Wax your planes!

[Marcus Ward]

Tonight I was squaring up some stock for the legs of my wife's sewing table and was alternately using my veritas low angle jack, or my #7 or #8. The old stanleys were getting tough to push and I was feeling a bit sheepish about having recommended them so vigorously when the veritas was such a breeze to use. I about had my mind made up to replace everything wth veritas stuff when I remembered I had waxed the low angle jack last night after using it, but not the stanleys. I waxed their soles (souls? - do older tools have more soul?) with a bit of johnsons paste wax and voila, instant awesome. They were as easy to push as the veritas. So remember my fellow neanders, wax those soles!!

[Don C Peterson]

Marcus,

I use Boeshield or beeswax (whatever is closest) and you're right even small planes are MUCH easier to use when they are properly waxed.

Oh, and welcome back, it's been a while...It's good to see you around.

[Tom Henderson2]

Rob Cosman uses a stick of paraffin wax and just wiggles a stripe down the sole periodically. Easy, only takes a moment, and seems to do the job.

-TH

[Lucas Bittick]

Does the wax cause problems when it comes to finishing the piece? I am a bit paranoid about oil/wax contamination...

[Randal Stevenson]

Does the wax cause problems when it comes to finishing the piece? I am a bit paranoid about oil/wax contamination...

I remember being told to watch out for some substances in waxes (don't remember all of it: Silicones, etc). One of the oned recommended was a hardwood floor wax (pretty easy to find, since a lot of homes in my area, still have old, waxed hardwood floors.

Now, what I have been wondering lately, will a "ok" wax, cause any issues on more porous woods?

[Marcus Ward]

I've never had a finish problem. Usually the first few swipes with the plane get rid of whatever extra there was on the wood and plane anyhow. I use primarily shellac, if that helps.

[Ken Werner]

Once in a while I wax the soles with paste wax, but every use, and as soon as I feel the friction increase during use, I scribble some paraffin on the sole. This has never caused me a finish problem, and the results are great, in terms of improvement in performance.

[Robert Rozaieski]

Does the wax cause problems when it comes to finishing the piece? I am a bit paranoid about oil/wax contamination...

Parrafin wax (candle wax) and beeswax will not hurt any finish. I used to use an old broken candle stick on my saw plates and metal planes. Beeswax is a little better as it's stickier so it will adhere to the tool a little longer. Joel at TFWW sells a nice chunk for $2. I had a similar one (until the dog ate it) and I liked it better than the candle. Smells better too, unless you are into having scented candles in the shop :confused::).

What you want to avoid at all costs are products sold as furniture polish such as Pledge or Endust or any other product containing silicone oil which is bad for furniture finishes. Makes the finished furniture shiny and slick (so dust doesn't stick to it as well) but if it ever needs refinishing, it will cause a lot of problems. Needless to say, if it touches your project before you finish it, you will have a lot of trouble finishing it. Stick with parafin wax or beeswax and you'll be fine.

[David Keller NC]

"Now, what I have been wondering lately, will a "ok" wax, cause any issues on more porous woods? "

A bit of an expansion on what Robert said - the specific problem is silicone and laquer-based finishes. You'll get "fish-eye" if there's significant silicone on the wood's surface. That said, I've had a bad experience with wax and a water-based finish. That makes sense, of course - water-based finishes "lay down" and go on a lot easier if the wood's not oily and isn't contaminated with wax. I try to avoid water-based finishes if possible - I'm not into high production, so the VOC's from solvent-based finishes aren't a concern. If someone absolutely wants the "water-white" look of these finishes, I wipe the piece down thoroughly with laquer thinner before I start the finishing process.

I'm reasonably certain a wash coat of shellac would also prevent a problem with water-based finishes, but I don't have enough experience with that to say for certain.

[Greg Cole]

I've never had an issue with wax residue from a plane..... I have to keep mine waxed or they bleed red in a short time.:o
Then again I often wipe down with mineral spirits and use a raking light to inspect things before any finish application.
BTW, I was drooling on the keyboard last night looking at both LV & LN LA jacks.... I'm going to wind up with one soon and flipping a coin on which one. Any reasons other than the weiner attachment to go with one or the other?

Greg

[Randy Klein]

BTW, I was drooling on the keyboard last night looking at both LV & LN LA jacks.... I'm going to wind up with one soon and flipping a coin on which one. Any reasons other than the weiner attachment to go with one or the other?

