Shopsmith Forums

I was waxing my table and had a difficult time removing wax from some of the mill marks on the table top. What would be the best way to remove the mill marks?

BPR

ryanbp01 wrote:I was waxing my table and had a difficult time removing wax from some of the mill marks on the table top. What would be the best way to remove the mill marks?

BPR

Don't! Just let the JPW dry.

Mill marks? Grinding marks maybe?

Grind marks, mill marks, it's all the same to me. I just want to get rid of them. I want the table to be smooth. The dried wax doesn't come off that easily.
BPR

ryanbp01 wrote:Grind marks, mill marks, it's all the same to me. I just want to get rid of them. I want the table to be smooth. The dried wax doesn't come off that easily.
BPR

I clean the tables with mineral spirits or denatured alcohol. I dampen a rag, rub on the solvent and immediately wipe clean with a different rag. Work in small areas (not the entire table top) at a time.

If you've got scarring on the table from something cutting or grinding into it, you've got two alternatives for fixing it. Or one simple solution.

One is to grind the entire surface of the table down to the level of the lowest scar. This requires machine shop equipment in order to get the table smooth and level. Done by hand and you get lumps and a very uneven surface. Doing this to the table will also make it weaker.

Second is to fill the scars in, then grind the fill material down perfectly flush with the existing table surface. While this sounds simple enough, usually what happens is the area surounding the fill gets ground down below the surface, while the fill material gets domed, but left higher than the main surface. So you get a new gulley around the hill of fill material.

The simple solution? ignore it. At the most, file or grind the scarred area smooth, and let it go. Only if it is really causing you problems would I consider trying to "fix" it. Otherwise, it's a cosmetic issue and not a functional issue.

ryanbp01 wrote:I was waxing my table and had a difficult time removing wax from some of the mill marks on the table top. What would be the best way to remove the mill marks?

BPR

I'm confused!

Do you have stains on the wood caused by something (wax buildup) being transferred from the table or do you have gouges and scratches in the wood caused by a table surface that is not smooth?

If the problem is an imperfect table surface, I would adhere a piece of wet and dry sand paper (fine grit) to a flat surface and then place the bandsaw table upside down on that flat surface and work off the high spots.

Indentures in the surface are not, IMHO, an issue except that they accumulate wax. Filling the low spots would, again IMHO, be more work than the table is worth.

When I got my various tools from Shopsmith I took green micro mesh and johnson's paste wax and polished my table surfaces smooth.

Dusty's method of using a plate glass and wet dry paper is great. I simply like to use Johnson's paste wax as the wetting agent instead of water. If the mill marks are deep you can use green miro mesh and pressure set your obital sander on it and use this to rub them smooth then finish with wet dry.

Understand once you get the table polished any staining or oxidizing will stand out so you have to keep the surface well waxed.

Mill marks are caused by a milling machine cutter.

Grinding machine marks are left by a grinding wheel.

If you dislike the 'rough' surface, you are free to polish it. Use finer grit grinding materials.

IMHO not worth the effort! It is a tool, not a work of art!

Now way tubes on the other hand(polishing is a functional improvement).