi Bill,

Thanks for the info.

Here's what I'm dealing with regarding the feed roller. That scarred portion of the shaft should be the same diameter as the shaft toward the feed sprocket.

[ATTACH]9151[/ATTACH]

That is quite a bit of wear on the shaft. The solution I would use is to machine the shaft so that a bronze or Oilite (http://www.oilite.com/ bushing can be pressed on the shaft and pin the gear and sleeve to the shaft. You may have to machine the shaft support bushing to remove any wear. I would try to use another bronze or Oilite bushing in the support bushing for the shaft to turn inside. I have had great success using the oilite bushings for under 2500 RPM.

Another solution would be to braze up the worn part and machine the brazed part to the desired diameter. I would be very careful that the shaft is not overheated and does not bend when brazing. I would believe you need another part that the shaft turns inside of.

I feel it is a good idea to point out that the purpose of evaporust is to remove rust, not be a penetrating fluid. That being said, I agree it can be helpful in freeing parts frozen by rust since once the rust is 'removed', the parts are no longer 'frozen'. It seems to penetrate fairly well but not as good as the other stuff.

I would use it when other methods are either not working, or impractical(no way to impart opposing motion to the parts) or the parts are severely rusted(one 'contiguous' ball of apparent rust).

I wonder if the success obtained above was due to the evaporust, or the additional time passing.

Bill, thanks again for the info. I'll have to talk with a machinist and see what can be done and at what price.

JPG, I'm not sure what effect the earlier treatments of the frozen assembly with Liquid Wrench and PB Blaster had on loosening the rusted parts. All I know is that I started trying to take the assembly apart on May 23rd using the Liquid Wrench first and then the PB Blaster with no success. On June 7th, I used the Evapo-Rust and on the 8th I was able to separate the parts, using the same technique throughout except for the first day or so when I tried a 3/8" ratchet air wrench and then the impact wrench. I have to say that I was using that 3 pound hammer quite aggressively throughout.

I know I started working on that assembly on the 23rd of May as that's the day I took the picture of the parts and sent it off to the auctioneer to let him know I wasn't happy about my purchase. In the end though, you buy this stuff at auction on an "as is" basis, so you're really stuck unless there's some misrepresentation involved. On the other hand, auctioneers are good at not misrepresenting things. I simply was convinced that the owner had to know the planer was defective before the sale.

This was the first time I've been burned at an auction, except for the $7 belt sander that I bought and when plugged in it lit up like a flashlight and let out that magic smoke.

In any event, I'm happy with the result obtained following the use of the Evapo-Rust, but I'm not throwing away the Liquid Wrench or PB Blaster either.

I did not realize you soaked it for a day in evaporust. I thought it was much shorter than that. Makes more sense to me now!