Wax, oil, grease, and what to put where.

[Chris S Anderson]

I've watched a lot of videos and read 2 boooks on hand planes this past month, and I wanted to know which wax to put on the sole of the planes to keep them moving and which oil or grease to put on the blades to keep them rustproof? I think that's why they put the oil on them. Also, is there something I should do to the sole to keep it from rusting other than just keeping it clean and dry?

The same question goes to my hand saws and chisels. I have a few, including a LN dovetail saw.

[Jeff Willard]

I keep chunks of paraffin strategically placed around the shop for such purposes, but any wax that's soft enough to crayon on to the sole will work. Some use beeswax, some just use an old candle stub.

I use camellia oil on the irons, chisels, etc. A lot of $$$ for oil, but a little will go a long way. I keep a small rag in an old tin box, and wipe things down when I finish using them. Spray the rag as needed.

[James Taglienti]

Parrafin wax works well for plane soles and saws. I bought a 10 LB block at a craft supply store and i will probably have it until i die. I used to use paste wax on plane soles and saws but you have to let it dry and wipe it off etc and i didn't know if there were still any additives in it that would mess up a finish later. It does a mediocre job at preventing rust, whenj i apply it for that purpose i just don't wipe it off at all. Never used camellia oil. I also have some water based rust preventer that i wipe on. That seems to work well. A lot of things in my shop want to rust, especially in spring and fall, when the temperatures go to extremes like that, cast iron and steel will "sweat" much like a glass of water. I have started running a space heater this winter and the shop has stayed just above freezing most days. For light rust i will use a "rust eraser" which is just an eraser that has pumice embedded in it. It works pretty well and doesn't overly polish the tool surfaces.
many tools stay in drawers with tins of silica gel which works great.

[Casey Gooding]

You can buy canning wax at the grocery store. They are small blocks of paraffin. Perfect for plane soles.
Basically, you can use any oil on your blades to keep them from rusting. I have used camellia oil, 3-in-1 oil, WD-40, Boeshield and tons of others. It doesn't really matter.
After you use the tools, be sure to wipe it off with your oil rag to remove dust and fingerprints.
Be diligent about this and you shouldn't have to worry about rust. I live in FL and have virtually no rust problems.

[Aled Dafis]

I use this stuff

http://workshopheaven.com/cgi-bin/cp-app.cgi?usr=51F8399176&rnd=7506404&rrc=N&affl=&cip=86.149.227.27&act=&aff=&pg=prod&ref=STPTW200&cat=ST&catstr=HOME:Shield+Technology:ST

from Workshop heaven here in the UK, it provides great corrosion protection, as well as lubricating youir tools.

There's a whole range of corrosion inhibiting/removing products available from Shield Technology, who I believe started out by producing these products for the millitary, but Matthew at Workshop Heaven has worked closely with them to make these products available to the woodworking community. I'm sure that Matthew would have no problems in shipping to the US.

I also use a stub of candle (parafin wax) from time to time when planing, just to keep things moving easily.

Cheers

Aled

[Richard Magbanua]

Canning parafin wax from Wal-mart and WD-40 & a rag.

[Larry Marshall]

Agree on the use of paraffin on plane soles. I carry a block of it in my shop apron. BUT, I see a lot of people putting a LOT of paraffin on their plane soles. That I disagree with. Just as putting thick coats of wax on furniture defeats its purpose, heavy layers of paraffin on sole bottoms simply means you've got to push hard enough to wipe most of it off before the plane works well. Sometimes less is more.

Cheers --- Larry