Do plane socks work? YES!

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I live in the tropics. How bad is rust? My first-run Veritas shooting plane got rust on it the day after I brought it home. The Post Office has A/C so it was cold and condensation formed on it. I buffed it out and it was fine.

I have tried all all the rust inhibitors. Some work, some don't, but none are perfect. I went back to camellia oil. Then I bought a plane sock, and liked the protective factor (dust and dings) so I bought more, whether or not they prevent rust. I figure it is good protection.

Well here I am a year or so later, and I no longer battle rust. I can tell you for certain that plane socks do help prevent rust. I use camelia oil and place the planes in a sock. The last time I used my skewed rabbet plane I was in a hurry and did not wipe it down. I just shoved it back in the sock. I just got it out weeks later and no rust at all! We have had tons of rain, and normally this would have been covered in surface rust.

Just thought i would would share that for anyone wondering.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

By the way, search eBay for "plane sock" and you get this...

[Phil Thien]

Is there anything special about a plane sock, that would work better than a foot sock?

[David Weaver]

It's treated with silicone or something.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

It's treated with silicone or something.

Yes, that's what they say. Could you spray a sock with silicone for the same effect? I always wondered that.

[Phil Thien]

I thought you didn't want to get silicone on wood you may finish (especially with lacquer)?

[Alan Schwabacher]

You don't want a silicone fluid on wood, as its surface energy is low enough that finish does not wet it well enough to spread out to make a flat film. On a plane sock, you want the low surface energy so water does is not present in the part of the sock touching the plane, but you don't want that silicone to transfer to the plane itself. I would imagine any silicone treatment of the plane socks does not involve silicone as a liquid -- it's likely chemically attached to the sock, and would be a rubber if there were enough of it to tell. That would not affect finishing, unless you're trying to finish the sock.

Silicones can have an incredibly broad range of properties, from thin liquids that easily evaporate, to oils, greases, and solids from soft rubbers almost to quartz. You want to avoid silicone oils and greases.

I'm confident that Veritas and Lie-Nielsen plane socks will not interfere with woodworking.

[Jim Matthews]

You know how they send cars to Finland and the Sahara to test their durability?

You should have our man in Ottawa send you things for the same purpose.
"Tropic tested tough... Inhibitol!"

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I welcome any company that wants to send me tools and rust preventatives to test!!!

Good point on the silicon interfering with finishes. I did not think of that. Anyway, plane socks fit well and look better than "plain old socks," and they aren't too expensive.

[Al Launier]

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/planesack16.aspx

[Shawn Pixley]

I use the plane socks inside a cabinet. They work great and I have never had a finishing problem. I am on the ocean, so any manufacturer is welcome to send me tools and rust preventative methods. Malcolm and I can then compare the efficacy of the the various methods. All on the name of science of course.

[David Weaver]

Yes, that's what they say. Could you spray a sock with silicone for the same effect? I always wondered that.

No idea. I just went out and looked at the blue rust bags, which I never had anything rust while it was in one of those bags. I wasn't able to find inexpensive versions of those, though.

(I didn't look real hard, though - there were cheap ones if you are willing to buy 100 of them. Like $1.50 each for 24x36 bags, and less for smaller sizes.

[Jim Matthews]

That's the problem with these industrial products.

You can get a better price per item,
but you'll be tripping over the excess.

How long do you suppose one of these is effective, anyway?
There must be a half-life on whatever perfume they emit...

[Malcolm Schweizer]

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/planesack16.aspx


"... treated with hydrophobic silicone to minimize any moisture lingering on your tools"

hydrophobic? This stuff is actually afraid of water.

[Mike Brady]

I'll never forget coming home after a summer vacation and heading to the shop to check my tools, only to find a plane sock stuck by rust to the bottom of my Lie-Nielsen #62 plane. The imprint of the sock was etched right into the sole. I immediately purchased a Golden Rod dehumidifier for my cabinet and have never had a problem since. By the way the rust damage lapped out of the plane's sole. I have heard of similar damage occurring with leather tool rolls.

[David Weaver]

Leather, yes, and I've had tools rust while inside the uline anti rust paper (the stuff that LN shipped with their tools). I'm sure all of it helps, but keeping humidity below the point where metal rusts is the only thing that's worked for certain.

I'd probably consider the blue bags that are $1.50 per for everything I have if I had a really big problem. 100 of them in a pack at 24x36 would do everything and they're easier to seal shut than rust paper. I'm sure if someone only needed 20 of the lot, the other 80 could be sold off at least no worse than proportionally to the cost of those bags.

[Adam Petersen]

Buy a shotgun sack, cut to length for your planes and sew one end closed. This works well and is really cheap.