Which oil for planes?


DeanJackson

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If you used WD to lube a child's bicycle wheel bearings, that amount if heat will cook off the WD.

Well everyone knows this! You can't use a penetrating lube or oil for something that requires actual "grease".  :lol:

 

 

I would be at least a little concerned about residue from the WD40 transferring to the work piece.  In my shop, at least, WD40 seems to end up dark as well as I'm not sure I want the oils on my wood.

I'm not 100% sure of the makeup of WD-40, but I think it's a petroleum based product like the crc 3-36 I switched to. They do not contain silicone and will not affect finish. I don't bother with waxes anymore, they are obsolete in my shop for my bare metals. I put crc on everything in the shop now and have been recently styling my hair with it. Great stuff. 

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  • 2 months later...

Re-re-resurrecting an old post.

 

Just a qualifier first...I already bought the Japanese Camellia oil, so I'm as good as committed to it.    Specifically, this one

http://www.amazon.com/Yoshihiro100%25-Japanese-Maintenance-Complimentary-Sabitori/dp/B00AZ6SYSY/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1425990547&sr=1-1

 

Regarding my nicer LN metal items (saws, planes, holdfast), with regards to keeping shiny:

 

How exactly do I apply the oil? 

Which metal bits should I be oiling? All of them?  Steel, Brass, Iron, Bronze, blades, etc?

 

Thanks gang.  I kept it specific so as not to restart the  whole Camellia vs. Jajoba oil vs. 3 in 1 vs. olive oil argument thing

-VJ

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==>Camellia oil

If folks want to use WD-40, have at it… However, many experienced craftsman prefer natural vegetable oils… Camellia oil is a good place to start...

 

==>Which metal bits should I be oiling? All of them?  Steel, Brass, Iron, Bronze, blades, etc?

Way overthinking this… It's a tool -- brass tarnishes, totes get dirty… Who cares?

 

Just spray/add drops/whatever and wipe everywhere with a cotton cloth – save the cloth (I keep mine in jar)... Over time, the cloth becomes saturated and the amount of new oil consumed goes down…

 

 

In the spirit of full transparency, I buy liquid 3-36 in gallon presentations… I dispense with 32oz spray bottles… I take the tool to the shop sink, spray 3-36 all over it and wipe back with a cotton cloth… It it's something like a plane, and I'm in a particularly OCD frame of mind, then I'll hit it with shop air to get the oil out of the nooks&crannies -- most of the time, I don't bother - a drip/dry approach: a little oil never hurts a hand tool, but a little rust does... Absolutely no finesse involved…

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  • 3 weeks later...

Haven't seen anyone mention it yet, so I'll chime in. I use Ballistol. It's good enough for my guns that get dragged through the rain, dropped in streams and set down in the dirt, so I'm sure it can protect the tools I lovingly keep in a wooden chest.

It's basically mineral oil, another fatty acid oil that's in our diets, and a bunch of essential oils to make it smell the way it smells. Pretty sure you can lick it and be just fine.

I have a rag charged with it that I keep in one of those Lee Valley plane iron cases.

Since its mineral oil I doubt it would mess with any finish, and I haven't had that happen yet.

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