Looking for advice on cleaning up old 4 1/8" Craftsman Jointer/Planer

[harpone]

A neighbor gave me a jointer/planer that was her father's. It probably hasn't been used for at least 15 years. Two questions: (1) What is a good way to clean up the cast iron bed? Sitting in a SC garage for 10 years hasn't help. (2) Is the belt a proprietary item or can I get generic one somewhere? It looks like I can get replacement knives on Amazon.

 

[Rwe2156]

Go at it with a wire brush to knock of the gross rust. I prefer the cup type wire brushes on a 4" grinder.

There are various ways to treat rust such as Evaporust or vinegar. Whatever you do , do NOT use ospho or a strong acid.

After that, douse it with WD40 and use a flap sander, wipe and repeat.

The belt should be a standard Vbelt. Take it to an auto parts they will match it up.

I would be inclined to take it apart and completely derust everything in evaporust.

 

[DIYGUY]

I'll bet you can still get the belt at Sears - they have almost always been able to source replacement parts going back a long, long way. You can search on their parts site. Also, you could do worse than read up on your restoration issues by visiting www.vintagemachinery.org. I'm confident your questions will likely have many answers there. I use my R.O.S. with a very fine grit pad to keep down the rust on my cast iron surfaces. I follow it up with Boeshield - you can find it fairly readily almost anywhere with a search.

 

[Jeff]

+1 to EvapoRust and then a paste wax for the table surface.

Here's the owner's manual if you don't have it.

http://www.vintagemachinery.org/pubs/222/6664.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGpfdldl5dM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpmwJ-8zEqs