OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

80895 Tom Holloway thh1@c... 2000‑07‑12 Re: Cleaning and refinishing wooden planes
At 1:42 PM -0400 7/12/00, Robert Nelson wrote:
>I recall one (or more) of my sources re
>oldtimer use of linseed oil describing how they'd set the butt end of a
>plane in about one inch of raw linseed oil and (adding more oil if/as
>needed) let it stand there until the oil wicked up and beaded on the top
>front end of the plane. I do not recommend doing that. Bill Gustafson
>once described trying it out of curiosity and winding up with a plane so
>heavy that it was awkward to use.

	Interesting comment on the weight (see below).  One possible source
is THE PRACTICAL WOODWORKER, the collection of WW essays edited by the
inimitable Bernard Jones, originally published in Great Britain sometime in
the early 20th century, republished over here about 1983 by Ten Speed
Press.  In opening the chapter on "The Plane," (p. 55) Jones has this to
say:
	"A plane should be 'oiled' before using' this makes it heavier,
lessens the friction, and thus makes the plane work easily.  A reasonably
heavy plane is better than a light one, as it workds more solidly and does
not require so much pressing down on to the work.  If the plane, therefore,
has not been oiled, or is too light, it should be soaked in raw linseed oil
or other suitable oil until it is a suitable weight.  This is usually done
by suspending it in an oil tank.  If this in inconvenient the cutter and
wedge are taken out, the bottom of the mouth of the plane is stopped with
putty, and the mouth filled with oil.  After a few days the oil will have
soaked into the plane; add more oil until sufficient has been absorbed.
Planes are sometimes french-polished, but this is not necessary."

		Tom Holloway




Recent Bios FAQ