Yard sale hand plane gloat.

[Robby Tacheny]

I picked up what I believe are a "type 19" #7, a "type 17" #6, and a type 19 #5C for $10 each.

Should be good users once I get the cleaned up.

-R

[Jim Koepke]

Score!

Looks like you must have gotten up early.

jim

[Carl Maeda-San Diego]

That's awesome. I got all my hand planes from garage sales and estate sales. Usually much cheaper than eBay but you end up driving around town a lot.

[David Gendron]

You guys down south are just so lucky! Up here(Yukon) no yard sale worth going to find hand tools other mayby than a rusty buck saw...
Good for you!
David

[Fred Ellerbeck]

Great find. Congats. I am not too lucky with yard sales but I keep looking.

[Todd Burch]

Good for you! I've bought many, many planes like that at garage and estate sales. Best deal I ever got was a #7 (not sure what vintage) for $3. At the same sale, I also got a very old Montgomery Wards 24" (I think - I never measured it) backsaw. Very heavy and very good shape. $3 for it too.

[George Sanders]

Those are some great finds at even greater prices. I'm sure they will clean up nice and be good users.

[Ray Sheley]

If you don't already have them, a block plane and a smoother will round out your set for "normal" needs.

But be warned "you can get towed into the deep water, fairly quickly" once you get into the plane pool. I have many more planes than my current skill level requires.

[Robby Tacheny]

Jim Koepke clearly has some yard sail steals under his belt! Yes we were out by 7 - 7:30am. :)

I have a newer block plane which I flattened and does the job, a 1910 #8 that I am slowly trying to grind the pitting from the bottom and another type 19 #5C. I was actually looking for a #4 smooth plane, but I couldn't pass on those deals above.

Maybe someone wants to trade a type 19 #4 (or earlier) for a 5C? Otherwise I have an antique store up the road from me that has loads of #4's for about $20 - $30 each. To think I bought my first vintage hand planes just in February of this year and now I have many of the standard sizes.

The last deal if it is still around is that the guy I bought the #5C from has a radial arm saw, 14" bandsaw, and tablesaw for sale for $50 each or all three for $100. *If* they are still available, I'll go look at them later this afternoon. I could use a second table saw to keep the Dado stack on, a second bandsaw to keep the 3/16" blade on, and a radial arm saw.

-R

[Bill Houghton]

I have...a 1910 #8 that I am slowly trying to grind the pitting from the bottom...

Why?

If the pitting is in front of the mouth, and deep enough to affect its function in breaking chips; or if it's extensive enough that, when you set the plane on a piece of wood, you can see serious daylight from one side to another or otherwise can't "set" on the wood; or if it results in (or, more probably, is associated with) a sole that's twisted, then I can see spending time removing it. Otherwise...

You mentioned that you have a No. 5 corrugated plane. Are you grinding the corrugations off? Pitting, away from the mouth, is really just found (in the sense of "found art") corrugation.

There was a fad back in the 1970s among the plane equivalent of hyper-milers to grind back all of the sole except the toe, heel, and mouth area, following the practice common with Japanese planes. This has died away, and been replaced by the flat sole society. Both are extreme interpretations of what's needed, in my opinion.

You obviously do want to kill any rust down in the pits, but there are chemicals that can do that.

I worry that, in the course of removing the pitting, you'll also remove the straightness and/or the thickness needed to provide strength, in addition to spending time on tool maintenance that you could be using on tool use.

[Robby Tacheny]

The sole of the #8 is fairly flat. Unfortunately, I am the cause of the pitting.

To clean my planes, I dissemble them and soak all parts in vinegar for 12-24 hours. I "forgot" about the #8 and it stayed in the vinegar too long and caused the pitting. I just want a "user" plane from it in the end, but I feel like I owe this plane a pretty, shiny, flat sole since I am the reason it doesn't currently have one. I am about half way there and in the end I think the amount of metal I remove will be very little. I am doing it by hand on a piece of marble offcut from a kitchen counter top. Not the belt sander or anything.

I haven't even touched the soles of any of the other planes yet. I don't plan to have them completely, flawlessly flat. Just smooth enough not to cause scratches to the wood or leave behind any black.

I'll have the #7 and #5C cleaned up by this evening. I'll post pics if I get a chance.

-R

[Robby Tacheny]

After a lot of lapping, I am nearly done with the #8.

I have the #5C and #7 all ready. I just have to put them back together. The #6 body is soaking in vinegar and its parts are beside it in a smaller box full of vinegar. Its definitely a type 17.

I'll post pictures once I get all of them reassembled.

-R

[Jim Koepke]

My only experience on soaking is with citric acid and it seemed fairly mild.
My big mistake the first time was to dry the plane body in the oven set on low. Came back to a body covered with light rust. Lucky for me, it was rather light and came off easy.

It is a pain to hunt down a supplier, but less chance of a bad experience makes it worth finding.

jim

[Robby Tacheny]

I am sure I could play with a mixture of vinegar and water to slow down the reaction, but vinegar only contains 5% acetic acid to begin with. If only left 12-24 hours I don't get pitting and get good rust removal. The pitting also only seemed to happen on the body of the the plane. None on screws, blades, frog, etc. I am guessing it has to do with the alloy used on specifically the plane body.

I'll have to try Citric acid sometime though.

Any advice for the wooden handle and front knob? I don't want to re-do them completely, but I just thought about rubbing them with mineral oil or boiled linseed oil to help recondition the exposed wood where finish has rubbed away.

[Peter Scoma]

I am sure I could play with a mixture of vinegar and water to slow down the reaction, but vinegar only contains 5% acetic acid to begin with. If only left 12-24 hours I don't get pitting and get good rust removal. The pitting also only seemed to happen on the body of the the plane. None on screws, blades, frog, etc. I am guessing it has to do with the alloy used on specifically the plane body.

I'll have to try Citric acid sometime though.

Any advice for the wooden handle and front knob? I don't want to re-do them completely, but I just thought about rubbing them with mineral oil or boiled linseed oil to help recondition the exposed wood where finish has rubbed away.

Hey Robby. A few weeks back I got two #6's (one flat and one corrugated sole) a LA Block plane- #65 and a crappy Handyman for 40$. For the knob and tote I stripped them down chemically, finished them with danish oil and then paste wax. I'm sure you've heard of it as its regularly mentioned but evaporust works wonders IMO. A 3hr bath in the stuff, cleaned every bit of rust and discoloration off the sole. Might be worth a try next time around.

PS

[Robby Tacheny]

I'll have to look into that next time also. Thank you.

Were any of the plane handles and knobs that you stripped painted handles originally. I have a type 17 #6 that I believe was originally painted black.

Not that it makes a difference I suppose. I am just curious.

-R