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Thread: The Essential Oilpot

  1. #1
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    The Essential Oilpot

    The oilpot is an essential tool for precision woodworking.

    I first learned this fact while living in Japan when I was called a fool by a joiner for not having one in my tool kit. I won't bore you with that embarrassing story, but a quick tutorial on oilpots as I understand them may be useful.

    In Japan, oilpots are used by nearly every woodworking professional. They are typically made of bamboo, which is abundant here. But wood works well too, as do plastic bottles. Don't use metal or glass since these materials will dull your edged tools if you hit the container's lip by mistake. Murphy rules triumphant.

    If you use bamboo, simply cut a segment, as in the photo, creating a cup. True up the bottom, or foot, as they call it in pottery, so the segment will stand straight and without rocking. Chamfer the edges. You want to keep the waterproof membrane inside the segment intact, so don't sand the inside.

    If you use a wood block, I suggest you orient the grain horizontally to reduce the forces of gravity causing the oil to migrate down through the xylem and seep out onto your workbench.

    White oak is a good choice due to the tylosis structures that close off and seal the xylem tubes making white oak waterproof and consequently the wood of choice for making barrels and warships for thousands of years. Any coopers or ship builders reading this may have alternate suggestions.

    Cut and or drill a blind hole in the wood block sized to tightly contain the wick material. You may also want to make a matching lid at the same time.

    Don't forget that plants, including bamboo and oak, are solar-powered waterpumps. Whether wood or bamboo, you need to seal the xylem tubes to minimize oil seepage. A good quality urethane or polyurethane will work well. I suggest applying 2 or 3 coats of colored product, containing lots of solids, on the inside surfaces of the cavity. After the urethane has dried, wrap the inside of the cavity with a single or double sheet of aluminum foil, with the foil extending out over the edge, for additional seepage protection. Be careful to not tear the aluminum when placing it.

    The wick will contain the oil. An old but clean piece of cotton T-shirt material will work well. Don't use a cloth that will produce a lot of lint particles.

    You need to experiment rolling up this material, tying it with a string, and inserting it tightly into the cavity. Add or remove material, or change your rolling technique, until you get it right. Size it so 1/4" - 3/8" or so is projecting past the lip of the cavity. This is critical. If it falls a bit short, you can place some cotton scraps in the cavity's bottom to lift the wick higher.

    Stuff the wick into the cavity, cut off the protruding aluminum foil, add your oil of choice, and voila!

    When I made my first oil pot over 30 years ago, I was told to use vegetable oil. Guess what... veggie oil goes bad and becomes stinky in a few weeks, and hard in a few months. Back in the States, I used Olde English Lemon furniture polish, which is just mineral oil with coloring and scent added. This worked well, but was unjustifiably expensive. For many years I have used various brands of 5w synthetic motor oil. Mobile 1 has the nicest smell, IMO. No need to spend a lot of money on this oil, but you want something that is very stable, is a great lubricant, and is sticky. Synthetic motor oil meets the bill and can be procured anywhere at a reasonable price. Your mileage may vary.

    The exposed end of the wick will become dirty with sawdust over time. Clean it by brushing with a steel bristle brush. The same one you use to clean your rough lumber before planing will do. You are in the habit of scrubbing rough lumber with a steel brush to remove embedded grit before planing it, aren't you?

    I keep my oil pot in a metal can when not in use to keep it clean, and to prevent it from accidentally oiling the inside of my toolchest. A plastic bottle or even a plastic bag will work just as well.

    I always have my oil pot sitting close at hand on my bench top or perched on the beam/column I am working on. Besides wiping my marking knife and marking gauge cutters on the wick, I frequently stab my chisels into it to reduce friction in the cut and improve control/precision. You will find that a dab of oil on your blades will reduce the tendency of the wood's grain to drag and misdirect them.

    When cutting joints with a saw, I pick up the oil pot (it's sized for my hand) and wipe the wick on the blade frequently. Once again, less friction, and better control. Especially when cutting resinous softwoods or tropical hardwoods.

    I also wipe the blades and soles of both my wooden and steel bodied planes on the oilpot's wick to reduce friction during the cut, and wear on my soles. It makes a big difference. Try an occasional dab on the leading edge of the chip breaker/cap iron too. It makes the shavings flow better with less back-pressure. When I first experimented with synthetic motor oil, I was concerned it would soften or damage the soles of my wooden planes over time. It has not. Of course, I don't slop it on.

    When shooting, a bit of oil from my oilpot on the plane's side and sole makes a big difference. Give it a try, and you will wonder why you hadn't used oil before.

    Before putting my tools away at the end of the day, I quickly wipe their blades on my oilpot's wick to prevent rust. What could be more convenient?

    The oilpot in the photos below is 85mm tall x 75mm diameter, and is sized to fit my hand. I have used it for 6 years. The wick is the original one, and is only half as long as it was when new, but is still perfectly functional. The orange paint is a natural urethane called cashew, made from the sap of the cashew nut tree. It is used a lot in Japan as a substitute for urushi (natural lacquer). I used this gaudy color so it is readily identifiable as mine.

    Stan
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by Stanley Covington; 04-24-2016 at 11:03 AM.

  2. #2
    Good stuff. Thanks for the tutorial Stan!
    Fred
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  3. #3
    That was such a wonderful and generous write up. Thanks for this.

  4. #4
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    Thank you Stan, I have been using camellia oil, is this advisable or too thin?
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  5. #5
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    I never would have thought about using 5W30 on my tools, and I know if I did I would never have admitted it here for fear of ridicule, but in retrospect, why not? I would more likely have used mineral oil. Stan, is mineral oil another acceptable oil?

