I’d try just about anything…... I’m so tired of rubbing rust off. I’ll look into
Camelia oil.

Since you mentioned it’s costly . . . most of my bench planes are $5 dogmeat
that I restored . . . . I fear Camelia may prove to be for me a Rich People
Thing. Like golf clubs made from Unobtanium, by unicorns, only on a Wednesday in
a leap year. But will definitely look into it, thanks for the tip. If it’s from
the flowering tree of the same name, I have some of those . . . . and I have a
tap and screw box to make a press . . . . hmmm . . . .

For now here’s my keep-rust-at-bay routine:

— each bench has a hunk of fiberboard with bath mat stapled to it, soaked in a
mix of baby oil, Slick Stuff, 3-in-1 Penetrant, and coconut oil
— I lube planes every 10-12 strokes anyway, now I’m swiping the sides and ends
as well
— small spray bottle of 50% mineral spirits / mineral oil mix . . . two pumps
mists a fore plane end to end
— when ambient temp is >93F I have the doors and windows open (not just for
comfort: that kind of heat, I sweat on the tools too much!) but otherwise have a
dehumidifier running to 55% humidity (same % as in my AC’d house)
— box fan to keep air circulating
— drawers and doors open on all tills 
— I’m down to my last stick of it but believe it or not for $8 you can get 2
chap stick tubes of organic sheep tallow and it goes a long way . . . . all of
the wooden planes get that around the mouth



My son just walked through. He’s 17. I’m OCD about making with wood. He makes
electrical things. Not just mix-n-match. He makes some stuff from household
scraps. He’s made a few light bulbs and is working on a motor.

I mentioned my perplexity about flash rust.

 He told me he had a “handful” of D cell batteries “kinda explode” in his mad
science a few weeks back. He’s a good kid so he cleaned up the mess (I didn’t
even know) but now methinks it might have put enough acid into the atmosphere
that it might be accelerating the rust . . . . doors windows open tomorrow, may
sprinkle his work area in the shop with baking soda as if it was holy water . .
. .

Mark.