Waxing Plane Soles

[Bill Houghton]

I've never tried candle wax or straight paraffin. I periodically wax the entire sole of a plane I use a lot with furniture wax (Free safety tip: cutting iron retracted!), and it lasts for quite a while.

I think the general sense is, "yes, and there are several ways to do it."

[Steve Dallas]

It may be short lived on a metal plane but the short amount of time that the wax is there makes it well worth the effort to scribble every few strokes. Especially when doing lots of stock prep with a jack and jointer plane, the heat created really gets these metal planes sticky. The first time I tried out some wax I was in complete shock of how much effort is lost in the form of friction. Night and day. Parrifin is the preffered wax but other types will work in a pinch.

Every few strokes? Sheer madness.

[David Cefai]

My wife brought me back some "Gillie Stevensons" furniture wax from Australia (10,000+ miles, that's love for you ). It was recommended to her by by nephew, who is a professional woodworker. It works beautifully. Better, in my opinion, than candle wax or beeswax.

Any Aussies here who would care to comment on this one?

[Eric Brown]

Here is a link to the benchtop wax holder I made. Works well.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=115345

Eric

[Jim Koepke]

I have a rag that is saturated with furniture oil and wax. It is often used on the lathe to put the first coat of oil on a finished piece. A coat of shellac or other finish can be put on after.

On a plane sole, it is usually just wiped once from heal to toe. It makes an incredible difference. It does not cause any problem with finishing the wood later with stain or other finish.

jim

[David Keller NC]

If you've got a sub to PWW, John Walkowiak wrote an article about making a "plane wick" that uses standard blocks of Gulf canning wax (which is parrafin):

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/ar...ract?aid=13370

Many antique benches, particularly from merry old England, have a swing-out grease cup, presumably for wiping down metal tools, and lubricating plane soles.