Whether to restore old Tatry DW50 (DeWalt 1150)

[Giordannetto]

A while back I inherited my father's Tatry DW50 260mm planer thicknesser (almost identical to a DeWalt 1150). I've also got a small pile of salvageable timber from an old shed.

But the machine hasn't been used for about 20 years and Dad never laid it up or even cleaned it out when he stopped using it. It's been in a shed protected from rain and wind but not from temperature changes and humidity (close to the Southern Ocean).

I've begun to open it up and it doesn't seem too bad except that the surface of the cast iron thicknesser table is badly corroded (see pix).

PXL_20211026_063533286 Tatry resized.jpgPXL_20211026_080429734 Tatry resized.jpg

Question for the experts: what's the best way to get a nice smooth surface? The table feels extremely thin for cast iron, like 3-4mm (haven't got the calipers on it yet) so I'd be worried about putting it on the milling machine to cut it back to bare metal. Would it be practical to simply cover it with a sheet of melamine or UHMWPE? All suggestions gratefully received.

[Fergiz01]

If it were mine, I'd hit with a 240 grit pad on the random orbital sander. If that sounds on the nose, try a green scotchbrite pad with WD40.

Green scotchbrite pad with WD40 will do for most of the rust you can see actually. Looks to be in pretty good nick, better than many of my machines when I got them.

Cheers, Zac

[clear out]

What Zac says seems to be the way folks do it nowadaze.
I personally get one of my woodturning scrapers (made from big old files) and lightly hand scrape rusty machine surfaces.
Its guiet and very effective, l can ease the rust off and leave the mill marks if there’s minimal wear.
After getting the area hand scraped I’ll use some worn out sandpaper on a cork block to hand finish the job.
A coat of wax by hand and you’re done. Waxing can be machine burnished off also if you prefer.
H.

[Giordannetto]

Thanks, Zac and H. I feel encouraged enough to dismantle the machine so I can remove the table for treatment. I don't have a R.O. sander, but could start with a rotary wire brush and follow up with a scraper.

[orraloon]

Scrape to start saves you a lot of work. Even a paint scraper will get most of the loose rust off. Do it dry and then vac or brush off. Then 240 paper on a block with WD40 or turps or kerro even. The trick is get most of the rust but maintain the flatness so avoid anything too aggressive. Just keep at the wet sanding and wiping off until it is wiping off clean. A few pits will not affect performance and as you suspect its thin anyway dont take off more than you have to. I would aim for functional rather than shiny brand new look. Surface rust often looks worse than it really is and the pics look like heavy surface rust. I cleaned up an old combo machine that was about the same state as that.
Regards
John

[Treecycle]

Are the tables actually cast iron or could they be steel sheet? It would be unusual for cast iron to be that thin.

[Giordannetto]

Are the tables actually cast iron or could they be steel sheet? It would be unusual for cast iron to be that thin.

The thicknesser table is definitely cast iron and remarkably thin. A friend and I had the calipers on it just now as we were investigating how to dismantle the machine without doing any damage, and the spot we measured was at most 6mm.