Hollws and Rounds question

[Dale Cruea]

I purchased a set of H-R and they came in the mail today.
I started to refurbish the planes and all of the irons have nasty pitting.
The pitting runs all the way up so I can't cut them down to get past it.

Any ideas on how to save the irons?

I contacted the seller and waiting for his reply.

The bodies are in great shape as far as I can see.

Thanks,
Dale

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Dale

On pitted blades try using the Ruler Trick. It is ideal for this purpose.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Ryan Baker]

If the pitting is really bad, there's not much you can do. You might try putting a little bit of bevel on the flat side to try to get below the pitting. A slight bevel won't hurt anything, as long as it doesn't go back to the wedge and interfere with pressure on the tip of the iron. Other than that, you would probably have to replace the irons. You could do that with something like LN irons, but it gets expensive fast. To make a whole set, you would be better off to get some O1 steel and get good at making your own. Or you could give up on these and get/make another set.

Maybe post some sample pictures so we can see how bad it is.

Edit: Yeah, pretty much what Derek said.

[Jack Curtis]

The ebay seller gandmtoolsales has a lot of replacement blades in his store. If your seller is like mine, who sold me a sash fillitster (sp?) with a blade so narrow the plane doesn't come close to working. Forgetting he lives in New England (I've had not much luck buying from these old tool guys), I had the nerve to email him to ask if he had a wider blade. He took out after me like I had committed heresy, about how no one expects to use these old planes, how I'm too stupid, being from Arkansas and all, and know nothing about woodworking anyhow. Geesh. I bought a blade from gandmtoolsales that works perfectly.

[Robert Rozaieski]

If the pitting isn't too deep you can lap the irons thinner. Sounds like a lot of work, and it can be, but on the smaller irons you'd be surprised that it can be pretty quick. I have used a belt sander clamped upside down in a machinists vise before to speed things up. Just be careful not to overheat the irons.

[David Keller NC]

Dale - One comment about buying antique user tools that may assist you in the future. As Jack notes, there are folks that sell antique tools that don't understand anything about what they were used for and what distinguishes "ugly but usable" from "cracker barrel wall decoration". There are several dealers in the US, however, that do know the difference and will stand behind their stuff. One that I recommend is Lee Richmond of The Best Things (www.thebestthings.com). Patrick Leach (of Stanley Blood and Gore fame) is also reputable. (Disclosure: I have no connection to either of these gentlemen other than being a satisfied customer).

Finally, if you're stocking your workshop with antique tools for use, you might consider joining the MWTCA (Mid-West Tool Collector's Association). They have many districts, and each of the districts will have one or more major meets each year. Many folks will show up to these meets with wares to sell, and you can examine the tools in person to determine their usability.

[Dale Cruea]

Thanks for all of the replies.
The sellers is very easy to work with so far.
He has offered to take the tools back or if I want to keep them a $100 refund.
I like the planes a lot.
I am thinking of taking the $100 discount and calling it even.

Some blades I think I could salvage as per your suggestions.
I didn't know how far I could work a blade.

Thanks again,
Dale

[David Keller NC]

Dale - One other thought. While one would ideally wish for a ready-to-finish surface from a plane with no sanding or scraping, in my experience it's rare where a molding made with a hand plane has absolutely no defects. It's true that the defects are usually so minor that one doesn't need to sand/scrape if you're using a film finish like shellac or laquer.

But I usually scrape my moldings if the desired finish is oil/wax. So you may not need to completely obliterate all pitting from the back/cutting edge. A small pit on the cutting edge will leave a linear flaw in the molding, but as long as the pit is small, it's very, very easy to scrape that flaw away with one or two passes of a goose-neck scraper.

So you may want to just sharpen the irons, lightly lap the backs to remove most of the serious pits, and give the plane a try to see if you're 99% of the way there (versus no H&Rs and having to use a router - yuck).