Rust on a Plane Sole

Wax on

Jim Reed @ Tallahassee

>After cleaning up planes for use, I slather them with Johnson's wax. It makes them nice to hold and seems to retard the inevitable rust. Good luck.

Second Jim's wax suggestion

Dave (Arlington, VA)

>Hi Tom -

I had a somewhat similar experience. Refurbished a #3 only to find the rust kept coming back on the sole. I waxed the sole with Briwax and never have had any rust reappear (for the last two years). I did put the wax on quite heavily and let it set for some time, then rubbed it out.

However, the sole of my plane was flat with no pitting. It the rust on your plane is coming back inside the pits (at least, at first), you might think about running it through the electrolysis one more time to de-rust the insides of the pits one more time before "sealing" the sole of your plane with wax. Just a thought.

Regards -

Dave

Re: Rust on a Plane Sole

Dan Moening in Cooler, Breezy Sacramento

>Is it possible that the pits are harboring moisture left over from either the electrolysis solution or from your lapping medium?

Dry them out thorougly and fill the pits with wax.

Sounds like a couple pretty nice planes.

Dan.

Re: Rust on a Plane Sole

Todd O. Cronkhite Maine Native in FL. Exile :~(

>Tom,

Are you SURE that the pits are clean when you finish scrubbing the rust off?

What are you using as your electrolysis eltectrolite? hope your using Washing Soda and not Lye.

When you are sure the pits are clean wax the sole right away and you should have no problems with it coming back.

Real shame about the cracked #3. Think I would of cried.

Todd O.

Re: Rust on a Plane Sole

Moses Yoder in White Pigeon, MI

>After electrolysis I dry my planes in my wife's stove. I asked permission first, and she has given me a cookie sheet that is dedicated to tools. You can get a cookie sheet for a couple dollars. I dry them on low heat (around 200 degrees) for 20 minutes or so. When I pull them out of the oven I let them cool jsut enough that they are comfortable to handle, and then apply Johnson's Paste wax with a brush. It melts into any pores or pits in the iron and prevents rusting for a long time if they are not handled much. At the last tool meet I was at, someone sold me a bottle of Gibb's oil, for $8 I think. This is the good stuff. It is really good. But now that I am getting low on Gibb's oil I find it sells for roughly $20 per bottle, a little cheaper if you buy in quantity. So I may just stick with the paste wax.

Re: Rust on a Plane Sole

Bill Lowrance in Geneva

>Another way to micro-clean and dry is to rub the sole hard with a cotton wad soaked with rubbing alcohol, and then with one soaked with acetone. This will do a little final cleaning (of which you may see evidence on the cotton), and it will dissolve any water in the pits and replace it with acetone, which then evaporates quickly. Make sure the plane is then warm and dry, then rub with wax (for me, best is paraffin).

If all else fails

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>hardware stores and some auto parts stores sell a liquid that chemically combines with the iron oxide, leaving behind a black compound. In the pits, it shouldn't make much difference. NOTE: some of these treatments don't guarantee results unless you paint or otherwise protect it; others seem more confident.