Thread: A Plane Till

Personally if I was to finish the timber I would be using boiled linseed oil.

This is perhaps not the best point of argument, as I would not be concern about moisture being retained by the wood and transferring that moisture to the planes. I would be thinking what protection I can provide to the planes after each use at the end of the day.

I am using G-15 to spray my planes and all metal surfaces for that matter.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

I'm just finishing off an upgrade to the shed, and one of the tasks was to get the planes out of the (very heavy) drawer and next to the bench...........

And at the next get together we will bring our own blue tape so that we can label everything.

Originally Posted by Christos

Personally if I was to finish the timber I would be using boiled linseed oil.

This is perhaps not the best point of argument, as I would not be concern about moisture being retained by the wood and transferring that moisture to the planes. I would be thinking what protection I can provide to the planes after each use at the end of the day.

I am using G-15 to spray my planes and all metal surfaces for that matter.

Yes, know what you mean about re-transferring the moisture. I wax the soles anyway, as part of the using, so maybe I need to get into the habit of waxing before I put it back. I doubt I'll use BLO again - I haven't got that long to wait for it to dry. Rustins Danish for me (although I must try Kunos Oil).

Originally Posted by Christos

And at the next get together we will bring our own blue tape so that we can label everything.

Hmmm, p'raps not. The first 10 were amusing, the next 10 less so, and as the weeks rolled by and they still kept popping up (and all I wanted to do was use the bloody tool without having to remove a damn fool label) it was downright aggravating. Perhaps you shouldn't have used up quite so much of my tape.....

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

At this point I haven't sealed the timber because a little voice keeps telling me that the timber will absorb any moisture between it and the sole of the planes. If I oil it then the moisture may stay around for Mr Rusty to have a drink. Any thoughts on that please?

FF, I like your thoughts re the absorbsion. If the wood won't swell why treat it? I like the timber, it looks like Cyprus Pine.

TT

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

.....Hmmm, p'raps not. The first 10 were amusing, the next 10 less so, and as the weeks rolled by and they still kept popping up (and all I wanted to do was use the bloody tool without having to remove a damn fool label) it was downright aggravating. .....

Even I do not know how many items were labelled and yes I agree we have to come up with something different.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

..... Perhaps you shouldn't have used up quite so much of my tape.....

Perhaps we should organize a tape drive(not from an IT perspective) for you.

Originally Posted by Twisted Tenon

If the wood won't swell why treat it? I like the timber, it looks like Cyprus Pine.

TT

The till itself is Blackwood, and it would really pop with an oiling. The walls are indeed Cypress.

Brett, I think it would be very hard to figure out the net rates of transfer of H2O - it's going to vary with the relative humidity, and I suspect the avidity of iron for the oxygen would trump the wood's ability to hold water. The other big factor to consider is the chemicals in the wood, and some of these, as you & I well know, are very unkind to steel! I haven't used Blackwood where it will have sustained contact with bare metal, but I would be a bit cautious - its bark is very rich in tannins, so there is probably some in the wood. Which is all a preamble to say, my take would be that a little barrier between wood & metal will probably do more good than harm...

The best thing to keep rust off tools (apart from constant use ), I've found, is to keep them in a closed cupboard. This doesn't prevent air exchange, of course, but it sure slows it down, so over the course of a year, the tools are exposed to way less water vapour than they would be sitting on an open shelf. My first 'shed' in Brisbane was a pretty open affair, and anything shiny and made of iron gained a coating of rust within days if left out. A cupboard with moderately well-fitting doors made a huge difference, and putting things in drawers inside the cupboard made an even bigger difference. The one mistake I made was to use some scraps of Northern Silky Oak to make some retainers for several saws - ended up with a strip of rust on each one where it contacted the SO - you can still see the faint marks on a couple of 'em many years later, despite my efforts to clean it off. There are some woods that just don't go with shiny metal!

I do like the idea of a nice till like yours, with everything easy to grab, but in my climate, it would be getting some sort of lid that could be put over it each evening at close of business.......

Cheers,

Oh, yeah, excellent point re the tannins Ian - I hadn't considered that, so it will get oiled today! Very fortunately I'm in a low humidity climate here. When they were in the *rather difficult to open and get access to the back* drawer I had absolutely nil rusty. Apart from waxing them, I had silica gel sachets scattered throughout the drawer.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

....Apart from waxing them, I had silica gel sachets scattered throughout the drawer.....