I think the mouth adjustment on the LV is way better and easier, IMO.

[Marcus Ward]

I agree with the mouth adjustment comment. Having a stop screw to keep from crashing the mouth into the finely honed iron is greatly appreciated on the Veritas model. Come down to Windsor and use mine. That'll make your mind up in a hurry.


I've never had an issue with wax residue from a plane..... I have to keep mine waxed or they bleed red in a short time.:o
Then again I often wipe down with mineral spirits and use a raking light to inspect things before any finish application.
BTW, I was drooling on the keyboard last night looking at both LV & LN LA jacks.... I'm going to wind up with one soon and flipping a coin on which one. Any reasons other than the weiner attachment to go with one or the other?

Greg

[Don C Peterson]

I liked the LN better for several reasons. First the ergonomics; it just felt better. Second was the simplicity, the LV has some neat features, but I didn't see them as being real enhancements, they just seemed to make a beautifully simple plane more "fiddley". Third was aesthetics, I just like the classic look of the LN better...YMMV

In the end, either one will do just as good a job of planing and both are first rate companies to deal with.

[Jacob Reverb]

Just an aside on the wax/silicone problems sometimes encountered with finishing:

If you get silicone into the actual grain of the wood, it can be MURDER to try to finish without getting fisheyes that "push the finish away."

Two fixes:

1. Coat lightly with spray shellac and let dry, then finish as before.

2. A product used by automobile painters called "Smoothie" (sold on the river) can be added to the finish (~ 40 drops / quart IIRC) and that will make the fisheyes a non-issue.

[Philip Glover]

A quick wax option is wax paper, if nothing else is handy. I believe it contains carnauba wax. I have not had any issues with wax paper contaminating finishes.

Cheers,
Phil

[Greg Cole]

Don,
What precisely are you referring to as "fiddely"? Just askin'....

[David Keller NC]

"BTW, I was drooling on the keyboard last night looking at both LV & LN LA jacks.... I'm going to wind up with one soon and flipping a coin on which one. Any reasons other than the weiner attachment to go with one or the other?"

I'd post this as a topic - and be prepared for the onslaught of opinions on both sides (or just search older topics - something tells me they're are a lot of them). Personally, I don't like the looks of the Veritas planes, though I have a few. I'm a traditionalist, and the L-N form factor fits my thoughts on what a plane should look like. That said, the LV planes that I do have work very well - as do the L-Ns. Don't think you can go wrong here.

[Greg Cole]

Thanks David.
I've done a bit of reading here on them. To say there's alot of info i on them is a slight understatement. Frankly I asked here to get the opinions of a couple guys in this post as the post was wandering all over so why start another... My eyes don't seem to care about one plane over another, my hands and my stock may.
I've got a couple items in a cart and Rob should see some more of my $ in just a bit. If I need or want a weiner for it, I can make one.

Greg

[Bill White]

Just an aside on the wax/silicone problems sometimes encountered with finishing:

If you get silicone into the actual grain of the wood, it can be MURDER to try to finish without getting fisheyes that "push the finish away."

Two fixes:

1. Coat lightly with spray shellac and let dry, then finish as before.

2. A product used by automobile painters called "Smoothie" (sold on the river) can be added to the finish (~ 40 drops / quart IIRC) and that will make the fisheyes a non-issue.

"fish eye" remover. It is a silicone-based product.

[Chris Friesen]

Don,
What precisely are you referring to as "fiddely"? Just askin'....

The LV jack has setscrews down near the mouth to hold the blade laterally. This allows a small amount of compensation for grinding out-of-square while ensuring that the front of the blade doesn't shift once set. It also has a Norris adjuster for controlled lateral adjustment, while the LN has a blockplane-style adjuster.

The LV jack also has a thumbscrew to limit the rear travel of the mouthpiece. As noted earlier, this can be useful to keep it from hitting the blade if you close the mouth more than you intended.

The angles of the totes are somewhat different, so it's best to try both if possible.

[Don C Peterson]

Don,
What precisely are you referring to as "fiddely"? Just askin'....

Just the extra screws and knobs that you can adjust (fiddle with), that in my own estimation don't add anything to the function of the plane. Some people really like them, but I don't. I like the basic simplicity of the LN.

I'm not trying to be dismisive or insulting if anyone happens to like the LV approach, I can see how some might think that their innovations increase control or precision. I just don't see the need for them in this case.