Paul Womack writes:

> Polishing or Oiling: Planes. > Planes made from naturally dried beech-
> wood are much lighter in colour than those made from artificially
> dried or steamed beech. For planes made of the first-named beech, use
> raw linseed oil, 1 gill; dragon's blood, 1 pennyworth ; yellow ochre,
> as much in bulk as dragon's blood ;

The usual recommendation with new wooden planes was to remove the irons,
set the wedge lightly, plug the mouth with putty, fill thecavity with
linseed oil and wait for about a week until the oil has been absorbed.
Job's done.

Dragon's blood, if used at all, necessarily had to be sourced from, if
memory serves, the Green-eyed Dragon with the thirteen tails.

The Dragon went down to the kitchen one day where the Fair Princess was
baking, He ate, by mistake, some rich plum cake Which the Fair Princess
was making. That homemade cake he could not digest, He moaned and he
groaned, and at last - went west.

Hence, the rarity of this species of dragon's blood.

Regards from Brisbane

John Manners
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