Where is this rust coming from?

[chmer01]

I was playing one of my modern machines and could not figure out where the rust on the balls was coming from. I figured that maybe one of my kids used the ball in one of the vintage machines I haven’t cleaned yet. So I cleaned the balls and the machines tracks. Still I was finding rust residue on the balls and tracks of the machine. Thought I was going to go mad. Then I took a closer look at my ball lifter.

EGADS what a mess. Below are some photos I took during the dismantling. The worst was the inside of the bendy spring, had to soak that in a de-rusting solvent overnight. An the riser tub was a nightmare to clean. My first pass through it with a Windex wipe, the wipe came out almost black.

I don’t think I’ll be having any more problems with rust from it any more. I’d include after shots but my digital camera died yesterday. So don't forget to check your ball lifters before hooking them up.