Some Planes that need a little TLC

[needsmorecowbel]

Went shopping around for planes today and ended up in some crazy Second Hand tool store in Toorak/ Malvern

Ended up with a Stanley "Handyman" made in England which i hear ain't amazing but with a bit of honing should be all right...

and a #5 Stanley/ Bailey made in the USA with what appears to be a replacement metal handle marked QPC which as i am informed on the Woodworking forums was a Melbourne Based company dealing in casting (Brunswick)...The sole of the #5 needs a fair bit of work but looks like it will come up nicely.




Also managed to piss off an antiques dealer who wanted $150 for an English Stanley #5/ Bailey caked in rust, dints and dodgy handles/ knobs Haggled him to 100 but no deal hombres...Productive shopping outing

[auscab]

Hey Stu if your looking for more tools look here

http://www.htpaa.org.au/nextsale.php

More quality second hand user woodworking tools than you could poke a stick at, cheaper than the shops, and a good time talking to woodies old and young,
If your a member the first sale is on the Saturday night ,public on the Sunday.


cheers Rob

[woodrat]

Well done Stu, getting a kit of tools together is a long road but an enjoyable one ,also TAS is as bad a disease as WAS...so be careful...

Cheers

WoodRat

[needsmorecowbel]

Cheers Rob i will keep an eye out... The soles of both the planes require more work than anticipated from the little bit of sanding i did this afternoon/ evening

[woodrat]

Have you got a good true surface to do it on Stu?

[needsmorecowbel]

I have a piece of glass in the garage i could glue sandpaper to and then go for gold. But at the moment using the trusty workbench with a brand new piece of thick stock MDF...this a very bad idea you think?

[woodrat]

Id place the glass on the MDF Stu...sounds like yr on the way.

John

[rocket]

I already got a bit of a tool kit but as far as i'm concerned, you can never have too many nice hand tools, i think i'll be checking out that tool sale in July 24th. Thanks for the heads up on that one Rob, might bump into you there Stu!
Cheers,,,
Rod.

[Puff]

Looks like you have taken bits out. They need to be in to set the plane up. The plane should be complete with just the blade retracted a frag above cutting. Setting it (the plane) up without its normal stresses is a waste of time and effort.

[Kim]

Puff is on the money, you need to have the cap iron and blade locked in with the same tension you intend to use the plane with and you need to pay attention to how your holding the plane and your strokes to ensure you keep them even. It is easy to get fatigued and be tempted to change grip or start favoring one hand or the other etc in an effort to keep going and get the job done...don't do that. Just rest and come back later.

Remember you will only ever be doing this once to this plane, pay attention to what you are doing and make the effort to do it well and that tool will serve you flawlessly for a life time.

Cheers

Kim

[Puff]

In theory Kim is on the money in that you "should" only have to do this once but there are records of cast metal planes from reputable makers exhibiting Beetlejuice Factor, especially in climes with dramatic temperature variations. One such enterprise had all the craftsmen checking their planes on a monthly basis and reported that one young fella's brand spanker plane would go from perfect to unacceptably out of whack in three days. Rare but it does happen. The manufacturer replaced the tool.
I like to set mine up on the jointer bed with the fence perpendicular. With abrasive on both faces the sole and the cheeks are done properly in one hit.

[needsmorecowbel]

Been having a crack with some glass (taped the sharp edges) atop MDF...been working really good but going through paper like a lunatic. I am being really careful with the strokes, pressure and always holding the plane in the same fashion and i only took the plane apart so you could see the cast.

#4- Sole is a bit concave but some 240 grit sandpaper will solve that although very slowly.



#5 Sole is a tad higher in the middle than the sides- Rust and Sediment is coming off fairly evenly except at the tail

any hints/ cautions/ comments are always appreciated guys and thanks for the input thus far!

[Puff]

The ox is slow but the earth is patient.

[woodrat]

Stu, Slightly concave like that is better than a big lump (shiny spot) in the middle. That no.4 seems to be taking shape nicely. You dont even need to totally eradicate the concavity as long as the bit just fore and aft of the mouth (all the way across) and the end and front of the plane are all at the same level. That will save you a bit of work unless you are a perfectionist and want to take it all the way through.

very good so far...

WoodRat

[Kim]

I start with 80 grit and once I have the sole flat then work my way through the grits....seems to go a bit quicker...I've even be known to deck the sole and square the sides on the belt sander/linisher before heading to the 10mm glass..makes life a lot easier but it does require a certain zen to avoid stuffing up a good plane. I recently done an older No7 Record that way which someone gifted me.

At some stage it had been broken in half though the throat but someone had done quite a good job of brazing it up. By the time it came off the linisher it was hard to pick the repair and she flattened out beautifully. It still took me a number of hours to have it flattened, squared, smoothed and fettled with the back of the blade lapped in with a decent edge, but if I had not used the linisher I would still be there now buried under a mountain of worn out wet and dry.

The good thing about that plane is because it has a repair, it has no value other than being a really good user.....so I felt no guilt about drilling a hole in the tail so I could hang it, and that is something I normally cringe at when I see it..

Cheers

Kim

[needsmorecowbel]

Well cheers for the feedback guys it's always super helpful and positive. On a similar note to all those who suggested the Veritas low angle block plane you are legends. I received one in the mail the other day and all i can say is them Canadians really don't muck around and i cannot recommend it enough

[DarwinStrings]

Another good way to deal with the flattening of these tools (especially the smaller ones) is to buy a DMT diamond stone, the coarsest grit is expensive but the second coarsest (220 grit from memory I think). Either 8" x 3" or 11" x 2" are the vague sizes and those stones will come in handy for many things for a long time, unlike stones they stay flat and are a great way to flatten your water or oil stones. I think you can pick them up for around $50 new on Ebay or Amazon, there are cheaper versions but I am not sure if they are made as well as DMT stuff is.

You could also buy their smaller diamond stones and flatten your planes by using a register (say 10mm glass and screen print ink) and then turning your plane upside down and filing (with the diamond stone) until you remove the ink. this sort of thing is traditionally done with a "scraper" but your could do it with a file cause using a scraper in this method is tricky but it is the way machinists once flattened machine beds.

Jim