Ignoramus5355 wrote:
Followup to my earlier question to the newsgroup about lathe rust etc

Stopped by the seller today.

That Clausing Colchester lathe that I was asking about, I think looks
worse on photos:

http://igor.chudov.com/tmp/Clausing-Lathe/

than it is actually is. The thin layer of rust looks especially bad
due to presence of dried gunk and woodworking dust. There is a lot of
dust and gunk on the ways and they are not actually rusted. But the
sides are.

Well, that sounds better! Sides of the ways are rusted? Those
are not a precision surface, so you can just rub with steel wool.
The father of the owner is a woodworker, who uses his Bridgeport mill
to machine wood. Hence the wood dust. No ****.

Wood dust can be corrosive, so you want to get it all out.
I have not been able to ascertain how worn the lathe is. It may be
worn or it may not be worn. Haven't a clue.

Lube liberally, and then try turning something and check for
diameter change along the length. Of course, you really want to
level the bed to remove twist first.

Jon