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'Grease' on tools

Dean Center

Dean Center

Joined
May 4, 2010
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Bozeman, MT
Here's a true newbie question for you. My wonderful kids gave me a mini lathe for my birthday and I already see a paler complexion in the mirror. When I recieved my accessories, the chisels had a sticky coating on them and the centers and pen mandrel had grease on them. What's the best way to remove this stuff. I used some orange degreaser on the lathe bed, cuz I just couldn't possibly wait another second, but there will hopefully be a nice scroll chuck coming soon and the chisels produce a black guck when sharpened.

Thanks for the help.

Dean
 
That greasy stuff is likely to be cosmoline or something similar to retard oxidation. It can be cleaned off with mineral spirits (also described here).

You can search other discussions here for recommendations for best products to use thereafter for protecting bare metal on lathe bed, saw tables, etc.
 
"Grease" on tools

I posted a similar thread when I got my turning tools. I cleaned them with denatured alcohol. After use, I wiped them down and put a thin coat of WD-40 on them. I got a bunch of tools when my father passed away 8 years ago. He lived in Louisiana and Florida. Humidity ruined a lot of them and I trashed them.
Don't forget to wipe them off before using as the WD-40 or whatever you use can cause finish problems. Some turners said that they don't coat them, just wipe with a clean cloth after using and put them away. I'm leary of letting steel rust.
 
If your worried about rust just coat the tools with a paste wax after you clean them. I use Johnson's floor wax. I use it to coat my table saw, jointer, etc. I did stop using it on the lathe simply because WD-40 is faster and I use the lathe a lot so cleaning is a must.
 
john lucas said:
If your worried about rust just coat the tools with a paste wax after you clean them. I use Johnson's floor wax. I use it to coat my table saw, jointer, etc. I did stop using it on the lathe simply because WD-40 is faster and I use the lathe a lot so cleaning is a must.
Click to expand...
I'm not worried about rust, I just hate the black guck that builds up when I sharpen the chisels and would like to get it all off at once. It looks like I've got the other stuff reasonably free of grease.
Thanks for the replies.
Dean
 
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