Note: This is a classic article from NEWS volume 008, November 1992. Its authorship is not recorded.
Planes when out of use for more than a few hours should have the wedges released, as the continued tension is injurious to the plane.
When temporarily out of use, bench planes should have their fronts resting on a thin slip of wood screwed on the bench top to keep the cutters free from damage. On no account should planes be laid upon their sides on the bench, as apart from the danger of running the hands against the cutters, if the soles are exposed for any length of time to the action of the sun, they will cast, and if at all unseasoned split.
Bench planes, when new, should have the aperture of the mouth stopped with putty, then the mouth filled up with clear raw linseed oil, which in about twenty-four hours will have soaked into the wood, filling up the pores and thereafter preventing the absorption of moisture.
Planes should not be French polished, as this surface scratches easily, and also makes the plane difficult to hold. An occasional rub with an oily rag dipped in finely powdered bath-brick will both clean the tool and produce a mellow polish that will not scratch.