A refurbed Type 4 Bedrock 607

[Dominic Greco]

Hi gang,
I just finished cleaning up an old Type 4 Bedrock 607 I got from Jim Reed almost 2 years ago (talk about procrastination!).

Here are some before pictures:
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z287/DominicGreco/BR607_before1.jpg
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z287/DominicGreco/BR607_before2.jpg
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z287/DominicGreco/BR607_before3.jpg

I soaked all cast iron parts in Evaporust for 24 hours and then wire brushed them clean. The sole wasn't in bad shape so it got only a minor lapping, just to remove some scratches. The sides also were scratched, so they got the same treatment.

Some after pictures:
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z287/DominicGreco/BR607_after1.jpg
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z287/DominicGreco/BR607_after2.jpg
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z287/DominicGreco/BR607_after3.jpg

I honed a camber on the iron, tried it out on some cherry and was pretty pleased with the results. The only thing I'm probably going to change about this plane is the tote. It's pretty banged up and is chipped out at the base near the front screw. I think I'll end up making a new Tote and knob from walnut and ebonizing them so they look more "classic".

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z287/DominicGreco/BR607_after4.jpg

Thanks for viewing

[Ted Calver]

WOW!! You'd hardly recognize it. Great job Domenic!!

[Martin Cash]

Great Job Domenic.
Looks like you will need a new iron before too long.
Cheers
MC

[Chris Kennedy]

If you are going to replace the tote, send me a PM. I have a 607 of similar vintage with a broken tote. I'd be interested in acquiring yours (it would be a step up):D

Cheers,

Chris

[Dominic Greco]

Great Job Domenic.
Looks like you will need a new iron before too long.
Cheers
MC
While this iron has only about 3/4" left, it just came out so sharp that I HAD to put it back into service.

But I have an OLD Hudson Tool Company iron that I cleaned up at the same time as I did this iron. It's "somewhat" sharpened and it's got a nice think iron that is about as think as the LV ones. I think I'll end up regrinding the bevel and then it will be more acceptable.

[Dominic Greco]

If you are going to replace the tote, send me a PM. I have a 607 of similar vintage with a broken tote. I'd be interested in acquiring yours (it would be a step up):D

Cheers,

Chris

I probably won't get rid of the original tote and knob in case I want to sell it later on. I like to keep my planes as original as feasible.

[scott spencer]

Nice restoration Dominic!

[Jim Koepke]

Very nice looking plane.

It doesn't look like it would be too hard to repair the tote. A few of mine have had worse damage and now, it is hard to find where the repairs were made.

jim

[Dominic Greco]

Very nice looking plane.

It doesn't look like it would be too hard to repair the tote. A few of mine have had worse damage and now, it is hard to find where the repairs were made.

jim

Jim
The photos don't give you a good idea how extensive the damage is. The "horn" area has a slight chip and that is really no problem. The damage is down near where the smaller front screw is attached on the tote. The front is broken out and only two sides are there for the screw to fasten to. Making a patch in this area would be just as much work (or more) than making a new tote and it would never be as strong as the original

[philip marcou]

Nice job and nice plane , now. 3/4inch remaining on the blade is plenty, with normal honing and the very occasional grind.
I do a fair number of these, mainly for enjoyment, but I get benefits from the exposure on the local E Bay equivalent, where I sell them.
Here are some tips which folk may find useful:
1)If you re-make totes be sure you get the correct angle for the screw rod, as I find huge variations from one plane to the next. You can eye ball it close enough against a template by screwing in the rod and drawing the line in with the rod as reference.
2)For all those threads which are 7/32 BSW 20Tpi (Frog screws, Knob rod, Tote rod) you can "cure" the females by merely re-tapping straight in with a 1/4BSW 20Tpi to get a perfect tight thread-then you replace the screws with 1/4 inchers and the rods by 1/4 inch threaded rod.
3)Chromed caps look terrible if the chrome is flaking- so remove it with a belt grinder and buff up the iron- the early ones were not chromed and look mighty fine polished up.Chrome is also easily removed by electrolysis if you have the means.
4)Drilling the tote screw hole is easier done if the drill starts on a perpendicular surface, and starts from both ends. So you drill the hole then cut out the shape....
5) For those with a metal lathe the chip breaker screw is easily remade using a bolt and nut, which is turned round to size. If the threads are stripped the next size up is 3/8BSW .
I attach pics of a #6 and #8 I did recently. I used Mahogany for knob and beefed up the tote by increasing the section width.