Oil Cloth

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Lonsdale73

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I know in bygone days, any thing from agricultural tools to arms and weapons would be stored wrapped in oil cloth to keep the items in good, presumably rust-free condition. Anyone still using oil cloth to protect their hand tools, e,g planes, chisels, gouges etc? Better still, anyone making their own that can offer some 'how to' tips?
 
Not exactly the same thing, but a common theme. Like others I've experienced rust on my cast iron machine tables this damp winter. After cleaning I've used Axminsters machine wax on them. I then de-rusted a plane my son had been "using" after it's return. I gave this a good wax along with my own planes and chisels. A couple of still very wet months later and all seems well.

Colin
 
Not exactly the same thing, but a common theme. Like others I've experienced rust on my cast iron machine tables this damp winter. After cleaning I've used Axminsters machine wax on them. I then de-rusted a plane my son had been "using" after it's return. I gave this a good wax along with my own planes and chisels. A couple of still very wet months later and all seems well.

Colin
Yes, I have a humidity issue in my workshop too and I've been doing the same with machinery but it was the recent purchase of some planes that made me think of oil cloths. One plane came in a polythene bag which appeared to have had oil squirted inside, which seems a common practice. The other came wrapped in a sheet of oiled - or maybe waxed - paper which required far less cleaning of the tool prior to use. Some seem more prone to rusting than others e.g, Axminster lathe accessories rust, Record Power accessories don't but lathe bed does.
 
Yes, I have a humidity issue in my workshop too and I've been doing the same with machinery but it was the recent purchase of some planes that made me think of oil cloths. One plane came in a polythene bag which appeared to have had oil squirted inside, which seems a common practice. The other came wrapped in a sheet of oiled - or maybe waxed - paper which required far less cleaning of the tool prior to use. Some seem more prone to rusting than others e.g, Axminster lathe accessories rust, Record Power accessories don't but lathe bed does.
I have sheets of ?waxed? paper I use. Corotex is the brand.
 
I know in bygone days, any thing from agricultural tools to arms and weapons would be stored wrapped in oil cloth to keep the items in good, presumably rust-free condition. Anyone still using oil cloth to protect their hand tools, e,g planes, chisels, gouges etc? Better still, anyone making their own that can offer some 'how to' tips?
I wipe over metal surfaces with an oily rag that has been impregnated with 3-in-1 oil, it has anti rust properties and gives better protection than using engine oil.
 
As a youngster, I understood oil cloth as another word for linoleum.
A cloth, soaked in oil? Makes sense, though I have not used one.
 
I use an oily cloth or 'the manky rag' as I call it. I don't just wipe over some of my tools with it though. I might give the screw thread of a glue bottle, sanding sealer jar, and melamine can to help stop the screw-top sticking. I've also been using the 'rag in a can' for many years but a few years ago I substituted the rag for a coiled length of leather. It doesn't catch and fray as cloth does.
 
No doubt due to regional differences, the name Oilcloth for me, means the old table cloth material (linen impregnated with linseed oil?). I think this was then replaced with the modern variant of a vinyl coating on fabric. This still seems to be called Oilcloth. The workshop version would probably be an "oily cloth"!
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linoleum
Billy Connolly spoke of how the Scottish town of Kirkcaldy came to be known as "WTF is that smell?" as the pungent aroma from production of 'lino' was the first thing to hit visitors arriving off the train. Kirkcaldy was the world's largest producer of the stuff. Billy also suggested that the reason that it went out of favour was because people struggled to say "A roll of linoleum", the difficulty leading them to opt for carpet instead.

Oil cloth I was originally asking about I thought to be little more than an oil soaked rag however I was wondering if it required a particular type of cloth and/or oil and if it had to be mixed with anything else - like a wax, perhaps - to aid absorption while preventing it from drying out and becoming useless.
 
Oil cloth I was originally asking about I thought to be little more than an oil soaked rag however I was wondering if it required a particular type of cloth and/or oil and if it had to be mixed with anything else - like a wax, perhaps - to aid absorption while preventing it from drying out and becoming useless.
No, we had it patterned, looking similar to vinyl but a precursor? It wasn't 'wet' in any way.
 
The oil in question is Linseed oil. The cloth was impregnated with the oil to make it waterproof, so "Oil soaked rag" isn't that far from the truth. The dry fabric could then be printed with patterns and colour as table cloths. Lino was also manufactured using Linseed oil. No doubt both types of material manufacturing proceses are explained on the web.
 
No, we had it patterned, looking similar to vinyl but a precursor? It wasn't 'wet' in any way.
Talking about two different things. Linoleum, as per link, was a form of vinyl flooring, supplied by the roll rather than in tile form. It was a brand name, like Hoover, often used to include similar products and no, it wasn't meant to be wet unless something was spilled on it. And NOT what I was asking about. From farmers to cowboys, implements to firearms, were protected by an oil - or oiled - cloth. My grandad kept his tools outdoors, all year round, in a wooden chest, with certain items - and I remember his tenon saw being one of them - kept wrapped in a cloth. I guess the oil repelled water as much as it protected metal.
 
The oil in question is Linseed oil. The cloth was impregnated with the oil to make it waterproof, so "Oil soaked rag" isn't that far from the truth. The dry fabric could then be printed with patterns and colour as table cloths. Lino was also manufactured using Linseed oil. No doubt both types of material manufacturing proceses are explained on the web.
Ah, ubiquitous linseed, should have thought about that. I too thought the Web would have the answer but nothing sounded quite right.
 
I use camellia oil and then wrap my tools in a lint free cloth as my cellar workshop is very damp.
Don't pay over the odds for the oil from a tool supplier - typical cost is £7.50 for a 50m spray bottle. I buy a litre from Amazon for around £15 and use it by decanting it into a 100ml glass dropper bottle (good for screw threads and getting into joints, e.g. scissors, knives, etc) and and also use an oil dispenser which has a felt pad that you rub t oil onto your tools' surfaces.
Camellia oil is a natural vegetable oil that has been used for centuries by Japanese craftsmen and Samurai swordsmiths as protection against corrosion.
The cheapest place to buy the oil dispenser is Tyzack Tools.
https://www.tyzacktools.com/camellia-oil-applicator
 
Ah, ubiquitous linseed, should have thought about that. I too thought the Web would have the answer but nothing sounded quite right.
The vary last thing I'd use would be linseed oil. I thought the fire hazards were well known. When linseed oil dries, it oxidises and polymerises, which is an exothermic reaction. It's not an issue when say used on flat surfaces such as garden furniture, but it is on 'scrunched up' oily rags, which can spontaneously self-combust:

https://fireandemergency.nz/assets/Documents/Files/Heads-Up-023-Hazards-of-Linseed-Oil.pdf

linseed oil soaked rags+spontaneous combustion? - Google Search

Reduce The Risk Of Fires Caused By Oil Soaked Rags - Promain Resource Centre
 
I use camellia oil and then wrap my tools in a lint free cloth as my cellar workshop is very damp.
Don't pay over the odds for the oil from a tool supplier - typical cost is £7.50 for a 50m spray bottle. I buy a litre from Amazon for around £15 and use it by decanting it into a 100ml glass dropper bottle (good for screw threads and getting into joints, e.g. scissors, knives, etc) and and also use an oil dispenser which has a felt pad that you rub t oil onto your tools' surfaces.
Camellia oil is a natural vegetable oil that has been used for centuries by Japanese craftsmen and Samurai swordsmiths as protection against corrosion.
The cheapest place to buy the oil dispenser is Tyzack Tools.
https://www.tyzacktools.com/camellia-oil-applicator
Like this? Or this?
 

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