Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1908-11-07
oILINe FARM TOOLS.
Good Care Will Make Them Last
Twice as Long.

Why do we oil tools? For the sim
pie reason that it doubles the life
and easy working of them, says the
Agricultural Gazette of New South
Wales. This being so, what oil is the
best to use, and what is the best way
to apply it?
Without going chemically into the
reason why, which would take too
long to explain, it has been found,
from centuries of experience, that, like
the old carpenters rule of wood to
wood, iron to iron, in working tools,
the rule in oiling is vegetable oil
to vegetable matter, animal oil to
animal matter, metal, or stone"
OF the vegetable oils, we have raw
and boiled linseed, and castor, from
plants; of the animal, neat or bull
lock's-foot (neat stood for bullock in
Anglo-Saxon) Oil, and fat or tallow.
These are the only ones we need con-
Germ ourselves with; the others are
of no use to us.
The raw linseed oil is pale yellow in
color, and runs easily as water; if dark,
yellow, and sticky it has been adulter-
ated with cheap fish oil. The boiled
oil is naturally much more sticky than
the raw, lot of the moisture having
been driven off in the boiling; it is
also darker in color than the raw. The
difference in the use of these oils is
that the raw oil penetrates the
wood-ffbers right through, and only
forms a skin outside when these wood
ffbers can absorb no more of it. The
boiled linseed, on the other hand, is
too viscOUs or thick to enter the wood
fibers, and makes a skin ON the out
side at once. Thus you can see that
if you are oiling or painting wood
for yourself (paint is only white or red
lead mixed up with oil and coloring
matter), use the best raw linseed;
and, if doing a cheap job for someone
else, use only the boiled; the wood
will soon decay as the boiled oil skin
wears off, but that is none of your
business.
Now, to apply these oils: First, the
linseed. For oiling handles of any
sort, take an empty golden syrup or
jam tin, see that it is perfectly clean
and dry, and half fill it with your raw
linseed; stand your handle or handles
in it, and leave them there for a couple
of days. Then reverse them in the
pot, and, after a couple of days, take
them out and give them rub over
with raw linseed oily rag. They
are now fit for use, will spring we'll,
and stand the weather with impunity
if the wood in them is any good at ALL
You oil planes differently. For the
fryer, jacks, and smoother, you first
remove the wedge and iron. Now
block the bottom of the opening Cor
"mouth') of the well, as carpenters
call it, securely with putty, and pour
raw linseed oil into it till almost. full.
Leave it for a couple of days, and ynl1
will find that the thirsty beech has
drunk up all the oil. Fill her up again
and she will soak up about half of
that. When you find she will drink
no more, pour the rest back into the
drum, remove the putty, clean, and
she is ready for work. If you want
a pretty plane, rub the sides and top
we'll with the oil also; she will then
look as If she had been polished. Ii
likely to get rough treatment, give
her sides and top a coat of boiled
oil all over; this saves planes Won
derfully. For other planes, leave them
in billy of oil for a couple of days,
first removing the iron (the wedge
wants oiling as Weld. Then rub them
on the sides, and they are ready for
work. Iron planes, Of course, you
do not oil at all, except the bed or
wearing surface. You must keep on
giving this a dab with raw linseed
or, preferably neatsfoot, oil, or you
will not be able to work it at all.
To apply neatsfoot: You must keep
a little oil can full of it on the bench;
when your oil stone will not bite, or
your saws cling, or feel a bit rusty,
tlirt few drops on as needed. Grease
or fat will answer the same purpose,
but is not as good.