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Thread: My first plane restoration: progress and a question

  1. #1
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    Aug 2014
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    My first plane restoration: progress and a question

    I recently completed my first ever restoration of a Stanley plane. I bought a rust bucket #5 jack plane off that auction site fairly cheaply (<$20 incl shipping), figuring no matter how much I mess up I'm at least not damaging something valuable. I have the before and after pictures below, although they don't really capture the shape this guy was in. In any event, I wanted to share my progress and thoughts on this process; I also had a question I was wondering if someone could help answer (it's at the end of this message, which is fairly long, in case you want to skip ahead):

    I don't have a dog in the "new vs used" argument when it comes to hand planes. My own thought is that as I'm just starting, I wanted to good learning vehicle, and I felt that I'd rather use the $20 plane instead of the $200+ plane for that. I figured I can always get a new one later once I really decide how I want to proceed in the hobby.

    I also needed to get some sharpening equipment, but I figured I needed to do that anyway (even new blades eventually become blades that need sharpening). So I did want a blade on which I can learn to sharpen and hone. Another argument for the used plane. Having said that, I did buy a new blade and chipbreaker from Lee Valley so I'd have an idea how a sharp, fresh from the factory blade would work.

    My first step was to disassemble the plane; quite a few of the screws were stuck and required liberal amounts of WD40 to get free. I used electrolysis to remove the rust from the plane and old cap iron and blade with some success. I used white vinegar for the screws and smaller parts with less success, but I got enough rust out to make them work. Next time I may try Evaprust or similar. I then gave the plane body a coat of paste wax and went to work to put everything back together, using the replacement blade and cap iron.

    My first shavings were far from satisfactory; taking a closer look it was obvious why: I could not move the frog back far enough to allow for any space between the end of the blade and the front of the mouth. And the blade was probably not well supported with the frog that far back. Before doing anything else to the plane, I decided first to put the original blade and cap iron back in. But before doing that, I had to sharpen the old the blade.

    To do that, I used my newly purchased low speed grinder from Woodcraft to grind the primary bevel. And then Norton waterstones (1000 and 4000 grit) to hone the bevel. Without going into details, it did take me several tries to get it right. One reason I was glad I used an old blade first. One issue is that there's not a lot of iron left on the old blade (it came like that). But once I felt the blade was sharp enough (not truly sharp enough, as I'm not there yet; but sharp enough for now), I put it in my plane and finally got a shaving off my scrap Lowes-bought hemfir of about 0.003". And there was much rejoicing!

    Next step was to file the mouth to make it wide enough to accept the new blade. Being a newbie, I took a bit too much off: 1/16", which is probably about twice what I needed. Thankfully it's only a $20 plane (I knew I would do something wrong). I adjusted the frog, put in the new blade, and got the shavings down to about 0.002". OK, getting there. I then put in the new cap iron, but had trouble getting shavings that thin and had some chatter and skipping. Not sure why yet, but it could be technique related; I still have some things to try.

    I will say that doing all this took a lot longer than expected. It's one thing to read Garrett Hack's book (highly recommended, btw) and watch all the various online videos, but it's a whole 'nother thing to actually go and do it. Quite a few mistakes were made that had me going back to the book and browsing this forum and others to see what I may have done wrong. It's important to keep perspective: it's a hobby and fun time; there's no schedule to keep. Far better to take extra time to do something correct than get frustrated and make a bigger mistake. But I learned a lot in the process; it was highly valuable experience to me, and rewarding to boot. Those looking to decide "new vs. old" should keep that in mind. I'm sure I would have been getting shavings within the first hour of buying a new LV or LN. But I'm not sure I would have learned as much. And either way, I still have a lot more to learn.

    Finally, on to my question: near the toe of the plane are several dimples in the service; see the final photo for a view. Are these a problem? It would probably take me days of nonstop lapping to remove them, if that's even possible. Therefore, are they really going to be a problem once I start doing real work?
    Attached Images Attached Images

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    As long as those dimples aren't proud of the rest of the sole, then it shouldn't make a difference at all, you are after co-planar points at the toe, mouth and heel area, as long as you have that, you are fine. If you intend to use the jack plane for rough work, then the condition of the sole doesn't matter much unless its horribly warped. Nice job on the restoration by the way!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
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    Stone Mountain, GA
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    Wow...nice job! That was a lot of rust to deal with.

