Rust protection of machinery

[thinfourth]

Due to some awesome luck and some **** poor luck i have a bridgeport type mill in my shed

The good luck means it cost me washers

The bad luck means it has to stay in my shed over the winter.

I would not call my shed damp

As damp doesn't quite do it justice

We are talking about it rains inside and water flows across the floor due to bad design, no insulation and terrible construction.

The roof is un-insulated tin
The concrete floor is so poorly poured that the floor varies over the high and low points by over an inch and you get puddles
The building is a foot smaller then the base so water runs off the walls and under the walls
The doors have a 6 inch gap top and bottom

So during the winter everything gets rusty

now the long term is to fix the shed mostly by building one that isn't terrible

Due to a lack of funds it ain't happening this year


So any ideas on keeping a milling machine bed rust free?

I have already bought an economy sized drum of WD40 but is there anything else i can do

 

[steveo3002]

grease it up then cover with a sheet of plastic to keep the drips off?

 

[MrFluffy]

lps3 seems to have the concensus on most machining forums as the best for this. Random link for uk source, sure you dont need a case of 12, but its up to you to find the smaller quantity :-
http://www.transair.co.uk/sp+LPS-Ru...ml-Aerosol-Case-of-12-MIL-C-83933A+M00316CASE

Boeshield and lots of other stuff does a similar job.

 

[thinfourth]

lps3 seems to have the concensus on most machining forums as the best for this. Random link for uk source, sure you dont need a case of 12, but its up to you to find the smaller quantity :-
http://www.transair.co.uk/sp+LPS-Ru...ml-Aerosol-Case-of-12-MIL-C-83933A+M00316CASE

Boeshield and lots of other stuff does a similar job.

HOW MUCH?

Two cases of that are more then the mill cost me

 

[thinfourth]

grease it up then cover with a sheet of plastic to keep the drips off?

the milling machine or the wife?

Either way i want to use it over the winter

 

[Seadog]

Shell Ensis

 

[MrFluffy]

Waxoyl is close to lps3, but also that price is for 12 cans, you dont need 12 cans for a single machine hence my suggestion to find someone selling smaller quantities...

 

[Gritineye]

Anchor wax works for me, gets under any moisture and not messy to apply with a brush.

ankor-wax-preservative-fluid.html

 

[fizzy]

WD40 is much too thin.
I used some black spray on wire rope lube - horrid stuff but lasts very well. Chain lube would also be good - you can get aerosols from most motorbike shops or Fleabay.

 

[rtbcomp]

A local firm uses duck oil to protect newly ground silver steel. Spray on from a trigger bottle.

 

[dobbslc]

ACF50 seems good on my bikes.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

ACF50 seems good on my bikes.

It is good stuff, and in my experience a tin goes a long way.

 

[reedx]

ACF50 would be my recommendation too. One £15 can from a motorcycle shop should do the job.
Colin

 

[ronan]

Ballistol ?

 

[8ob]

Just about any oil will do the job , then lag the thing in cling film ( the industrial stuff). It works on all the gear I have stored in shipping containers and they sweat more than a judge in a room full of choirboys.

Bob

 

[Rocketman]

Just brush grease on it, it won't rust.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

And buy a decent tarp to cover the shed with. stop the water getting in the roof.
Edit
Ah i see the rain inside is condensation rather than leaks.

 

[ronan]

A bit of ventilation helps too, dries off condensation. Covering a machine with plastic will cause condensation too.

 

[awemawson]

I also endorse Shell Ensis. Used by the military for outdoor storage up to a year.

I bought a 25 litre drum of it when I put my entire workshop in storage (including a manual and a CNC Bridgeport !) in a leaky barn for a year when I moved house. Worked perfectly (except on the bits I missed !!!!!)

 

[frank horton]

I've said before on other forums..........
my place is a converted water mill.......the roof don my w/shop don't leak but it's draughty as hell..........all my machines (2 mill's, 3 lathes plus other delicate machines) are covered with various blankets and old douvet's.......but underneath, in the drip tray's there are workshop 240volt lead lights with energy bulbs, about 10-11 watt's......they are left on perm (or untill I need to use a machine) from the first sign of damp/cooling weather....that means as soon as the car is covered in dew, which here is around Oct till March........they warm the machines enough to stop condensation stone dead.......just a light covering of eng oil then a spay of WD40 does it for me.......this has worked for 8 years now and no rust.....
just to add, have a 180 mig that takes the larger wire spools (15kgs ?)....stored in an open barn......always had to throw the wire spools away due to rust in the spring, now have fitted a bulb holder under the wire spindle and that gets an eco bulb as well....the machine get's an old quilt over it as well, there is a slight gap in the corner so that I can see if the bulb goes out....no probs now with rust and this bulb is left on 24x7x365....the bulb norm last 2 years......

concidering the cost of elec to supply these bulbs over the inconvenience of rust, "cheap as chips"..........my tooling cupbords get the same treatment also no probs......I check the bulbs every day as I walk past.........

but for leaky places u need a tarp to protect the machines from drips..........
and like elusiveMit said cover the shed or get the insulated metal cladding for the roof and at least the north wall.......save hard, rip the place out, screed the floor and insulate, insulate..... after the roof is fixed......
if u can get the funds build a bigger shed, u know u want one.........
lets hope for a dry winter...........Frank