Cleaning moulding planes

[Bill Berklich]

I have a box (cardboard) of old moulding planes that have the fine patina of age (dirt, grease, mold,...) Is a quick wash with dish soap ok to clear off the initial grunge? Something else? I'll try to post some pic tonight. Thx

[Joe Tilson]

Bill, I've done it both ways, and they came out very nicely. Last week I got two Ohio Tool Co #76 T & G planes which were in pretty good shape. Cleaned one with Simple Green and the other with dish soap and water. The Simple Green got more grunge off, but in the end they looked about the same after finishing them with a beeswax finish. Also put Paraffin wax on the bottom runners. Sharpened the blades and zipped through red oak very well.

[Bill Berklich]

Bill, I've done it both ways, and they came out very nicely. Last week I got two Ohio Tool Co #76 T & G planes which were in pretty good shape. Cleaned one with Simple Green and the other with dish soap and water. The Simple Green got more grunge off, but in the end they looked about the same after finishing them with a beeswax finish. Also put Paraffin wax on the bottom runners. Sharpened the blades and zipped through red oak very well.

Excellent I'll give it a shot tonight and see what happens

[Bill Baethke]

I have used a homebrew mix of linseed oil/turp/vinegar, and Kramer's Best Antique Improver with very good results. When applied using OOOO steel wool and light pressure, it left the patina and got rid of the gunk very effectively.

[Jim Koepke]

Hi Bill,

You likely will not hurt your wooden planes with your method. Water always makes me worry about warping.

My wooden planes are usually cleaned with either a rag saturated with mineral oil or a furniture cleaner/restoring product called Howard's Feed-N-Wax:

366184

the oils help to remove much of the grunge without harming the patina.

You may also find something of interest in an old post of mine:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?242156-Old-Molding-Planes-and-the-Rehab-Enthusiast

jtk

[Frederick Skelly]

Murphy's Oil Soap may be more gentle than some dishwashing soaps (eg, Dawn).

[Hilton Ralphs]

Here's a solution that seems to work pretty well.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE_El7iwJf0

[Joe Tilson]

To further explain; I should have said, do not get the wooden planes very wet when cleaning.

Jim, Howard's feed and wax is exactly was I use and it does a very nice job.

Has anybody tried using the homemade beeswax finish?