Burnin' up the work!

[Mark Baldwin III]

I ran into an interesting problem the other day. While cutting a rabbet, I could smell the wood. You know the smell, typically you get it with the tailed tools, that slight burning odor. I noticed once before that the soles of my skewed rabbet woodie and my moving fillester got warm to the touch after a few strokes. This time, it actually put a burn on the work piece! I have used paste wax on the soles of my planes up until now. Is that a bad idea? Should I switch to paraffin?

[Joe E Harris]

I'm just starting hand tool work myself, but i paste was everything and use paraffin more as a lube for my planes and saws. It make my life a heck of a lot easier.

[bob blakeborough]

I have only ever used paraffin wax on the soles so I can't give a comparison, but I can say I have never experienced what you are describing using the paraffin...

[Zach Dillinger]

My understanding is that cherry, like many fruitwoods, has a fairly high glucose content in the wood itself, which makes it much more likely to show burn marks. This is usually more of a problem for our Normite brethren, but clearly you were getting some high friction with your fillister. I too recommend paraffin, I use it on all my saws and planes.

EDIT: I'm assuming that is cherry, although now that I look at it it might be maple...

[john brenton]

Oh yeah. The difference of an unwaxed vs. waxed sole is huge. It's easier to work, and in my opinion the work comes out better. It'll saved the life of your plane too.

[Jason Coen]

"Do you smoke after rabbeting?"

"I don't know, I've never checked."


Not sure why that popped into my head...

[Mark Baldwin III]

Thanks, guys. I'll get some paraffin. Everything has felt sufficiently slick with the paste wax. My wooden bench planes all work just fine, so I never thought that might be an issue.