Friday, 22 May 2009

Keeping Your Woodworking Shop Clean

By Noel Wortinger

Whether you're a newbie, or a seasoned veteran, keeping your woodworking shop clean is one of the central aspects of your past time. A sparkling shop offers numerous advantages over a greasy work area. You'll be able to invite friends to view your domain. It is after all, it's where the enterprise occurs. Too, you'll be able to locate your items when you require them. Besides that, if you have a significant mate they'll cease complaining that you never clean the garage (or basement), wherever you've set up your work area.

Clean that Table Saw One of the filthiest items in your shop is usually the top of your table saw. Instinct informs you that you should take a container of WD-40 with a cloth and 'be done with it,' but there are improved ways to clean the table saw. If you follow some of these suggestions, the saw will stay cleaner longer, resist fingerprints, and really glisten.

Should you want your table saw to look terrific for a month or more at a time, visit the local hardware store and buy a $10 container of Butcher's Wax. Then, every two or three weeks, use the WD-40 with the cloth then polish the tabletop with the wax.

One of the greatest things about working with wood is seeing your finished product. It was worth the toil wasn't it? Maybe one of the nastiest things about working with wood is having to remove the resin from your saw blades. This, like all things around woodworking, must be done safely. Clean safely! You'll discover numerous products for cleaning saw blades. You might simply borrow your wife's oven cleaner.

Then again, there are other cleaners. There are ones that you spray, and cleaners you soak your blades in. Yes, there's plenty to choose from. Woodcraft's brand Resin Remover will be the safest and the quickest. For the job, you'll only require a large plastic tub. The non-toxic cleaner has no harmful fumes. You can even soak multiple blades by placing small blocks of wood (like washers) between the blades as you stake them in the solution.

Cleaning the belt sander is easier than cleaning saw blades. Keeping the shop clean though is just as important. You don't even have to disassemble the tool for the job. Both belt and disc cleaners are available for about five dollars. The terrific thing about cleaning a tool while it is running it gives you more time for creating. And finally for the floor area. This is where you create. You're more than likely to need the good ol' mop and bucket. It is hoped I've saved you some time to do this from my tips on cleaning other tools. Tidying and cleaning not only makes your tools last longer, but it also increases the accuracy and functionality of your tools.

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