Prolog – Not making any claims, just asking a question.
I bought the lie Nielsen shoulder plane and block plane from woodcrafters not too long ago. I left them on my bench in the basement for a few days while away. When I returned there was rust on both planes. I gently scrubbed off the rust and applied a paste wax for protection. I left some of the rust becuase I was afraid any harder cleaning would scratch the metal. My basement is not inordinately damp and no other tools I own have had this problem. But this is the best quality tool I own.
I love these planes and they are helping me learn more every day thru their use. BUT every time I look at the planes and see the rements of the remaining rust my heart sinks. They were a big investment for a novice woodworker.
Is it at all possible that quality control slipped some and the metal was a little more prone to rust that normal. I recently read the difference between A2 and O-1 steel and it indicated that one steel was more rust prone than the other.
My planes are now kept in a drawer in a sock when not in use.
Any thoughts
Replies
Larry,
I feel your pain. I bought a 5 1/2 a few months back (when the Candian US exchange wasn't as good). I was flattening up a a panel that night when I got called into the house, so I laid the plane on its side across the panel and when I came back the next day. There was a stain (rust?) across the side of plane where it contacted the glue line. Every time I look at the plane it drives me nuts...
Buster
Where is the rust on the planes exactly? If it is on non critical surfaces, and it is just surface rust (not deep pitting - you were only a way a couple of days, right?), you should easily be able to clean it all off with some very fine grit abrasives of various sorts - including the ones LN offers:
http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?sku=HB
or you can go whole hog:
http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?sku=TCK
I really doubt it was LN's metal. It was almost certainly the temperature and relative humidity of your shop.
Have you tried the sanding blocks that LN (and others) sell? I've never had to use them on planes, but they work great on jointer, TS etc. The medium grit should get rid of all but the most stubborn rust, and the fine remove any scratches. I don't find that you have to be too gentle about it.
Jim
I have used the Sand-Flex blocks on my planes (including LN) and they work great. I too find that if I leave the planes sitting around after use they will pick up a slight rust haze which comes off easily with the sanding blacks. Just make sure you do oil or wax the planes after cleaning them. I use BoShield which seems to work real well.Chuck
I am not sure if the come out of the box with a protective coating. I was too excited when I got home to notice. I think that I should have put a light coat of something on immediately. I was surprised to find that the planes actually need maintenance other than sharpening and that products are availble. Chalk it up to leasons learned.
But - They are amazing planes
Thanks to all
hi larry,
might i suggest another possibility? sometimes while doing the woodworking thing by hand, i sweat. this is very caustic and may be why your beloved tool got that way. there is nothing anal about wiping down our tools immediately after use, er, um, i think...
eef
You know you've gone "overboard" if you wear white cotton gloves when handling your tools. ;-)
Ralph,
"You know you've gone "overboard" if you wear white cotton gloves when handling your tools. ;-)"Yup, that is what I do, I wear white gloves, but I go a step further. I keep them soaked in camelia oil. That keeps the rust off of my tools and it soften my hands (which makes my wife happy). Of course, the oil soaked gloves are a bit slippery, so I am thinking of switching to those gloves with rubber dots on them. Soaking them should have the same effect on reducing rush, and the dots should keep the gloves from slipping.You can buy cans of aerosol spray which go off intermittently to give your room a good smell. I have written to the manufacturer to see if he will make such cans with camelia oil in them. Then I can hand one can from the middle of the ceiling in my shop, and every hour or so, it will give a 360 degree spray, and keep everything rust free. I may patent this, if Lie Nielsen doesn't get to it first. May all of your tools be rust free.
Mel
PS anything worth overdoing, is worth REALLY overdoing. I am now up to six separate microbevels on my plane blades, and some have three different backbevels. I am thinking of re-hardening my plane blades every month to make sure they don't lose their hardness.Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
Another approach would be to reduce the humidity to 0.00001% RH, and then replace the air with pure nitrogen. No oxygen, no oxidation. There are, of course a couple of down-sides to that approach. ;-)
"and then replace the air with pure nitrogen. No oxygen, no oxidation. There are, of course a couple of down-sides to that approach."No downside if you have your own air supply. The device, not the "band".
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Just my 2 cents worth but if not treated with something like johnsons paste wax or similar product wouldn't putting the plane in a sock make matters worse. I'm thinking a sock being made of cotton would hold moisture in??
I put about three coats of paste wax on all of my cast iron tools- large and small, powered or not. Much more economical than spray on, like Top Coat, etc. I missed the band saw last year and it didn't have any rust in spring. Being in Milwaukee, we get some unexpected warm days in winter and condensation is everywhere. Bottom line- cast iron rusts when it's exposed to air and water. Doesn't matter which company's name is on it or how expensive it is, either. My hand tools come in for the winter, although I left them outside the first year I had the bench with drawers. The cast iron tops on power tools are covered with moving blankets and I don't uncover them if they're much colder than the air temperature. I haven't needed to do any rust removal in years.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
The socks or sacks that Lee Valley sells are silicone treated to keep moisture out. Presumably the silicone can't escape into the atmosphere to affect finishes.
Jim
I have had the same problem, I think it is the nature of the beast. You can minimize it with wax but I have come to the conclusion that it is the beginning of "Patina":) and that I should live with it.
Troy
Cut my finger using a Veritas block plane. By the time I dealt with that the blood had stained the cast iron.Unevenly; doesn't make for a good patina :-{
I'm still working on the evenness of the patina;)Have fun. Troy
It happens to mine all the time. Get yourself a red or green scotchbrite pad, and give the plane a good scuffing to remove the rust, and a good coat of camelia oil or johnson's paste wax will help keep the rust off in the future. If it was just a few days, it should only be surface rust with no pitting.
Jeff
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