Originally Posted by
Stew Denton
Doug,
You have probably already done this and are probably already aware of the concern, but I thought I would mention it just in case. Sawdust left on tools is a big rust hazard. Wood draws and releases moisture from the air depending on the relative humidity. The moisture, in turn, will dissolve oxygen from the air and get it in intimate contact with any steel that the sawdust is on. Thus the need to get and keep the tools clean and free from sawdust or any other finely divided wood.
When I am through using a saw, chisel, or plane I wipe them down well to get off in wood residue, then give them a very light coat of oil. In the case of my planes, I take the chip breaker and iron apart and clean them, and also the narrow slot between the frog and the inside sidewalls of the plane. If I had a compressor I would blow that area out, but I don't have one at this time.
Most of the old planes I have bought over the years have corrosion on the iron where the chip breaker hits the iron. This as a narrow strip on the top at the very front of the iron. This is the result of small amounts of shavings trapped between the chip breaker and iron in that narrow spot.
Regards,
Stew