Cleaning up a faceplate

[OldWood]

I've a 12" faceplate that came with my 2nd hand lathe - unfortunately some previous owner has stuck coarse sandpaper over it.

I suspect that the glue might be hot wax - I tried a hot air gun on it but the heat is just not enough though some lumps of glue on the edge did soften.

My next option is the kitchen oven (when SWMBO is at work!) - there'll be enough heat there but what temperature is suggested; what temperature does hot was glue become liquid I suppose is the question ?

Thanks
OW

 

[BMac]

I had a similar problem with glue on a faceplate so I put it on the lathe and turned the glue off with a scraper. Then I used acetone to clean off the residue.

Brendan

 

[kasandrich]

Or try a blow-torch

 

[hgb]

Hi OW Try putting a sheet of kitchen roll on & heating with the clothes iron OR if it's a 12" Aluminium, I'd try putting it in a deep freezer , When cold cut glue off, As aly may bend when heated. HGB.

 

[Paul.J]

Was the paper put on for extra grip. :?:
Mr George Cornucopia told me to rough my plates up a little so they will grip better.

 

[big soft moose]

Was the paper put on for extra grip. :?:
Mr George Cornucopia told me to rough my plates up a little so they will grip better.

not to doubt his expertise but surely the "grip" on a faceplate is provided by the four or more screws securing it to the workpeice - the grippyness or otherwise of the metal between the screws ought to be irrelevant

or was george talking about reversing a piece onto a flat plate and supporting it with the tailstock in order to turn away the spiggot ?

 

[Paul.J]

BSM wrote

not to doubt his expertise but surely the "grip" on a faceplate is provided by the four or more screws securing it to the workpeice - the grippyness or otherwise of the metal between the screws ought to be irrelevant

I know George told me this some time ago but i'm sure i've read somewhere since that sandpaper is glued to faceplates,and they are best left to go rusty also, for better traction so it puts less pressure on the screws :?

 

[cornucopia]

Allot of woodturners worry about their plates going rusty especially when turning wet wood all the time- my advice to paul and anyone else is/was to not worry about it as its only surface and some turners belive it actually helps to provide a small amount of grip as opposed to a brand new perfectly smooth polished faceplate. Off course the holding power is the screws- 9 in my 3" plate 18 in my 6"

in this instance i belive the previous owner was probably trying to make a sanding disc- if the sandpaper is thin and stuck on smoothly i'd leave it- if its lumpy then its got to come of.

 

[Paul.J]

PaulJ wrote

but i'm sure i've read somewhere since that sandpaper is glued to faceplates,

Well i knew i read it somewhere and have been up all night looking :lol: :lol: Not really. :lol:
But i have found where i read about using sandpaper for grip.
It is in David Ellsworth's book Ellsworth On Woodturning
P76 if you have it.

 

[OldWood]

Thanks guys for your comments and advice.

The sandpaper in question is seriously coarse and is all lumpy so it's got to come off, if nothing else so that I can use the plate.

Machining it off on the lathe is a no-no - the sandpaper bits will get everywhere and will do damage to any friction surface. I've learnt that hot wax melts at 150 to 180C, and that Al. melts at 660C so I think the oven is the option as any other way will just burn the paper on or absorb any heat thrown at it.

OW

 

[Paul.J]

Usually hot glue chips off meatl easily with a mallet and chisel.
If you can hold it in a vice i would try this way,and then just scrape it cleanish with an old chisel.

 

[OldWood]

Thanks Paul
At over 100 sq ins to scrape off, I'm all for trying something that isn't so labour intensive. Plus this is Al and any form of chipping and scraping is going to take it out on the surface.

I do have a contact who probably has access indirectly to a large enough metal working lathe to re-surface the plate if needs be, but I'd rather not go down that route yet.

OW

 

[NickWelford]

No domestic oven is going to do any harm to the faceplate, so just bung it in for a half hour on top heat and see if it helps......

 

[OldWood]

The job is done !

Not made any better by the fact that the sandpaper seems to have been glued on with Evostik, so heat (200C) softened it but didn't melt it as I'd hoped the wax would have done. But then thinking about it, hot wax would have been quite difficult to apply and impact adhesive easy.

The guy must have been pretty desperate to near enough write off a 12" faceplate that way, but then it came out of a college at some point and that's the sort of thing that would have happened there.

Thanks for your help, guys. And yes it's quite flat after the heating.

OW