Plane restoration issues

[Pete Rowley]

A year or two ago I picked up a reasonably decent bargain Stanley No. 4, I think type 14 for $10 or $15. I have just started restoring this plane for use and this is the first plane I have attempted this with. I am having a problem with a seized depth adjustment wheel. I have tried liquid mechanic spray, wd-40, camelia oil, and finally a few hours of electrolysis (the bed was pretty rusted anyway) and yet the wheel still will not budge. Are there any tricks for unseizing parts like this?

[Marc Hills]

This looks like a job for Benzomatic!

[Pete Rowley]

This looks like a job for Benzomatic!

Do you mean bernzomatic, a propane torch? So the idea is to heat the wheel while trying not to heat the adjustment screw shaft?

[Marc Hills]

Hi Peter:

Yes, sorry, I couldn't resist. You've done all the right steps. When all else fails, differental expansion rates through the judicious application of heat has always worked for me. That's practically the only thing I use a propane torch for.

The threaded stud that the adjustment wheel rotates on is attached to the frog, which will act like a heat sink. Leave the frog attached to the plane and you can use the entire thermal mass of the body to draw away heat. That wheel will definitely heat up and expand faster, unless there's something about brass that I don't know about.

The only tricky part will be to figure out how to grip the hot wheel (no pun intended) without marring it. I'm thinking some sacrificial pieces of leather between the wheel and the jaws of some channel lock pliers.

I hope this helps.

[Pete Rowley]

Thanks Marc, I'll pick up a torch and try this.

[Pete Rowley]

So I went hunting for butane blow torch, but no, nothing doing in these parts in the evening. So, having picked up a consolation prize of a set of screw drivers (I realized the value of the right size screwdriver while doing this plane restoration) I went back to my shop pondered the problem.

My wife had mentioned we had a gas fire lighter somewhere so I went hunting for that. While I was rummaging around in the dining room drawers I spied a big bag full of 8 hour candles. Perfect! So I set about heat treating the adjustment, then having at it with a pair of pliers and the wheel wrapped in cardboard. But no, after several attempts, and numerous liquid wrench reprisals, nothing was moving.

Then I remembered we had one of those jar wrench affairs, the ones that have a rubber strap that wraps around a jar lid and threads through the handle of the tool which allows you to prize off tight jar lids easily. Hmm, nice try, but that didn't work either.

I decided to pack up for the evening and gave the wheel a last liquid wrench soaking. Then I spied the small c-clamp that I used to afix a small board to my pegboard to make a makeshift shelf. I clamped the adjustment wheel fairly firmly, but not enough to actually damage the wheel (sadly a couple of plier slips in previous attempts has already marred it), then I just grasped the clamp like a handle and twist! Easy as pie.

So now of course, having unseized the unseizable I find the very last screw that was behind the wheel is also seized. Frankly I don't even know what this screw is or what it is supposed to do. Perhaps I am missing a piece of the plane.

[Dan Forman]

So now of course, having unseized the unseizable I find the very last screw that was behind the wheel is also seized. Frankly I don't even know what this screw is or what it is supposed to do. Perhaps I am missing a piece of the plane.

Congrats on sticking to your project!

There are two screws behind the adjustment wheel, one directly above the other. The bottom one allows you to adjust the frog travel without taking out the iron assembly. My guess is that the upper one is just to hold the small plate housing both screws. You can see a picture here, scroll down to type 10. http://www.rexmill.com/ If the suck screw is the upper one and yu can't free it, it's probably no big deal, just clean it as best you can. If it's the lower one, you will probably want to get it unstuck, as it comes in quite handy.

If these screws aren't the ones you are talking about, then I can't help.

Good luck.

Dan

[Pete Rowley]

Dan, that's it, the upper screw there is the one that is siezed - the lower one I was able to remove before attempting the adjustment wheel.

[Marc Hills]

Hi Dan:

The upper screw is seized because it's probably never been touched since the day it was installed. Which should say something about the need to get it unstuck.

I'm with Dan on this one; that's the one screw on the entire plane that you can safely ignore.