    I wouldn't worry about those dimples, unless there are some directly in front of or behind the mouth. The only areas of the plane sole that absolutely need contact are the very front of the toe, very back of the heel, and in front of or behind the mouth.

    As for your chattering issues...did you sharpen the new blade? You didn't say in the post, just that you sharpened the old one and got good shavings. New blades come semi-sharp, but you really need to hone and polish the bevel and back to make them sing. Since you were able to make good shavings with the old blade, to me the issue must be with the new blade, most likely a sharpness issue. Make sure you aren't trying to take too deep of a cut.

    Other possible issues are a concave sole, or bad mating surfaces between the frog and sole. But most likely sharpness.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
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    You bought both a new cap iron (chip breaker) and blade? How far back are you setting the cap iron? Closer is better, especially if you are after thin shavings without tear out. If you were too far from the edge, it might explain why you didn't have room to adjust the blade. If you are setting the frog far back then you might have the blade resting on two points (one point near the top of the frog and one on the sole of the plane , back of the mouth) rather than resting mainly on the frog. This will cause all kinds of chatter. I'd play around with getting the frog adjusted so that the blade with cap iron secured sits well on the frog. Good luck

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
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    West Chicago, Illinois
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    Quote Originally Posted by George Wall View Post
    Finally, on to my question: near the toe of the plane are several dimples in the service; see the final photo for a view. Are these a problem? It would probably take me days of nonstop lapping to remove them, if that's even possible. Therefore, are they really going to be a problem once I start doing real work?
    You have done a nice job. I would lap the plane. It doesn't take days, maybe a few hours. They probably are not be a problem as they are, but they would bother me. All you really need is pressure sensitive sandpaper. You can adhere it to a table saw bed, granite block or a 1/4 inch plate of glass. Woodcraft sells a set of six sheets from 120 - 400 grit, there is no need to go finer. I have used this set on several planes, and been very happy with the results. It is $8.99 that is well spent.

    http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/208...Abrasives.aspx

  6. #6
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    Aug 2014
    Location
    Boston, MA
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    Thanks everyone for the replies!! Really appreciate it.

    I did make a typo in my post: the dimples are near the heel, not the toe. Glad to hear it's not too serious; I'll give lapping a shot, though.

    Thanks also for the advice on sharpening. I assumed a new blade from Lee Valley was good to go out of the box. I'll give the blade a honing, and double check my frog adjustments. I've since scored a 60 1/2 block plane, a Millers Fall #4, another Stanley #5, and a Stanley #7. All of them are in much better shape than my first #5. Now I just gotta get my bench finished so I have a reasonable surface to actually use these guys on.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    Longview WA
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    George,

    Welcome to the Creek and the slippery slope of old hand plane restoration. Your profile doesn't indicate a location. You may live near another member who is willing to help with your learning process.

    Did you venture into the Neanderthal wisdom/FAQs?

    http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...al-wisdom-FAQs

    There are a few posts in there about restoring old planes and other hand tools.

    One of mine:

    http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ker-to-Jointer

    May contain a few points of help to you.

    The rust divots look like they may be too deep to lap out without making the base of your plane too thin. They shouldn't cause much problem with using the plane.

    As for the chatter, there are many possible causes for this. My first point to check would be between the frog and the blade. Hold the plane up and see if there is a gap there. It may be that your frog is too far back and not allowing the blade to seat properly.

    There may be folks who disagree with me, but my preference is for a blade to seat fully on the frog to help dampen vibrations.

    Next would be to determine if the blade is actually sharp or if the edge may be rounded a bit. This requires finding a way to test the sharpness of your blades. Some folks like to shave end grain on pine as a test. Some like to push it through a piece of light paper like a thermal paper cash register receipt. Some people do not like me to mention my tests which are touching the edge to a fingernail or shaving my arm hair. If you have not shaved with a straight razor then those two might not be appropriate for the beginner.

    Here is a recent discussion about a chatter problem:

    http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...g-this-chatter

    It may offer some help.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

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