Collectors and Purists BEWARE!!!! pics

[Terry Hatfield]

Howdy everyone,

In a previous life I did classic car restoration. I've decided that these planes are a lot like cars, Corvettes especially. Some guys would come to me and say that they wanted nothing but the bare minimum done to their car to preserve the originality. Others would come to me and say they wanted the thing totally disasembled and every part replaced or restored to perfection whether it was actually correct for the car or not. I did many more of these "over restorations" than any thing else. These guys wanted their cars the look and perform perfectly and didn't care about the resale value because they had no intention of selling it. I feel the same way about this plane. It ain't going any where so why not make it look and perform as well as it possibly can???

This 604C was the plane in question here. I got many recommendations to leave it alone and just as many to take it to the next level.

Here is what it looked like when I got it.

<IMG SRC="http://www.terryhatfield.com/br4.JPG">

I took it all apart and discovered that some one had sanded the original japanning and painted over it. I used paint stripper to remove both layers. I taped all the machined surfaces and used engine paint to refurb the japanning. I've used this before and it is almost identical in appearance to the original and is pretty darn tough after it cures.

I stripped the finish off the wood and sanded and sanded and sanded. I applied several coats of Deft and rubbed that out with 0000 steel wool and wax this morning.

I used the 'ole 3M magic wheel to polish all the bare metal and the screws etc.... Some Brasso puts an even higher shine on the brass parts and works well on the other metal surfaces too.

I flattened all the machined surfaces on the frog and the receiver on the plane body. I lapped the chip breaker and robbed a LN A2 blade out of another #4 and reassembled the plane.

After it was all back together I lapped the sole. It was the closest to flat before lapping I have seen so far. Only a few minutes with 280 wet and dry on my chunk 'o granite and it was spot on. I got the frog adjusted for a super tight mouth and gave it a whirl. All I can say is WOW!!! This little plane performs fantastically!!! I was able to make curlies from hard maple that would barely move the needle of my calipers off of zero!!!

Here is the finished product.

<IMG SRC="http://www.terryhatfield.com/6043.JPG">

<IMG SRC="http://www.terryhatfield.com/6045.JPG">

<IMG SRC="http://www.terryhatfield.com/6046.JPG">

<IMG SRC="http://www.terryhatfield.com/6044.JPG">

Did this plane look this good 100 years ago when it was made? Nope. Have I killed the collectible value of this 100 year old plane by over restoring it??? Perhaps, but that is something that I personally don't care about. It is one fine user smoother and I won't give it's collectible value a second thought as I watch those perfect shavings peel off the wood because I have no intention of this plane ever belonging to anyone else.

Hope I didn't cause any purists to have to call 911.

Terry

[Jim Becker]

Outstanding "restoration", Terry. The bottom line for you should be the same as those car buffs...whatever makes you happiest should be what you do.

[Jerry Olexa]

Terry, very nice work!! I think you are more knowledgeable than most people that will look@ this finished plane. Go by your own well deserved standards. Excellent work!

[Herb Blair]

Terry,
The plane looks fantastic! You certainly did a marvelous job on it. A well tuned, beautiful plane is like a fine lady, taken care of, will be at your side for a lifetime, providing you with many hours of enjoyment.

[Terry Hatfield]

Jim,

Thanks. I got to thinking about the car restorations and realized the same thing is going on here. I'm glad I did it and very proud of how it turned out.

Jerry,

Not sure about the knowledgeable deal. I just decided to make it the best I could. I didn't want to get caught up worrying about how much something is worth vs having it be beautiful and functional.

Herb,

Nice comparison and very, very true.

Thanks,

t

[Bart Leetch]

Your plane looks great & should serve you well Terry.

I did exactly the same thing to a Baily #4. I used 2 coats of primer baked on in a warm oven & 2 or 3 coats of paint & set it beside a plane with original Japanning & I think you'd probably have to be a purest to notice the difference once it get a little dusty.

[James Mittlefehldt]

Wow Terry great job, I would think that at the end of the day what really matters is how useful and hjow mcuh you like it. Personally if one of those antique tool sites got their mitts on that one they would probably try and sell it as new.

I have a question or two, what did you do to the metal on the chip breaker and blade, and is the engine paint a high gloss stuff?

[Terry Hatfield]

Bart,

I think the same about mine. I imagine almost anyone would be hard pressed to tell the difference but I'm sure someone can and probably will. I see no harm in doing the refinishing with more modern methods personally.

t

[Terry Hatfield]

Wow Terry great job, I would think that at the end of the day what really matters is how useful and hjow mcuh you like it. Personally if one of those antique tool sites got their mitts on that one they would probably try and sell it as new.

I have a question or two, what did you do to the metal on the chip breaker and blade, and is the engine paint a high gloss stuff?

James,

I used a 3M Scotchbrite Medium polishing wheel. I got mine at the local auto body supply house but they are available online too.

The paint I used is Dupli-Color brand Engine Enamel with ceramic. It is gloss black. Cures to a pretty darn hard surface. I got the idea from Rex Mill website. There is a link there to MSC. You can get the polishing wheels there. It is really amazing what these wheels can do. Turns a really ugly piece of metal to smooth and shiny in no time and they wear like iron so they last a good long time. I actually have mine mounted on my lathe.

http://www.rexmill.com/

Johnny has a ton of great info on plane refurbing and planes in general on the site.

t

[Louis Bois]

AAARRRGHHHHH!!!
THE HORROR!!!
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?

[John Dingman]

AAARRRGHHHHH!!!
THE HORROR!!!
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?

Slip a nitro tablet under your tongue Louis and you will feel better

GREAT WORK TERRY! You did a fantastic job restoring that plane!

John

[Renardo Subrosa]

AAARRRGHHHHH!!!
THE HORROR!!!
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?

I dunno, Terry. I think Louis was kidding. I think you did a great job and there was a time in my life when I used to do the same. Good for you. For me now, however, I want to uncomplicate my life and back off from such levels of perfection. What you did us great, don't get me wrong. It's just that my focus has changed but of course I still feel tools are made to use and you were right to try to make it perform as good as possible. The money? Someday your heirs can worry about that, huh? I love the sound of a well-tuned plane. I can almost hear yours sing from here, pal.
--
Best,
Reny

[Mike Scoggins]

Terry,

Very nice job; the plane looks fantastic! I'm generally with you on restoring old planes you pick up as users (that's what they're for, right?). I've picked up a few that didn't need a whole lot of cleaning and had some rust but not in excess. On these, I suppose I've generally excercised "moderation" in restoring them for use. Others (which is most of the one's I've acquired to date) have needed extensive work. On these, I've done "the works" much like you've done and described. If I can't live with the japanning as it came, I generally strip 'em to bare metal and do the works.

By the way, I saw on another forum where you've acquired a 4 1/2 (with an extra step). I was watching that one, but other obligations kept me away and prevented me from bidding (my instincts tell me a 4 1/2 would be "just right" for me in terms of size, weight, balance, etc.). Anyway, I'm waiting to see what you do with that one!

Great job,
Mike

[Terry Hatfield]

Mike,

Thanks!!

The extra step took a little doing but we got it done and the 4 1/2 is on the way. I'll have to do a total refurb on it for sure. I'll post when I get it done.

t