[OP]
Member
I was jointing some red oak with my No. 8 Stanley jointer last night and remembered reading about waxing the sole of a plane. I had reservations about contaminating the wood with wax off the plane's sole which might affect the finish later, however, I reached for a block of bees wax I had laying around.
Rubbed a little on corrogated sole, and wow, the plane almost shot off the end of the board. I guess I'm going to have to invest in more bees wax, since what I have won't last much longer.
Life's too short to use old sandpaper.
Guest
Paraffin wax has the same effect, too, perhaps a bit cheaper to buy and less sticky. If you buy bees wax, get it on ebay. It's $5-6 a pound for pesticide-free beeswax, and mixed half and half with mineral oil, it also makes an easy to apply rust protectant, as well as a decent sheer wood finish for shop tools (without getting into the argument about whether or not it's a "finish", hopefully that can be saved for the finish forum). The woodworking supply places are nuts regarding their price on beeswax, something like $30 or $40 a pound equivalent. Let them keep it and get it directly from the beekeepers on ebay.
Member
For hundreds of years the planes were lubricated with various substances. If it affected wood finish we would've known about it now. The miniscule amount of wax/tallow on the surface is negligible and either gets planed off or rubbed off.
I recommend going to the grocery store and buy some paraffin wax. A few dollars for a pound of the stuff. It's in the canning section and usually will come in 4 blocks. Keep a block on the bench and rub it across the sole as needed.
Member
I use paraffin. It is not sticky and messy like beeswax,and doesn't seem to make trouble later when finish is applied. But,do be sure the wax is eradicated before staining,etc..
Contributor
A fourth vote for paraffin from me. I save the beeswax for finishing. Paraffin does a better job anyway.
Your endgrain is like your bellybutton. Yes, I know you have it. No, I don't want to see it.
Member
Yep paraffin. I got a pack of like 4 blocks of canning wax (which I think is paraffin)at the grocery stone for maybe $4. I don't suspect that I will ever run out.
Contributor
I'm with George. I find paraffin to be "slipperier" then bees' wax.Originally Posted by george wilson
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Member
What about old white candles? Can they be used as well?
Member
Absolutely.
Contributor
That is what my old burned out candles are used for.What about old white candles? Can they be used as well?
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Member
I've been using a mix of paraffin/beeswax - mostly because it's what I've got a lot of on hand. (Used it for potting guitar pickups back when I wound my own) I'll have to dig up the straight paraffin and give that a try.
Contributor
I doubt you'll see much difference, except in your wallet, which is a good enough reason to try it out!
Your endgrain is like your bellybutton. Yes, I know you have it. No, I don't want to see it.
Member
Given how much of this wax mix I still have kicking around, I doubt I'll ever make it through it all unless I start potting pickups again. . . I've been using the same chunk on screws and plane soles and anything that needs wax since what seems like forever, and it's still not that much smaller . .. but I'm pretty sure I still have canning wax kicking around from some project or other, so it's probably six of one half a dozen of the other on cost . . .
Contributor
How about using Johnson's paste wax or bowling alley wax?
Contributor
For years my shop rag had a mix of furniture wax and paste wax for polishing handles and rubbing on the bottom of plane soles.
Works great.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
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