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Holcombe View Post
    Thank you Stan, I have been using camellia oil, is this advisable or too thin?
    Camellia oil will work fine. Just remember that if it is real camellia, it will go rancid and harden with time. This is not a serious problem with an oilpot because you can add more, or replace the wick if it gets too bad.

    If it is the camellia oil sold in the States called Sword Tsubaki, then it is mineral oil, and will not harden. I have a bottle or two of that around here somewhere I picked up a flea market. Not much use for it. I also have a bottle of real refined camellia oil a relative gave me sitting on a shelf. I'm bald, so the days of oiling my curly locks are long past. You can have them all if you want them (the bottles, not the locks).

    Only you can decide what is too thin or too thick. I prefer a little heavier oil that stays on the tool longer.

  7. #7
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    Well written. Does the motor oil and mineral oil not interfere with the finish? I have long intended to make an oil pot and even got the cloth to do so. I should really get off my bum and do that.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pat Barry View Post
    I never would have thought about using 5W30 on my tools, and I know if I did I would never have admitted it here for fear of ridicule, but in retrospect, why not? I would more likely have used mineral oil. Stan, is mineral oil another acceptable oil?

    Pat:

    Mineral oil is very good.

    There was a time that the idea of using motor oil on woodworking tools was repulsive to me too. But a chemist friend enlightened me.

    Remember that the market for oils for woodworking, sports equipment (bicycles, guns, fishing gear, etc) is miniscule, and that the products targeting these small niche markets are mostly diluted, modified, and repackaged versions of advanced lubricants developed specifically for more high-volume markets that can absorb the R&D and production costs involved in synthetics, such as motor oils, transmission fluids, gear oils, pneumatic tool oils, medical and dental equipment oils, etc..

    These advanced lubricants are formulated from the same synthetic base used to make the best motor oils. In addition, the market for motor oil is absolutely huge, and so a lot of heavy duty R&D goes into developing the high-performance products. We don't need the high-temperature high-shear performance such motor oils can provide for our woodworking tools, but it doesn't hurt. Off-the-shelf synthetic motor oil is the cheapest and easiest way to get hold of some excellent oil.

    The people and companies selling repackaged products at inflated prices, including Sword Tsubaki and Olde English Lemon furniture polish, will never tell you they buy it by the 55 gallon drum at bulk prices and put it into little bottles with a drop or two of perfume and colorant added. That's their business. But I'm not going to buy it.

    Mineral oil works fine, but I think synthetic motor oil is a better product at a cheaper price.

    Just my opinion.

    Stan

  9. #9
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    Once you load the wick with oil, do you have to feed it oil again or is it pretty much set for life? Thanks for sharing this technique.

  10. #10
    Very nice write up Stanley, thanks for sharing.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Malcolm Schweizer View Post
    Well written. Does the motor oil and mineral oil not interfere with the finish? I have long intended to make an oil pot and even got the cloth to do so. I should really get off my bum and do that.
    Malcolm:

    This is a very valid concern, and one that bothered me at first. In my experience, it does not interfere with the finish, or weaken glue bonds at all. Note that I am not advocating slopping a lot of oil on. And by the time I am putting a finish plane to the surface of the piece I am making, there is no need for oil anyway since it is very low-friction work.

    Stan
    Last edited by Stanley Covington; 04-25-2016 at 12:12 AM.

  12. #12
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    Mike:

    Ah.. the perpetual oil machine. Nope, you will need to add a bit of oil after a while. Perhaps I should have covered this in my original post, but while you do need to soak the wick initially, you don't want it to be so wet it slops a thick coat of oil onto your tools. A light coat is all you want or need.

    Stan

  13. #13
    This is what Paul Sellers wipes his tools on in his videos, isn't it? If so, I made one from a jar from the dollar section at Target. I found one that had a lid that was open but had a wire grate tacked in. I stuffed the jar with rolled-up shop towels (clean ones, mind you) and filled it with as much mineral oil as it could hold. Then I knocked the grate out and screwed the lid back on to hold it all in place. Works great.

    I rediscovered sole waxing just yesterday as well. I had forgotten about the beeswax I had in a drawer.

    Incidentally, in case someone doesn't know, pure mineral oil without additives is sold in drug stores alongside laxatives. It often goes on sale..$1.89 or so for a 16oz. bottle. When it isn't on sale it can run around $5. I like it because it has no smell, and I use it for everything from this to sharpening.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Robert LaPlaca View Post
    Very nice write up Stanley, thanks for sharing.
    You are welcome. I hope you give it a try.

    You don't have to actually make the oilpot to test it, BTW. Just wipe your tools I described above with a clean oily rag and confirm the improvement in performance yourself. Once you have done this, you will see the value of an oilpot immediately.

    I should add that I was taught to use paraffin wax, caning wax, by my father who was a carpenter and cabinetmaker. I can still remember clearly the sight of screws and nails melted into the cake of wax he kept in the steel toolbox in the bed of his '68 Chevy truck when I was a small boy. It was my job, as the oldest son, to help him clean his truck and toolbox on weekends. Not much fun in the hot Las Vegas summer sun, but I don't recall minding.

    I still use caning wax for some jobs even now. But for the purposes I described in my first post, the oilpot is superior in every way.

    Stan

  15. #15
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    Nothing new under the sun.

    I remember David Weaver telling me that he had used a heavier mineral oil intended as a laxative for cattle and horses as a rust preventative for tools. I think he said he had bought it quite cheaply at a feed store. Not many feed stores here in Tokyo, but for you folks in rural areas, it might be worth looking into if motor oil doesn't appeal.

    Stan

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