I intended to start cutting wood at last yesterday. There was a delay while I figured out what was wrong with the table saw and how to repair it: The gadgetry that raises and lowers the blade and motor had frozen up. Until a couple of years ago I had a nice dry barn to store the saw in but I lost that when Landlady sold her place. Since then I’ve kept it wrapped in a tarp but that obviously didn’t do the job this year. Now after I’m done with woodcutting I need to find a better place because I bought this saw with a windfall in 2019 that’s unlikely to repeat itself and I can’t just let it rust.
Anyway: I was starting to think in terms of Plan B when suddenly, after several hours, the WD40 soaking did its work – so suddenly that it was an “uh oh” moment when I thought I’d just broken some important plastic bit and was out of business – and then suddenly I was in business. But by then it was mid-afternoon and I felt more like walkies and showers than getting covered with sawdust.
So this morning I hit it an hour before noon, after the bread came out of the oven and the sun had had a chance to warm things up.
I’m not making a marathon of it. The next several days are scheduled to be quite nice and the old man’s back doesn’t really like this stuff. Today I only did two of these…
…and then gave it a rest. I’d probably at least finish the lumber pile tomorrow.
And here’s how much difference two wheelbarrow loads make in the woodshed…
Not that much, really. But one good thing about pallet wood is it stacks nice and tight – and although most of it is pine there’s a surprising percentage of hardwood in there. A little goes a long way toward heating the Lair in the morning – it’s only 200 square feet in the main room, after all.
There is this stuff that is the bane of every mechanic that we just called “neverseize”. It’s a silver molybdenum compound that is brushed on stuff you never want to stick together, and you will inevitably become covered with it whenever you use it. Permatex makes it and calls it an Anti-seize lubricant. Brush that stuff on to lube stuff up, then maybe an extra coat before storage and you should be fine. It won’t come off. In fact, it won’t come off even if you try…
I certainly intend to grease it. A tube of neverseize might not be a bad idea, now that you mention it.
++ on the neverseize. Also, I’ve found over the years, that tarping something under other cover contributes to oxidation (via condensation). If it’s out in the elements, that’s different, & is **usually** a good thing.
John bws gets it right- as soon as you start working with neverseize you’ll find it in your jockey shorts…
Durn it Joel, the solution is just staring you in the face. Saw, wood, nails, hammer this you have. Time to build a small weather tight workshop add-on to the lair.
I am sure we can crowd source some funds for that. If DIY probably less than 1K in materials for a nice 8 X 10 ft little shed.
Another thing I’ve found to combat corrosion is … waxed cardboard.
A lot of times when you throw tarps over stuff it creates the perfect environment for condensation. Great if you want a primitive distillation process or are trying to collect water in the desert (lol). Placing a layer of waxed cardboard on the ground interrupts this process and the things under the tarp will stay much drier and less rustier. It’s important that it’s waxed so it doesn’t turn into a sponge and defeat the purpose. Used this trick when I didn’t have a shed to put my motorcycle in.