Looks like good advice from Eric. Adding any type of oil finish will
permanently change the look of a plane, and can adversely affect resale
value if you ever plan to get rid of any of your planes. Whenever I go to a
MWTCA meet, I avoid oiled and refinished woodies like the plague, unless
there is one I just have to own, and can't find another in the entire tool
show. Even then, I hate to buy one with an altered finish.

 If you have to clean a woodie, wipe it down with mineral spirits first and
see if thats enough. As long as your hands stay clean while you are using
the plane, its clean enough !

 If the plne is on the grungy side, with spider crap and stuff all over it,
a light waxing will do wonders, and the wax can always be removed with
mineral spirits.

 In my opinion, only when a wooden plane is REALLY dried out, cracked open,
and ugly as sin, will an oil finish improve things... 

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Breitenberger, Eric [SMTP:Eric_Breitenberger@e...
> Sent:	Thursday, July 13, 2000 3:36 PM
> To:	'List for users and collectors of antique tools'
> Subject:	Re: Cleaning and refinishing wooden planes
> 
> I guess what I'll do is clean them lightly and apply paste wax.
> Since they were unfinished originally, I don't feel that I should 
> apply any oil, but I think paste wax is OK since it is somewhat 
> reversible. Any comments from the woodie crowd?
> 
> - Eric B. in Fairbanks, Alaska
> 
>