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Lathe Materials and non climate controlled work spaces

Kirk Amidon

Kirk Amidon

Joined
Jan 8, 2021
Messages
368
Likes
478
Location
Wrentham, MA
Been exploring the market for my next lathe and have read just about everything here - my main question now is around keepng the tools in my garage which has zero climate control. I have plenty of cast iron tooling - current lathe, table saw, band saw planer, etc. so I'm pretty familiar with how to keep the rust at bay. (wax, WD-40, covers, etc.) Would a stainless steel bed behave similar in terms of keeping rust at bay? Several of the used lathes around feature stainless ways, and since I don't have other stainless tools I don't know if I should exclude them based on this or not. Any advice?
 
It would be logical to assume the alloy used will not rust, since wet wood turning can flash rust a lathe bad in minutes with highly acidic wood species, but Don is right to say check the alloy. Your other concerns on a lathe are the morse tapers in the head and tailstock, the sliding fit of the tailstock shaft, bottom sliding surfaces on the tailstock and headstock if appropriate, and the threads on the headstock.
 
Good question.... recently I bought a large package of stainless screw anchors for bolting things to concrete floors, walls, etc. The package says 304 stainless. The anchors exposed to the elements have developed a bit of rust.

My experience manufacturing parts of 304 stainless tells me the screw anchors were not passivated. The passivation process prevents corrosion by removing traces of iron on the surface that will rust. Passivation is a relatively inexpensive process so you'd think high quality machines would have had that treatment.

304 stainless would be the most common alloy to use. If the stainless is welded it would likely be 304 or 316. 303 is a common machinable alloy, but not weldable.
 
I live in the extreme upper left hand corner of the country - very near salt water and less than 10 miles from the border with Canada. The Pacific Northwest is wet, yet the tables of my tools remain pretty clean with just normal maintenance - wax, mostly. My shop is well insulated, but not heated except for a couple of small space heaters used in the depths of winter. My current lathe (Robust AB) has Stainless ways and, after over 10 years they are like new except for the normal surface scratches 10 years will impart.

My last lathe had cast iron ways and, with the amount of wet wood that I turn, they were constantly under attack - but a good cleaning and waxing after a roughing session kept them reasonably clean and free of most rust.

If you maintain your tools, rust shouldn't be a problem no matter where you live, but stainless makes that chore just a little easier.
 
Fantastic post. I am thinking of buying a lathe for a upper middle portion of the country where winters can be brutal (avg 20 to -20 degrees). There is no heat or AC in the garage where I would build my shop. I see from this discussion that the bed will be ok as long as I take care of it. What about the other parts?

Thanks
 
Todd Cohen said:
Fantastic post. I am thinking of buying a lathe for a upper middle portion of the country where winters can be brutal (avg 20 to -20 degrees). There is no heat or AC in the garage where I would build my shop. I see from this discussion that the bed will be ok as long as I take care of it. What about the other parts?

Thanks
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I"ve had my workshop in same garage for years - biggest issue has been the flash rust on cast iron when we go from extended cold to a quick humid warm day. Can't say that I've noticed other issues, other than many machines don't work as well below the freezing point. Turning frozen wood is not a lot of fun either.

Someone else above noted the tapers in the head and tail stocks, while I've not noticed issues with them, stands to reason that being vigilant about keeping them clean is a good practice.
 
My shop goes unheated, uncooled much of the week, and it has no insulation in the wall or ceiling. It gets both really hot and really cold. I've had it for 30+ years now. Tools do just fine. Keeping wood, paper, sawdust, liquid containers off the surfaces is the number one thing. I also treat my horizontal surfaces with WD40 and wax. Handtools maybe once a year get wiped down with an oily rag. No real issues for me. One thing I have to watch is, if the weather is just perfect: humid days followed by cool nights, cool liquids in containers can cause the moisture in the air to condense and run down on metal surfaces. For that reason, I never leave any liquids on horizontal surfaces that are made of iron or steel.

Yes the metallurgy of stainless will matter. Some are more rust resistant than others. 316 stainless is more corrosion resistant that 304. I have a 316 stainless grill that's over 30 years old and still looks new even though it's spent its whole life outside. No rust anywhere.
 
Todd Cohen said:
Fantastic post. I am thinking of buying a lathe for a upper middle portion of the country where winters can be brutal (avg 20 to -20 degrees). There is no heat or AC in the garage where I would build my shop. I see from this discussion that the bed will be ok as long as I take care of it. What about the other parts?

Thanks
Click to expand...
Park Ridge ain't Hibbing, MN. The tools will be fine, (try not to drop a sledgehammer on a cast iron bed at -20) but you may be a little uncomfortable. Good insulation and a carefully selected electric heat source can go a long way to making it pleasant.
 
Todd Cohen said:
True. But the lathe will go in a garage in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
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Ahh. The Yoop is a different story. Build the garage on stilts so you can still get in after the lake effect dumps 15 feet of snow!

In my experience, you can turn when it's <40 degrees in the shop, but it's so unpleasant that it's no fun. Insulate and electric heater--doesn't have to be fancy or expensive or high capacity, just enough to get the temp up to 50 or so. My garage shop, prior to adding a heat source would cool down to about 20 degrees over the outside temp, and we occasionally still get to -20 here. Not as cold as the UP, but still cold, and no tool problems.
 
Kirk Amidon said:
Been exploring the market for my next lathe and have read just about everything here - my main question now is around keepng the tools in my garage which has zero climate control. I have plenty of cast iron tooling - current lathe, table saw, band saw planer, etc. so I'm pretty familiar with how to keep the rust at bay. (wax, WD-40, covers, etc.) Would a stainless steel bed behave similar in terms of keeping rust at bay? Several of the used lathes around feature stainless ways, and since I don't have other stainless tools I don't know if I should exclude them based on this or not. Any advice?
Click to expand...
I have been using my American Robust Beauty for over 5 years and I've turned hundreds of wet water slinging huge blanks and I personally love the fact that the bed ways never rust. My old powermatic 3520B never met something it couldn't turn, but the rust cleaning was longer than my rough turning time. If you turn green wood to let it dry like I do for my twice turned bowls then the stainless steel bed ways are almost as good as the gas assist shock for moving the tailstock out of way to prevent turners elbow. Love my American Beauty
 
My old 3520A had a nice black patina to the cast iron ways when I sold it. I would wipe it down with a rag some times, but never bothered with wax and stuff. It worked fine. I never let it rust though...

robo hippy
 
I turn in whats generally termed 'a tin shed' so it heats up come summer and freezes come winter 40c + down to single numbers, humidity 15 to 85-90%. Just about everything in the shed will rust and yet rust has never been a major issue, I put it down to constant use.
 
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