Replies

1. 
   ChasStanford | Sep 01, 2003 12:18am | #1

   Not sure about the Camelia oil and spontaneous combustion.  What I do is use a little 3-in-1 or WD-40 and some paper towels.  I'm a handtool only jockey - I've learned to use expedient, inexpensive solutions.  Camelia oil surely doesn't qualify.  Now, I'm as sentient, sensitive, and cultured ;-) as the next guy, but this is where more of a blue collar attitude will serve you best.

   Don't worry, a thin layer of a petroleum-based lubricant will not screw up your project.  I usually wax the surfaces that touch the wood anyway, which removes the oil. 

2. 
   Steinmetz | Sep 02, 2003 03:24am | #2

   Rich, Save oily rags in a tight fitting container or, wet them thouroghly(With water) then,( out of the house/shop,) toss them. Stein.   Three in One or sewing machine oil  wouldn't hurt once in a while.  

   ALSO to all you guys I reccommend buying a Scotch Brite wheel to polish out those rust spots before they become pits.

   Every metal tool I own gets this treatment with the wheel and is easy to do with an arbor (SEARS) fitted to your portable drill.

    Keep planes which are rarely used in closed drawers (Or boxes) and toss into each drawer/box a packet of Silica gel.  

   Thats the stuff you find in the packages of cameras or radios etc when you first open them.

   They absorb moisture.  Also, the little vials the druggist puts in with your pills to keep them dry.

   Machinist tools will love you for it. ED.

3. 
   Alan | Sep 04, 2003 01:04am | #3

   Richard,

   I too have a bottle of camellia oil, but I don't always remember to use it; I seem to remember only when I sharpen my tools.  I've found one of the best rust inhibitors is to clean my tools after using them.  It's my belief (n.b. belief; there's no science at work here) that saw dust and the like can absorb moisture and put in contact with the metal.

   I clean my tools with good old kerosene.  It's not only dirt cheap, it's a good cleaning agent and it leaves a thin, oily film that is a great rust inhibitor--or at least it works for me.  I've had no trouble with it getting on the stock and affecting the finish.

   Alan

1. 
   rckendall | Sep 04, 2003 06:04am | #4

   Thanks to all who have responded. Everyone seems to be concerned with spontaneous combustion, so I guess I'll have to toss the oily rag each time. I'll probably wind up with the socks for the seldom used planes. I've also found that L-N and others have, or will have, an applicator bottle for the camellia oil but I think I'll still want to spray those impossible to reach places and let the oil find it's way in there on it's own.

   And I agree that sawdust holds moisture and if it's clinging to cast iron, the iron will rust.

   Thanks again,

   Richard

1. 
   DavidP52 | Sep 04, 2003 03:55pm | #5

   Spontaneous combustion is only going to occur in ####substantial pile of oily rags, not in one or two, so dont worry about it. That is an extremely rare event. Many oils will absorb water, so oil isn't a good solution. WD40 is worthless because it evaporates rapidly.

   Most corrosion on tools is caused by galvanism, the difference in electrical charge of different materials - as in dust versus steel. Dust has a differnt electrical charge than steel, so when the two are in contact, there is a flow of electrons from one to the other. It

   s the same principle that makes dry cell batteries work.

   When your tools combine different metals, galvanism will cause even faster corrosion, but galvanism requires an electrolyte such as water to operate, even in minute amounts such as water vapor. Perhaps you've noticed how badly brass plated objects in your house will spot corrode. This is caused by dust plus water vapor. Note that the corrosion is always on the upper surface. Of course, if you have extraordinarily high humidity, that will do it too. Saw dust is slightly hydroscopic, so it absorbs moisture in the air when humidity is high. You can stop corrosion by keeping the dust off your tools. I save old plastic bags and put my planes in these.

1. 
   Lilshaver | Sep 07, 2003 01:46am | #9

   Galvanic corrosion will occur between two different types of metal. Dust, unless one includes dust from grinding metals, will not conduct electricity and will not electrically interact with any metal. Batteries have two different kinds of metal inside them, such as copper and zinc, which are far apart on the galvanic scale.

   Dust will aid oxidation of metal in the wood shop by trapping moisture close to or in contact with the metal tool. The metal then oxidizes. It does not galvanically corrode.

1. 
   NARDO | Dec 02, 2004 04:18am | #10

   Interesting discussion,I have used camellia and I used WD40with no ill gotten effects with either,one thing I always watch is humity and temperature in the shop. Having a good natural gas heater has saved me much rust removal over the years and not just on handtools but bigger equipment like tablesaws and jointers,I also know some guys who have propane and they say it actually puts moisture in the air. I will about once a year actually go to the trouble of dusting off and oiling all the handplanes and chisels and saws I have but other then that  I don't go out my way to stop rust,so I gotta believe its the atmosphere they live in.

2. 
   JohnWW | Dec 02, 2004 04:38am | #11

   The claim that propane heaters add moisture to the air was referring to unvented heaters, but this is true of any unvented heater regardless of the fuel.  A vented propane heater adds no moisture to the air.

   John W.

4. 
   AlanTurner | Sep 04, 2003 05:28pm | #6

   My nonsceintific approach is mineral oil.  I have an altoids tin, with a small scrap of white t-shirt cloth in it, always soaked with mineral oil.  I just wipe each hand tool as I take it from my bench to its home.  Also keep an old can of wax, butcher's I think, right there also, and use it on plane bottoms and sides (for those I shoot with). 

   Alan

1. 
   rckendall | Sep 05, 2003 02:38am | #7

   s4s,

   Thanks for the tip. That's what I was looking for, something practical that you've been using. I have parafin wax close at hand now and will pick up a tin for rag storage.

   Richard

5. 
   JohnWW | Sep 05, 2003 05:28pm | #8

   Not all oils spontaneously combust, only oils that react rapidly with oxygen in the air create the heat needed to start a fire.  This reaction also causes the oil to harden making it useful as a finishing material.  The classic oil of this type is linseed oil.  "Boiled" linseed oil and most other wood finishing oils has been treated to speed up the reaction with oxygen, making them even more prone to spontaneous combustion.

   Camellia oil is probably not a hardening oil, it would make the tool tacky to the touch and gum up the soles of planes.  You can test the oil by leaving a rag with some oil on it out on a plate for a few days, if the rag is still soft and oily after that time, it is not a hardening oil and doesn't present a fire risk.

   Keeping the treated rag in a small fireproof container would further reduce the risk by limiting the oxygen needed to support a fire.

   John W. 

    

6. 
   Midnight | Dec 02, 2004 05:50am | #12

   I've been using Camellia Oil for about 18 months now, using a dispenser that looks like a squat felt tip pen on steroids... a light wipe from the pad leaves a real thin film over any surface. To date the only rust spot I've had was caused when I'd forgotten to switch the heat on in the shop.

   Mike Wallace

   Stay safe....Have fun