BedRock 602

[Jason Chestnut]

Well, its mine. Got it for a fair price I think. Now I'm working on lapping the rust and pitting from the sides and sole. Then I'll re-paint and tune up. A knob and tote are on their way. It will definately be getting a new blade and chip breaker.

I thought about having a local machine shop machine grind the sole and sides, but they wanted $150 to do it. My arms are getting tired sanding, but I've got control of how far I go.

Any suggestions on which blade and iron I should go with?

That's a great looking 602, but to my eye the knob is a larger replacement anyway. It could be a trick of the camera angle, but it definitely looks too big for the plane. It's good you ordered a replacement. As far as replacement irons, they are all good and all a big upgrade from the original. I'd probably decide between O1 and A2 and just order the least expensive of the aftermarket brands (likely LV). Be careful, though. You might end up having to modify the mouth to take the thicker iron. That might affect the resale value negatively.

[Peter Gavin]

Then I'll re-paint and tune up. A knob and tote are on their way.

I would think twice about repainting. Pretty much everything else you do is reversible and won't hurt the resale value (except maybe widening the throat for a thicker blade) but repainting isn't. To the extent it destroys the resale value youmight want to reconsider what is only a cosmetic improvement anyway.

Peter

[Justin Grow]

That's a great looking 602, but to my eye the knob is a larger replacement anyway. It could be a trick of the camera angle, but it definitely looks too big for the plane. It's good you ordered a replacement. As far as replacement irons, they are all good and all a big upgrade from the original. I'd probably decide between O1 and A2 and just order the least expensive of the aftermarket brands (likely LV). Be careful, though. You might end up having to modify the mouth to take the thicker iron. That might affect the resale value negatively.

The knob has definately been messed with..... maybe replaced, but definatley someone took a rasp to it and crudely made it narrower....

I would think twice about repainting. Pretty much everything else you do is reversible and won't hurt the resale value (except maybe widening the throat for a thicker blade) but repainting isn't. To the extent it destroys the resale value youmight want to reconsider what is only a cosmetic improvement anyway.

Peter

Peter, the prior owner took a wire brush to the plane and knocked off every last bit of the original japanning, and I dont plan on re-selling. I'll consider keeping it unpainted though.

[Jim Koepke]

I wouldn't worry a lot about the loss of collector value due to painting. If you do a decent job in a gloss black enamel, it will not detract much from the plane. A plane missing all of its paint is not going to sell for more than a plane that has been repainted competently. How ever, if you paint it brick red, many collectors will cringe.

Stanley blades are often available on ebay. If you are considering collector value 20 or 30 years from now, keep the original blade and chip breaker. A plane of this size is not used for heavy work. It is unlikely to gain anything with an aftermarket blade set.

jtk

[David Woodruff]

Well, its mine. Got it for a fair price I think. Now I'm working on lapping the rust and pitting from the sides and sole. Then I'll re-paint and tune up. A knob and tote are on their way. It will definately be getting a new blade and chip breaker.

I thought about having a local machine shop machine grind the sole and sides, but they wanted $150 to do it. My arms are getting tired sanding, but I've got control of how far I go.

Any suggestions on which blade and iron I should go with?

Justin, What is the "tote" you refer to..........thanks p.s. a lg. diamond hone should work well in dressing the sole really flat, they are available for about $40.00, cheaper than the $150.00 machine shop dressing.

[Justin Grow]

Justin, What is the "tote" you refer to..........thanks p.s. a lg. diamond hone should work well in dressing the sole really flat, they are available for about $40.00, cheaper than the $150.00 machine shop dressing.

I'm not sure if you are being smarmy or serious.... I'm refering to the "handle"..... As for the base, yes. I'm using sandpaper for now to dress the sole and sides. Once I work thru most of the pitting I'll switch to something finer.

[James Taglienti]

$150!? My local shop charges me $20. Though they did trash a 604 on me once. Be careful lapping or surface grinding the soles of bedrocks, there is very little room before you start grinding into the frog ramp. (the 604)

You should be able to lap that thing pretty quickly. Delta makes a small benchtop belt sander that a #2 would fit fully in the platen area, I think they're $99. I'd leave the sides alone if it were mine, there's a pretty long list of planes that would work better for shooting.

In that condition as it stands i'd say it would bring high 200's. Surely a good plane to use.

An original tote would be a bargain at $50. You could make one from the plans on the lee valley site.

I have a 2 that I use in the shop quite a bit. It's about the same size as one of stanley's larger block planes.

Or you could sell it and but a LN #2 and have some money left over. They probably have sides ground to the thousandth.

It looks like a heck of a good user.

[Justin Grow]

James, the shop I was going to have do it was going to use a precision grinder. It would have been as precise and square as possible. I could use a large belt sander, but I want more control than that, so I'll do it by hand.

[Jim Sebring]

Get ahold of Bob Kaune for Stanley plane parts. He's located in Port Angeles. Try bktools@olympus.net. He's the guy who developed the Stanley plane types list so knows a fair amount about the line.

[James Taglienti]

If you have an ace hardware around you, they have an Ace brand black spray paint I think it's called Ace premium enamel, it's got a lot of solids, dries fast, and sands readily, I use 000 steel wool on it, it's easy to get a very thick coat on there that looks just like japanning. I did a 112 with it a few years ago and now the paint has a few chips on it, you can't tell it from japanning. I don't know who makes it for them, so I just buy the ace brand.

[Justin Grow]

I was thinking of having it powder coated. Thoughts?

[Jim Koepke]

I was thinking of having it powder coated. Thoughts?

What exactly is the powder coating process?

How much does it cost?

How does it feel to bare skin?

One of the things that is appreciated about the gloss enamel used on my planes that have been refinished is the way it feels on the hands. It just feels so much better than the planes that have a crackled or missing finish.

jtk

[Jeff L Miller]

Justin, this is my first post here after watching for some time. I may be able to help you with your 602; I have a few parts and can help get you going on refinishing that nice plane.

I live in Portland and if you email me or send me a private message, we can hook up and see what you need.

Jeff

[Chris Vandiver]

For refinishing your 602, I'd check this out; http://www.rexmill.com/