Pitted iron back

[Judson Green]

I picked up a new to me Stanley number 8 a few days before Christmas. Its in really pretty good shape except for the iron back is kind of pitted. I'm not the kind of guy that would want to buy a new blade. But as you can see from the photo I'd need to do a ton of work on the back to get it polished at the business end.


Was thinking of (cause I think I read about someone here doing it when the iron back was pitted) employing the ruler trick for a micro beveled back.


Or should I just polish it up and live with it? I mean its a jointer iron, are little streaks or raised ridges a big deal at this stage?


Don't have a grinder so grinding off the end doesn't seem possible.


Any ideas?

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[David Weaver]

You could probably live with it for a little bit, but honestly, I'd get another iron. If I had to use that iron, I would grind back enough to get rid of the first line of pitting, or most of it, and then polish the back as well as possible.

Otherwise, I'd probably go to stanley and try to get a new iron. #8 irons aren't really out there in droves, and dealers like to charge for parts that fit #8s because they know you can't find them that easily.

The ruler trick won't work those pits out. You'd need to make a full on steep and heavy cut back bevel.

[Zach Dillinger]

If you don't have a grinder, I could see recommending the microbevel. I think grinding it back is the best way to solve the problem, but the jerry-rigged ruler trick should get the plane working for you.

[Steve Voigt]

I agree with Dave that those pits are too deep for the ruler trick. You would need to back bevel at a steeper angle. Which would negate the benefit of the double iron, and make the plane harder to push. And a #8 is already a lot to push.
I'd find someone with a grinder and take off that first 1/4. That should last you long enough to save your pennies for a replacement. Or just bite the bullet and buy a new iron. Lee Valley sells 'em.

[Jim Koepke]

For a time I used a "poor man's grinder" which is a long strip of 80 grit sandpaper attached to a long surface. This will help to take the pits back to usable metal.

In the mean time set up a search on ebay for a replacement iron. Also if you have the time, start trolling the junk and used stores. The Restore is also a good place to find parts and whole planes. I picked up a #8 at a restore for $5. It is missing the wood and bolts, but other than that it had a decent blade. It is still sitting waiting to be restored.

One problem with searching for a blade to fit a #8 is all the blades that show up in the search that are 2-3/8 wide. They pop up because there is an 8 in the description.

They do not show up a lot.

Otherwise I would buy a new blade from your favorite source of new blades.

jtk

[Judson Green]

OK thank everyone. Guess I'll just polish it up and use as it. Keep my eyes open for another iron for it. Got no love for a #8 at Stanley. Cutting it back (grinding off the first ⅛" or so) only will buy a bit of time tell I'm in another spot of pitting. Perhaps the iron will get a 2nd life as a rabbiting plane.

[Paul Saffold]

David, I just went that route for my #8. The blade was bent and could not get the chip breaker to seat. I contacted Stanley and they no longer carry blades for the 8.
I got a Hock from Group 4 Int'l for $40 shipped. Hartville Tools also has it for $40ish w/ free shipping.
Paul

[David Weaver]

I contacted Stanley and they no longer carry blades for the 8.

that's too bad! It makes an already thin universe of available blades even thinner. Early on, I got an 8 that was a basket case, and it cost me a bunch of money to get a premium cap iron and blade. I wish I would've sold the plane for parts instead, I never did get much of my money back from it.

These days, I'd make another iron for it, but that's not a viable option for most people unless you have a large weed torch and some refractory bricks on hand (and a gallon of some appropriate quenching oil).

[Chris Vandiver]

Craftsman Studio has #8 Hock replacement blades in O1 for around $40 shipped.

[Judson Green]

that's too bad! It makes an already thin universe of available blades even thinner. Early on, I got an 8 that was a basket case, and it cost me a bunch of money to get a premium cap iron and blade. I wish I would've sold the plane for parts instead, I never did get much of my money back from it.

These days, I'd make another iron for it, but that's not a viable option for most people unless you have a large weed torch and some refractory bricks on hand (and a gallon of some appropriate quenching oil).

So I take it that your not a #8 fan? Just cause of the bigger (non-universal) iron? Still an owner?

I was questioning my purchase of this plane but thought the usefulness of having two jointers (I have a # 7) was worth it. Is this sound judgment? I still use a fence on the #7 when edge jointing, training wheels still on.

[David Weaver]

I don't have any 8s left. I don't mind them, I just don't have one because I don't need one. I had 3 or 4 at one point, one of them being an LN 8 that I unloaded on here. I had a lot of bench planes that I no longer have, though, because I didn't need them and wanted the space back.

If you leave a fence on your #7, then there's no reason you can't have 2 so you can leave the fence on a #7.

My personal opinion as someone who doesn't own a power jointer and who doesn't sometimes even use a power planer, the only thing useful about an 8 vs. a 7 for practical purposes is the extra blade width for match planing.

That said, you already have an 8, and assuming everything else is good on it, might as well locate a decent iron for it and use it. You also might get quite a bit of time out of that stock iron between the pitting, maybe more than you'd think. It'd give you time to figure out if you like using the plane.

[Judson Green]

My personal opinion as someone who doesn't own a power jointer and who doesn't sometimes even use a power planer, the only thing useful about an 8 vs. a 7 for practical purposes is the extra blade width for match planing.

So you only really use one of the above for say edge glueing panels? What about for general flatness/straightness?

[David Weaver]

No, I use a jointer on the face of every board I have to prepare (that is of any reasonable length). But it's either a 7 or a wooden jointer.

I'd rather have a lighter jointer. A 7 is effectively as accurate as an 8, you still need to do something to check for flatness on a long edge (so an extra 2 inches of length in the 8 doesn't really get you much of anything), and the 7 is lighter to use in a heavy cut when you're jointing the face of a board - lighter in general.

If I were in your shoes, and there's no holes in 7 from the fence (I don't know how a jointer fence works, as I've never had one), I'd switch the fence to the 8 if you do any stock preparation with your jointer. Just my opinion. If you just use the jointer mostly for edges, it doesn't matter so much.

[Judson Green]

Ok thanks David.

[Georg Zudoff]

Hi Judson,
Of course a microbevel is a solution. But look here http://forum.woodtools.ru/index.php?...162#msg1019162
message #555
Sorry in Russian, but this man describe rehabbing old irons.
He have had a grinder - photo 1 in message body. But he did it only for dished iron. Further he take a piece of old grinding wheel and break it to a sand (photo 2).
After we are lapping old irons with this breaked piece of grinding wheel over a sheet of laminated board (for floor).
Last two photos are the result - one iron took about 15-20 minutes, 3 irons - one hour and a lot of elbow grease, right?