GG's and Jim,

>I follow the steel wool with a coat of Minwax 
>polishing wax (the yellow-orangish stuff in the round can).

I was doing just this last night on a very neglected boxwood plow. But I
actually dip the 0000 steel wool in wax and clean/polish the surface all at
once. The only downside is it does dirty the wax a bit. Now this plane had
some real dirt on it and I used a non-abrasive plastic finger nail brush
(and a tooth brush) to get the initial grunge off. But underneath, much of
the original french polish remains with patina under that. After a few hours
of careful hand rubbing, the plane has a beautiful, rich wax look to it and
the grain pops out very nicely (SWMBO, although jealous of an inanimate
object commanding my attention also gave it a wow). The plane does have some
checks in the tote but the more I handle it, the more the cracks are closing
from the wax/oils in my hands. I will not do anything further. IME, the
greastest culprit of cracking (when wood was properly dried) is a lack of
use/handling over a period of time. So use your tools. Or at least fondle
them errr... handle them.

Enjoy the day and the wood,

Chris W.