Although I may never cut moldings by hand there were two things in the article that seemed to go against the grain. Using parafin on the sole of the plane and silicone spray on the throat. Conventional wisdom suggests both would contaminate the workpiece and cause finishing headaches. The author touts the use of molding planes over machining because it eliminates the need to sand or scrape the mill marks. I’m confused.
John O’Connell – JKO Handcrafted Woodworking
Life is tough. It’s tougher if you’re stupid – John Wayne
Replies
I have the same thoughts, having come from an industry that often faced removal of silacone based products prior to refinishing,I almost fell over. I know componies like PPG and Dupont spent countless hours answering this silacone contamination question. The company I worked for wouldn't evan allow "silacone based products on the property". There must be a better way. Ron 48
I've never used any wax on my molding plane throats and I don't think it's necessary. I'm convinced it would wear off rather quickly--I.E. on the first couple of passes-- long, before the final pass is made. I'm not sure about the paraffin on the sole.
I must say the article was very good on the whole and will help me a lot with planing difficult grain. I'd been having problems with tearout (and this was only oak!!) and I can't wait to try his techniques.
When people 100 years from now see my work, they'll know I cared. --Matt Mulka
I use paste wax on the sole of both metal and wooden planes. It forms a film so thin that there is no detectible residue. They say its only a few molecules thick. The slickness (if that's a word) seems to last a long time, and does not harm a finish at all. THis is of course different than paraffin.
The author seems to say that he applies the parafin with each pass. One of the things I enjoy most in using a hand plane is when I get everything right and I'm into a rythem. His method would negate that.
The use of silicon floored me as well. Maybe he will explain his reasoning in a future issue.
Peter
As the editor of this Master Class on using molding planes, maybe I can allay some of the fears about the author's use of wax and silicone. For starters, I'm glad the article has been of use to some people, and it's nice to see people thinking about the process so thoroughly. As for the details: The silicone spray is generally a single blast into the throat, done when tuning up the plane. So the chances of finish contamination are very minimal at most. As for the paraffin wax, this is a common practice with handplanes, as one reader in this thread pointed out. I would suggest waxing the front of the plane's sole, ahead of the blade, and the surface of the molding. That way, the last pass of the blade will remove any residual wax. And my last comment would be that the author is a longtime user of molding planes, with a proven track record of fine work, and also a finishing expert. He simply wouldn't do something that would cause fish-eye or other problems in his finishes. Hope this helps.
--Asa Christiana,
senior editor, FWW
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