Whenever I get something with these things in them, I chuck the sachets into one of the drawers in my tool cupboard in the hope they'll provide some additional benefit. They used to have a clear covering & you could see the colour of the crystals, but I notice everything I get nowadays has an opaque covering & I can't tell what state they're in. I suppose it's immaterial, as it takes several hours in a warm oven to fully dehydrate charged crystals, and I'm unlikely to be able to dodge the kitchen boss for that long without a stern "What are you doing with my oven?!"...

So we all do what we can to keep the demon at bay, but keeping some sort of protective coating on the metal (that doesn't smear or stain or interfere with glue/finish adhesion), and limiting air exchange as much as practically possible, would have to be amongst the most cost-effective steps you can take.

Had to chuckle about your not having enough time left to wait for BLO to dry. Soon you'll be like me & only buy ripe bananas......

Cheers,

Originally Posted by IanW

Soon you'll be like me & only buy ripe bananas......

Pfffft, been doing that for years (or trying to).

Ian, you mentioned silky oak as a non tool friendly material for tool holder/racks etc. Not knowing which timbers have high tannin content are there any other known foes?

How do the gums (Blue, Spotted, Red, etc) & Jarrah go?

Originally Posted by DSEL74

Ian, you mentioned silky oak as a non tool friendly material for tool holder/racks etc. Not knowing which timbers have high tannin content are there any other known foes?

How do the gums (Blue, Spotted, Red, etc) & Jarrah go?

Dale, all the Eucalypts can be pretty acidic, as far as I can discover, & in fact there are probably very few hardwoods that are completely innocuous. As a general rule, the pine family is probably a bit safer. I've read that some oily woods like Huon Pine are perfectly safe, but can't confirm from first hand experience - it's a bit exy to use for making tool drawers & holders! I've also read that Camphor laurel contains 'protective' oils, and have used it extensively in my main toolbox. It's certainly been a lot safer than many, but definitely not 'protective' - have had several old Titans develop a bit of rust where they were in contact with it for long periods. Some steels seem way more susceptible to pitting & corrosion, I've found, too, & have to be treated with kid gloves!

Essentially, reactions between the chemicals in the wood and the metal need water, so as long s the wood is bone dry & remains so, it's ok. However, if you live in a climate where relative humidity is high for a substantial part of the year (as I do), you run a big risk of something unpleasant happening to your tools in direct contact with most woods, I fear. I've taken to either slathering any wood that ferrous metal is going to sit on with liberal doses of paste wax, or a heavy coating of shellac (usually both). Since doing that, I've had no problems, but I'm still paranoid about rust & keep an eye on those tools that don't get regular use.....

Cheers,

A couple of points to add to Ian's thoughts there.You may remember the forstner bit stand I took to the saw class in Melbourne. That's Huon pine with the holes oiled (Danish). Each of the tube covers has a silica gel satchet that sits right over the business end. No rust whatsoever anywhere on the bits.

However, this is in stark contrast to the drill stands I made from She Oak. I had a set of Colt HSS M2 Brad Points in one (made in Germany, presumably from German steel). In the other one I had a mixture of Suttons (Made in Oz) and Frost (made in China) twist drills, all HSS.

To my absolute horror, one or two of the Colt bits that hadn't been used since inserting into the stand would not come out, so firmly rusted were they. As it turned out, I had to unscrew the damn thing from the wall, put the stuck drill in the wooden vise, and wind the bloody She Oak off!! Very fortunately the brad points were inserted with the shank in the timber.

On the other hand, when it came to the Chinese twist bits, which had the business end in the timber, there was nil rust on any of them, and so they still reside in the She Oak.

Go figure that one out. The two pieces of timber were from the same billet. Note that the stands were shallacced (sp?) outside to prevent moisture absorption, and each drill has a plastic tube over it (which goes 10mm down into the timber). Thus, virtually nil moisture can get into the timber so the rust was all due to the tannin content.



Worthwhile noting that HSS is far less prone to rust than high carbon steel, presumably because of the chrome and tungsten content, and perhaps some of the other goodies. Didn't stop the She Oak from eating the Colts though. I can only wonder what would have happened if I'd had the tool steel forstners in She Oak......

The reason I ask is I am "still" trying to gather my wood for my planned tool cabinet which will include many racks and tool holders etc. It will be most likely made of some local cheap and easily available timber. I.e one of those I mentioned above or combination of.

The whole point of course to protect the tools some of which may not get used very often.

I guess I will have to use whatever timber comes to hand and hope that a good oil finish and maybe some pate wax will put a barrier between.




Brett, your comparison is quite interesting. It makes me wonder wat is also happening on the hidden parts of our tools like the tang of a file, chisel, or knife. I think Ian has used a bit sheoak in his tool making I wonder if he has any insights after maybe a rehandling exercise?