Rebuilding Atlas Table Saw

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

So a few years back at my Wife's Grandfathers estate sale I purchased the table saw he had in his wood shop.

An Atlas Model 3020

So far I have hung a new motor on it, and will be replacing the archaic wiring it had with a proper paddle switch, shielded whip & cord.

The question I have for you all, what are your steps to bring the cast table top back to life?
I have so far hit it with WD-40 and a scotch bright, then cleaned with Acetone.

At the point in my garage project to do trim in our Bath & Mudroom, so need to get it up and running smoothly.

 

[Mintgrun]

I enjoy shaving the rust off with a razor blade. Just make sure there aren't any nicks in the blade, or it will leave scratches. I keep a sharpening stone handy while doing it. It leaves a smooth shiny surface, but doesn't change the color. I don't mind brown tops, as long as they're smooth and slippery. I put Johnson's paste wax on every once in a while.

 

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

Thinking I may pick up one of these, have used one in the past to clean up castings for gasket areas.

4" Dual Grit Axe/Hatchet Silicon Carbide Sharpener Multipurpose Sharpening Stones https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P3WL2WT/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[RTM]

I'm in the razor blade camp too. Scrape it, at a high angle, and it will resist digging in. You can sand if you have really gross stuff, but you risk creating a low spot.

Johnson's paste wax is nice for rust prevention. Paraffin wax on the fence, throat plate etc are nice touches once you start working with it.

 

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

Saw is Running as of last night.

Biggest hurdle was installing the switch. I wanted to install a safety paddle switch, and the connections and box size was a PITA to figure out the correct combination.

Cuts great.

I still need to finish cleaning up the table and wax it.

 

[Roberts210]

Good job. That's a nice saw. And looks like you have the original miter gauge!

 

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

Thanks, unfortunately a few things are not upto snuff.

A) miter gauge knob is broke, so it don't hold tight. Need to figure out how to rebuild it.
B) fence is not parallel to the blade. Tried to play with it some but does not seam to have enough adjustment in the fence to get it to where it needs to be.
C) used the factory size belt and I can not raise the saw blade to full height, motor bottoms out and puts too much tension on belt. It will cut all but a 2x. Not sure if I step up an inch on the belt if it will help or not.

 

[RTM]

Is the blade parallel to the miter slot? That should be your first test and set up.

Once that is straight, then the fence can usually be set parallel.

If you hung a new motor, I would not be concerned about changing the belt size .

 

[bubinga]

I'm in the razor blade camp too. Scrape it, at a high angle, and it will resist digging in. You can sand if you have really gross stuff, but you risk creating a low spot.

Johnson's paste wax is nice for rust prevention. Paraffin wax on the fence, throat plate etc are nice touches once you start working with it.

I sand table tops (W.W. machines) all the time, using a R/O sander. just keep it moving evenly.