Question about hand planes

[LDosser]

It's a Neander thing. In which case use Camellia Oil!

[Lew Hodgett]

Clean & sharp, along with thin cuts, gets the job done.

Lew

[Mark & Juanita]

I've been using Johnson paste wax for years. It has never affected the finish. I've always used a plastic glove to apply it because I hate the feeling one gets after handling a waxy rag. I may have to check out the Camellia oil, a rag dampened with it may go on more quickly and with less fuss. I'm assuming one must treat the oil-soaked rag as one would linseed or tung oil soaked rags?

[upscale]

I'm wondering how if any it effects the application and retention of finishing products.

[LDosser]

Hadn't thought about it. I use the red stripe Johnson wax.

[phorbin]

Which is why craftsmen need apprentices.

[Phisherman]

I don't use any wax on tools. Hand planes may not ride smoothly if the surface is not absolutely clean. For cleaning I use mineral spirits. You could use acetone, but don't allow it to touch plastic or handle finishes. For storing any length of time, I wipe all iron parts with a rag very slightly dampened with kerosene (or WD40) to prevent rust.

I do wax my tablesaw top (Johnson's Paste wax), but the surface is thoroughly buffed out with a dry clean terry cloth.

[Larry Jaques]

On Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:55:11 -0600, the infamous Steve Turner scrawled the following:

I clean and Johnson Wax my planes at least once a year (when I remember) for rust control, but that doesn't seem to transfer.

-- The Smart Person learns from his mistakes. The Wise Person learns from the mistakes of others. And then there are all the rest of us...

-----------------------------------------------------

[Larry Jaques]

On Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:09:32 -0500, the infamous [e-mail] scrawled the following:

Candle wax is a lot messier to put on. It cakes on up to 1/8" and then crumbles off. Pieces go everywhere and you won't notice them until the glue or finish starts to go on, and then it's too late.

I prefer not to find problems like that if I can easily avoid them.

Paste wax and TopCote products go on in molecule-thick applications and don't crumble, flake, or otherwise come off on the wood.

-- The Smart Person learns from his mistakes. The Wise Person learns from the mistakes of others. And then there are all the rest of us...

-----------------------------------------------------

[Larry Jaques]

On Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:27:18 -0500, the infamous [e-mail] scrawled the following:

It's not very thick, planes off with the next shaving, and would probably work well with any oil-based finish. Since I always rinse (mineral spirits, lacquer thinner, or denatured alcohol) before finishing, it's not a problem even if I used a waterborne finish.

A quick rinse would likely fail to get rid of a chunk of candle wax, which is why I don't use candles.

-- The Smart Person learns from his mistakes. The Wise Person learns from the mistakes of others. And then there are all the rest of us...

-----------------------------------------------------

[Larry Jaques]

On Sun, 8 Nov 2009 01:20:08 -0800, the infamous "LDosser" scrawled the following:

Ditto. ( Mark, have no worry about camellia oil and spontaneous combustion. It's a totally non-catalyzing oil, as safe as an oily shop rag. Minor risks are everywhere in the shop.)

-- The Smart Person learns from his mistakes. The Wise Person learns from the mistakes of others. And then there are all the rest of us...

-----------------------------------------------------

[Larry Blanchard]

Nope - #7 feels light, and underpowered, after using my #8 :-).

[Steve Turner]

The wife always seems to have candles going in the house with kind of exotic foo-foo stinky or other. I try to tell her they're stealing my oxygen, but she doesn't listen. :-)

[Ed Pawlowski]

I clean and wax my Johnson every year too. On my table saw and tools though, I've gotten better results with Boeshield.

[Mark & Juanita]

... snip

Ah, thanks. If it doesn't polymerize, then I'm not worried about it. I'll have to check it out and see if it fits into the work flow better than the paste wax.

[krw]

Is there a trick to applying Boeshield? Stock doesn't seem to slide as freely on my saw with it. I use it, but am not entirely happy with it.

[Steve Turner]

Whether it needs it or not.

Thank you, Ed and I will be here all week.

[-MIKE-]

You have to buff it off, just like wax. After all, what you're really doing when "waxing" a top, is filling all the micro-pores in the metal.

You want something really slick, try Super Lube Dri-Film. Someone in here mentioned it a while back and I tried it. Spray and ignore, nothing else to do.

[diggerop]

Hell Ed, theres coffee all over my screen and through my keyboard now ; )

diggerop

[Ed Pawlowski]

I just spray it, le tit set a few minutes and wipe down with a paper towel. Not as slippery as wax, but seems to last much longer.