Thread: Plane sole treatment

I have used Trad Wax and scrubbed it in with a green kitchen scourer. Paraffin wax is OK also - recommended by Richard Vaughan at a session I went to

I use a carnauba wax on all of mine. If any reside is left on the wood it's easy to clean off.

No way in the world use a silicon spray. Once it's on the timber it's near impossible to remove. Nothing sticks to it so any finish ...well it's going to be ugly.

Originally Posted by The Bleeder

No way in the world use a silicon spray. Once it's on the timber it's near impossible to remove. Nothing sticks to it so any finish ...well it's going to be ugly.

I second that.
Cheers,
Jim

Originally Posted by The Bleeder

No way in the world use a silicon spray. Once it's on the timber it's near impossible to remove. Nothing sticks to it so any finish ...well it's going to be ugly.

Oh, this would be so true. Thanks for pointing this out. I went with the trad-wax. The planes glide really nicely now. Thanks. I treated my shooting board to a coat of trad wax on the sliding area too, and that made a big difference.

Originally Posted by Chesand

Paraffin wax is OK also - recommended by Richard Vaughan at a session I went to

I asked Carba-Tec about paraffin wax and got a blank face, never seen it look. I use silver glide sparingly. If paraffin wax is avaliable where can we get some or do you have to make it?

SB

Originally Posted by Superbunny

I asked Carba-Tec about paraffin wax and got a blank face, never seen it look. I use silver glide sparingly. If paraffin wax is avaliable where can we get some or do you have to make it?

SB

Paraffin wax is the main ingredient of candles, which work well. You used to be able to buy it in bulk from stores that sold preserving gear, but I haven't seen it for a while - not sure anyone uses it for that purpose any more. It's also the stuff used in histology labs to embed tissues for sectioning. I made sure I got myself a lifetime supply from the stuff they chuck out when they clean the embedding machines, before I retired.....

I keep a couple of cakes by the bench and give my plane soles a few swipes every few minutes during a heavy planing session - makes a world of difference to the amount of effort required.

Cheers,

Paraffin,
On this side of the creek it's usually in grocery stores on the canning isle, four bars to the box, or in hardware stores for the same purpose, or for drawer guide, or slide lubrication. Or anywhere that sells candle making supplies, but it usually costs more there.
Some people use beeswax, or mutton tallow, but they say the mutton tallow goes rancid after a while.
Also, some recommend a 10% mix of boiled linseed oil and turpentine, followed by paste wax.

Toby

Originally Posted by TobyC

......Some people use beeswax, .....

Toby, I wouldn't recommend solid beeswax for plane soles, from my own experience. Though it's fine in paste waxes, when I tried using a chunk of it the same way as I use the paraffin, it was a bit sticky & doesn't provide as much lubrication as the paraffin. It also tended to build up & collect gunk on some surfaces like my table saw. No problems with the paraffin, though....

Cheers,

Ian,
Never used beeswax myself, or mutton tallow, nor will I. They seem 'greasy' to me. I was just passing that along as an option, as many people swear by them. I like paste wax, and it works for me, but different people like different things.

Toby

Originally Posted by TobyC

...or mutton tallow, but they say the mutton tallow goes rancid after a while.

Hmmm... interesting. I've got a tub of tallow. I use it on screws. I acquired it pre-1980 when I worked at the railway workshops (before they were closed). We were told it was better than soap for woodscrew threads, but you had to use tallow that was made without salt (most slaughterhouses used a process that added salt to the tallow - but this would encourage rust). It hasn't gone rancid yet (after 32years + 'though it's always possible that my nose isn't working as well as it once did ).

Anyway, I've never tried it for lubing a plane . I must do so.

Cheers, Vann.

I don't know if is against all the rules but I have sprayed WD 40 on the sole prior to use. Of course I wiped the surplus off with a dry cloth. Sure makes the plane glide along the timber and changes the whole action of the plane.

Gary

WD-40 is mostly kero - it might have removed some dirt and crap from the bottom of your plane to make it slide better, but won't have the same effect as wax. Sorry.

I've used a variety of waxes myself , but an interesting alternative is Ubeaut EEE. The fine abrasive removes light surface rust, polished the metal until it gleams, and leaves a thin wax coating behind after buffing. Makes for a very slippery plane sole.

Kidbee - Buderim......you lucky, lucky.....

Here in the south we've just been drenched, frozen half to death, and finally blown away by 100km/h winds.....trees down everywhere.

Thanks Mr. Brush. I knew I might dodge a few bullets about using the WD 40. However I do like your suggestion about the EEE stuff. I do have some and will give it a go. It makes a whole lot of sense. My Hammer bandsaw and VL 300 Lathe sit in an open area under the house and get their share of rust also. I tried the Silver Glide on them and they were great for a while but rust has reappeared.

As far as Buderim goes we had a very wet summer and 100mm last Saturday. A long period of dry sunny weather would be very welcome. Your cold rainy blast and trees down does not sound good though.

Gary