Talcum Powder on a Jointer Table?
ThreePuttJoe
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
I just picked up the Powermatic 54 jointer, and can now (finally) do some serious wwing. In the manual, it says that you never need to put anything on the tables other than talcum powder rubbed in with a chalkboard eraser. Is that what people use…or just something they put in the manual that nobody does?
Replies
I read about the talcum powder/chalkboard eraser thing about 10 yrs ago in some WW mag and thought I'd give it a try. It's extremely humid here in MI so any edge I can get in my uninsulated/unheated garage shop is worth trying at least once. IMHO it works, but not by itself. I use it on all my cast-iron stuff now. So now I periodically use Top-Coat. The talc gets done between uses, and those HTC tool covers go on after that. The talc by itself was getting rid of maybe 60-70% of my problem. Top-Coat periodically reduced that down another 15-20% or so, and the tool covers finally reduced it down to near zero. Not wanting to mess with something that works, I'm sticking with it. Plus it's cheap.
Waddaya mean it wont fit through the door?
Edited 6/5/2005 4:00 pm ET by douglas2cats
talcum powder .. Ya ever feels a babies butt with talcum powder on it!.. SMOOOOOTH!
Since Mom was out of town this weekend...I had entire weekend of baby duty. And to use a very childish expression, I do mean dootie. Nothing smooth about it. Seriously though, I thought it might be one of those things that they recommend, but no one really uses...like table saw blade guards (just kidding all you safe-niks). I will start with the talcum powder system. By the way, do they even make black board erasers, or black boards anymore?
I'm not sure.. One of my Daughters is a Kinder.. Teacher.. She has REAL SLATE Blackboards... I saW them.. Nothing fake about slate!
talcum powder .. I have heard of it being used long ago... Just talk and it IS slippery...
I just use that wax in a Yellow can that has been around forever,,,
I babysit all the time.. I'm old but they are fun.. Well, for awhile!
Edited 6/6/2005 8:42 pm ET by Will George
3pee,
French chalk was or still is the traditional way of lubricating cast iron surfaces in use with wood. It is fine ground soapstone as far as I know.
Talcum powder is the same stuff,only more finely ground and with an added aroma....
I used french chalk until the other day when the little cloth bag it was in rose up and climbed into dust extractor-somehting like appeared to disapear in a puff of smoke.
I think a carnauba type wax as in auto wax works better. Silicone spray is also good-and I have yet to experience a problem with it and finishes.
Then again , it's horses for courses- Will George may advocate the (copious ) use of SPIT?
Got curious and googled it. At http://www.mineralszone.com/minerals/talc.html I found:
"French-chalk is the trade name of pulverized talc of pure white quality which forms the base for many cosmetics and toilet preparations. Talc is valued for its extreme softness, smoothness, high lubricating and hiding power and ability to absorb oil and grease. It is chemically inert to acids and alkalies."
Sounds like just the ticket. I've been using Renaissance paste wax but this sounds better.
Anybody know a web or mail order source?
Go to the grocery store and buy baby powder ,talc or cornstarch works. There is another product similar , if I recall it was called Dance Magic. Not sure where the shop got this stuff,works like the talc.
Mike, thanks. I know where to get cornstarch. I'd like to try talc but haven't found a reliable source.
When I was a airplane owner, I bought my tires from a source in Memphis. The tires are tube type and one should always use talc between the tube and tire. I am sorry that I can't remember the store in Memphis but hopefully someone else can look in TradeAPlane and find their ad and let you know.
But they do sell pure talc. Good luck.
A bad day woodworking is better than a good day working -- yes, I'm retired!
Just be sure not to confuse it with regular chalk, which is another mineral altogether.
Regards,
Dan
Talc is valued for its extreme softness, smoothness, high lubricating and hiding power and ability to absorb oil and grease. It is chemically inert to acids and alkalies."DAMN and I thought the French just had wine!
That old can of Johnson's wax in that old yella can works great!
Edited 8/6/2005 4:16 pm ET by Will George
Talcum powder is an old time rust preventive -- something about filling the pores in cast iron surfaces.
However, I have much better luck with either Topcote or plain furniture wax (not automotive wax).
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"I tend to live in the past because most of my life is there."
-- Herb Caen (1916-1997)
I clean my tables really good, then take a piece of parrafin and mark on my tables, just a child would with a crayon. Then I take a rag moistened with mineral spirits and buff out the "marks" Leaves a table that is slicker than ________[ you fill in the blank] No rust after two months now.
Make sure it's talcum powder. Last I had need to know, Johnson & Johnson's Baby Powder had forsaken talcum for cornstarch.
Sitting in front of me as I type is a brand new container or J&J Baby Powder. The ingredients lists "Talc, Frangrence". But, you are correct that there are some other baby powders that contain corn starch.Howie.........
And someone has since commented that cornstarch works well in the shop too. The mice in my garage read that post with great excitement. :)
There was some concern, maybe there still is, that talc dust causes cancer. For that reason it was removed from most baby products.
The real safety problem with talc in the shop is spills. Don't get any on belts or drive pulleys of machines, they'll slip and you'll have trouble with power transmission. I won't ever use talc on my machines again because of spills on the floor. It takes a long time to be able to get traction again after a floor spill, even after vacuuming. The last thing you need is a very slippery floor in front of a table saw or around a jointer or shaper. Standing on a floor with just a little talc on it is like trying to stand on ice.
Larry,
It was starting to look like a good idea until I read your post. That's one of the great things about forums like this one, we get to hear positive and negative input on an idea before giving it a try or passing on it. After your post I think I'll pass on this idea.
Brent
And I will give it a go,love it when little resistance on buzzer.(jointer)
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