surface plate care

Dunno. But Northrop/Westwood/Redstone/Crimson college by LAX has a big one! I think it's iron. Usually covered with a plywood sheet, I didn't know what was under the plywood until I got into the recip engine class where it was located. Pretty dinged up. I watched a classmate place some metal thing on it and wail on it with a hammer. I don't think anyone at the school realized what it was.

Hi Stu, Dunno if it's accepted practice, but I use motorcycle chain lube to protect bare steel / iron surfaces, it's sticky and tenacious, but cleans off easily enough when you want to use 'em, paraffin / kerosene on a rag will take it straight off. The cheapest has always worked well for me, don't worry about whether it has teflon or such in it!

One thing I won't have in either the house or the shed is silicone-based products, as they're almost impossible to clean off thoroughly and even a trace will prevent almost anything adhering (eg paint, laquer) - apart from gasket silicone, where I *want* it to stick forever!

Dave H.

I like this for that:

It resembles WD-40 but actually works.

jsw

Lanolin is a traditional anti-rust grease, pioneered by sailors and riggers from the age of sail.

I found a convenient albeit odd source for small quantities: The US drugstore chain CVS carries pure lanolin in a 2 ounce (56 gram) squeeze tube of CVS-branded "lanolin cream" for about $7. Two ounces is a lot, actually. Lanolin is used by breastfeeding mothers, so look in the baby area of the CVS store.

Or, one can buy a full pound in a tub for $9 from suppliers of natural oils and essences. I've used Camden-Grey Essential Oils in Florida. One can also buy in bulk for a better price per pound, but a pound is probably a lifetime supply.

Joe Gwinn

My advice: Jump in and start using and enjoying your cast and machined surface plate w/o worrying over their preservation. Do keep them oiled and / or covered when not in use. Wipe dry before using for best accuracy. With even a modicum of care, it will outlast you.

I have 2 antique (cast) surface plates both of which were gifts. Both had been abused from the standpoint that some fools regard any metallic surface as "anvil", Neither had received a requisite amount of care. They were each put back close to "truth" at one of the large commercial grinders. Their "grinds" are certainly close enough for all practical work. Although, if I ever have the courage to learn scraping, they might be good candidates to start on with their precision machined surfaces.

Define "better". Cheapest tub of bearing grease from Walmart is suitable. Or the cheapest tub of petrolatum from the drug aisle. I use a spray can of lithium grease just because it is easier to spread around. These all have the sulfur largely removed so they smell better, versus the usual cheap grease.

LPS 3 is like spray-on cosmoline, would be what I would use just because I have it. I haven't seen cast iron surface plates for decades, most everyone in the business has gone to granite, either pink or black. No worries about rust or burrs with them.

Stan

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A friend of mine showed me one he had picked up at an industrial auction -- then asked if I wanted it. He only paid $5.00 for it, and didn't know what it was.

It was 48"x48"x6"... I passed. I don't have any slabs that strong in my shop!

LLoyd

Just for curiosity's sake, it's interesting to note that ribbed cast-iron surface plates are still used at the extreme high-end -- for some gage qualification work, and, until recently, at least, by ultra-precision machine tool builders such as Moore Special Tool.

Cast iron has to be kept at a stabilized temperature for that work, and it has to be high-quality castings that are fully annealed and artificially aged, but granite can warp in unpredictable ways due to changes in humidity. Of course, to those people, 3 millionths of an inch of warp is a disaster.

BTW, again for gage-qualification-type work, granite can burr. They'll run a hard Arkansas stone over the plate to remove them. They're really tiny, and you can't feel them, but granite can turn up a microscopic burr.

Do you suppose they could charge that much if they had to label it truthfully?

It's the natural grease in sheep wool, a mix cholesterol and fat.

jsw

LPS-3 is great stuff outdoors, not so good on precision tools. The waxy film collects dust and grit. When it gets on your hands it spreads to machine handles, eyeglasses, doorknobs, keyboards etc. There are several other products that provide enough protection with less mess.

jsw

LPS 3 is like spray-on cosmoline, would be what I would use just because I have it. I haven't seen cast iron surface plates for decades, most everyone in the business has gone to granite, either pink or black. No worries about rust or burrs with them.

Stan

The cost of getting granite delivered to Australia is a little high, $32US for the plate I would like..(from shars)...$622US for delivery. Although since buying the steel plate I have found a granite one half the size of the $32US one for $59AU.

I was surprised how good WD40 really is:

Not as good as Boeshield T9 but better than other, more expensive preparations.

I am not sure if it does something to rust as well as acts as a simple barrier - like converts it to a different oxide (like some of the de-rusting product, e.g. Evaporust). I could not explain the different appearance of the WD40-covered piece.

I do not think you have Jig-a-Loo in the US - it is marketed here as a rust preventative as well as lubricant. In this trial it actually promoted rust!

WD40's protection relies, in part, on leaving a film which is hard to wipe off. Before I stopped using it I couldn't figure out why my micrometer kept closing a thou or two above zero.

I was surprised how good WD40 really is:

Not as good as Boeshield T9 but better than other, more expensive preparations.

I am not sure if it does something to rust as well as acts as a simple barrier - like converts it to a different oxide (like some of the de-rusting product, e.g. Evaporust). I could not explain the different appearance of the WD40-covered piece.

I do not think you have Jig-a-Loo in the US - it is marketed here as a rust preventative as well as lubricant. In this trial it actually promoted rust!

Yea - that 4'x4'1/2' slab might be worth something at the scrap yard! Many many times more than $5 !

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It is truthfully labeled.

With most items found in drug stores and hardware stores, you are not paying for the product, you are paying for the large number of small and convenient containers and the logistics of having them on a store shelf near at hand.

Yep. Well, there is a lot more to it than just cholesterol and fat, there being something like 100 different but related chemicals in lanolin, but no matter.

Joe Gwinn

Ed sez: "BTW, again for gage-qualification-type work, granite can burr. They'll run a hard Arkansas stone over the plate to remove them. They're really tiny, and you can't feel them, but granite can turn up a microscopic burr."

Many years ago when I worked at Teletype Corp. They would periodically send their surface plates to a lab for calibration, refurbishment, etc. This was when Telex and other "wire" comms. were standard and electro-mechanical devices had very close tolerances. I suppose tolerances are even tighter now, but electronic gauging has probably replaced the need for some surface plates.

Bob Swinney

Just for curiosity's sake, it's interesting to note that ribbed cast-iron surface plates are still used at the extreme high-end -- for some gage qualification work, and, until recently, at least, by ultra-precision machine tool builders such as Moore Special Tool.

Cast iron has to be kept at a stabilized temperature for that work, and it has to be high-quality castings that are fully annealed and artificially aged, but granite can warp in unpredictable ways due to changes in humidity. Of course, to those people, 3 millionths of an inch of warp is a disaster.

their surface plates to

"wire" comms. were

tolerances are even

surface plates.

I have a Tektronix scope (453B?) that was originally sold to Telex. They must have bought a bunch of them, because Tektronix silk screened Telex onto the corner of the front panel when they were built.

It is similar to this, but it is 65 MHz instead of 50

Before I stopped

Q. What is WD40 good for?

A. Softening up accumulations of old WD40 ;)

Wes