Lathe bed and tool rest maintenance ... advice please

[woodpig]

There does seem to be a slight difference to the two brands of MC wax that I've seen. I use Renaissance wax which is white whilst the last time I saw a tin of the Chesnut brand open it was slightly yellow and had a different smell. Both about the same price though.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

...
A brand of microcrystalline wax, Renaissance Wax, is also used extensively in museum and conservation settings for protection and polishing of antique woods, ivory, gemstones, and metal objects. It was developed by The British Museum in the 1950s to replace the potentially unstable natural waxes that were previously used such as beeswax and carnauba.

Right. But we are talking about lathes not museum displays (though no doubt many of them might as well be - stay unused for 100s of years!).
Lathes just need the rust rubbing off occasionally.

That's it Jacob....figuring out the periodic table was a complete waste of time wasn't it. Right up there with working out the earth isn't flat. :roll:

 

[RobinBHM]

I bought some rennaissance wax and tried on some cast iron machine parts recently. I have part of a wadkin fence in my garage that I cleaned up and gave it a wax. In this cold weather the part gets condensation showing on it but so far no rust marks. My initial thoughts are it seems to work quite well.....

 

[Jacob]

...
A brand of microcrystalline wax, Renaissance Wax, is also used extensively in museum and conservation settings for protection and polishing of antique woods, ivory, gemstones, and metal objects. It was developed by The British Museum in the 1950s to replace the potentially unstable natural waxes that were previously used such as beeswax and carnauba.

Right. But we are talking about lathes not museum displays (though no doubt many of them might as well be - stay unused for 100s of years!).
Lathes just need the rust rubbing off occasionally.

That's it Jacob....figuring out the periodic table was a complete waste of time wasn't it. Right up there with working out the earth isn't flat. :roll:

Nah, keeping rust off a lathe isn't up there with rocket science!

 

[selectortone]

I just grab the cat and give it a quick rub up and down the bedbars. Works a treat.