Waxed Soles -> Waxy Shavings -> Slippery Floor

[Michael Peet]

I do all my woodworking in the basement where there are painted concrete floors. It took me a while to figure out why the floors were getting slippery, dangerously so in spots. I finally attributed it to the wax i use on my plane soles. As it comes off on the wood shavings, and the shavings fall to the floor and get stepped on, the wax must rub off onto the floor.

I have not really found a good way to get the wax OFF the floors now. I have tried mineral spirits, but it didn't seem to do a lot of good. I might have also tried acetone with similar non-results.

Anyone else ever run into this?

Mike

[David Weaver]

I have to think it's something else other than that. What kind of wax are you using? Paraffin?

I use paraffin, but have HF foam rubber mats (the ones that are $10 for squares that go together like a gym floor) in front of my bench. They're worth having, especially if you ever drop chisels by accident.

I've never noticed any wax residue on the floor from anything.

[Michael Peet]

I am not sure what kind of wax it is. I use little candles like this:

148280

They come right out of the metal can and the wick pulls out really easily.

Mike

[Terry Beadle]

I also don't think it's the wax on shavings. There's just not enough of it do make such a problem in my estimation. I would suspect condensation. If anything the shavings would suck up moisture and not deposit it unless it was shavings from a wood lathe and green wood.

Put down some play ground sand in the walk ways and see if that doesn't help. Sure it'll get tracked around but it might improve the grip.

Also you could use double backed tape on the soles of your shoes...just kiddin' !

Some folks put some sand in the paint when they paint the floor so that there will be good grip surfaces. Now that really works.

There is also skid tape available at the big box stores. Put a strip down in the heavily walked areas and you shouldn't have a safety problem after that.

[george wilson]

Maybe you use too much wax. Those are paraffin. Just a little scrawl is enough.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

First thing that jumped into my mind was installing a dust collection system to your hand plane... It won't affect the planes use, honest! :rolleyes:

I have no specific solutions, but:

I think that you would need to use a lot of wax on those shavings and then stomp them into the floor. Assume for a moment that you really are leaving that much wax on the shavings. This is coming from the front of the plane (because the shaving comes off before the back of the plane is reached. This would leave wax on the wood from the back.

Now, depending on your finishing method, I might expect the wax to still be present on the wood when it is time to finish the wood. I would then expect the wax to have a negative effect on the finishing. Paraffin is dissolved by hydrocarbon-based paint thinner such as mineral spirits or xylene, which may prevent issues while finishing, but, I expect to see a difference from any stain.

Do you see this in any way?

Anything special about the wood? I do expect that sawdust and similar on the floor would by itself make the floor slippery. You may be able to "remove" any build-up from the floor using some method that will demonstrate that this is wax...

[Mike Brady]

Hi, Michael. I too have noticed a have noticed a gradual increase in the slipperiness of my concrete shop floor. I use canning wax on my planes. I wouldn't totally discount the role of waxy shavings, but I think general foot traffic and burnishing of the floor with shavings under foot as the cause. You could try cleaning the floor with trisodium phosphate or even use muriatic acid (only with a respirator) to etch the floor.
I made the mistake of using red sweeping compound on my floor once. It has oil in it and made the floor quite slippery for awhile. You also might consider if overspray from finishes might be the culprit.
Mike

[John Keeton]

My thought is that the slickness is coming from a "burnishing" of the finish on the floor by constant walking on wood shavings - similar to burnishing a piece of wood with shavings. I have noticed the area around my lathe , as well as just the area around my bench where I use handplanes both becoming slicker than the surrounding areas. Since I don't use wax on the lathe, I think it is the effect of the shavings.

[Joe Close]

My thought is that the slickness is coming from a "burnishing" of the finish on the floor by constant walking on wood shavings - similar to burnishing a piece of wood with shavings. I have noticed the area around my lathe , as well as just the area around my bench where I use handplanes both becoming slicker than the surrounding areas. Since I don't use wax on the lathe, I think it is the effect of the shavings.

I think John nailed it. And maybe some really fine saw dust on the floor is adding to it. A waxy floor is generally tacky, unless you are in sock feet, or leather soled shoes.

[Tony Shea]

I agree with the last 3 posts that it is most likely not the wax but the polishing/burnishing that is created by the shavings and stepping on them. Especially on painted floors. And also considering the fact you used some mineral spirits with no effect shows that it most likely isn't the wax but a permanent situation like burnishing. Repaint with some fine sand mixed in and you should be very happy with the texture. I have the same issue starting to happen on my bare basement floor around my bench, to the point that it is visiblely more shiney than the rest of the floor. I ended up laying a carpet scrap that I my father bound for me underneath my bench that extends out beyond a foot or more. It is a low profile rug made for heavy traffic therefore cleans up nicely with a vacume.

[Michael Peet]

Thanks for the input, everyone. I had not considered that as a possibility.

Mike

[Robert Rozaieski]

If you wear the same shoes in the shop all the time, they tend to get a thin layer of dust on the soles that gets very slick. Try cleaning the soles of your shoes. It may not be the floor. Especially since you said you cleaned the floor and it did not help.

[Bob Easton]

Bob makes a good point.

You might also be tracking shop dust into the rest of the house. Don't let SWMBO discover that.

I've found that a rough rug at the door to the shop is handy for wiping my shoe soles when leaving the shop, keeps tracking shop debris elsewhere, and probably reduces the buildup Bob suggests.

[Dennis McGarry]

I use a trick left over from my days in high school basketball,

Rubbing alcohol. I kept a pull out container of it in sheets by the door. When I would come in and leave grab a sheet and wipe off the shoes. Would be surprised by how just a little dust will become slick...

[David Cefai]

I have one caveat about using sand in a floor finish. It can make the floor very difficult to clean if you have, say, rubber marks on it. (It will also promote rubber marks by abrading rubber tyres).

[george wilson]

Canning wax is paraffin,too. Paraffin is a very slippery wax,dry feeling in texture. I'd just use less.

Adding some sand to the paint is a good suggestion. In Colonial Williamsburg,the wooden stairs in the shops can be VERY,VERY steep. Almost like ladders. Never would pass OSHA,except museums get a break. I knew 3 people who fell down those type stairs. One cracked her eyeball socket.

The head of paint shop started putting sand into dull varnish to paint the stairs with. It didn't show up,and they didn't want to disturb the authenticity with rubber treads on the stairs.