I am very fortunate to be the new caretaker of a magnificent wooden try plane. There are no makers marks, but it has what looks like two generations of owners stamped on it. There are no cracks at all, and it really looks like somebody just pulled it out of a toolbox on the job site.
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I have a tremendous amount to learn about wooden planes, and am sure I will have lots of questions. Let's start with these.
-The body seems to be in great shape. I have no idea what it is covered with, but whatever it is seems to have preserved it very nicely. It looks a bit like pine tar, but is not at all sticky. Is the best plan simply to leave it as is?
-The tote is a tiny bit loose. I think I will just leave it and see if it tightens up as it acclimates. If it becomes a problem, were they generally just glued in? I do not see any signs of a mechanical fastener.
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The iron is a double iron made by Atkins. Both irons are really massive (compared to my Stanley irons), and tapered (both in width and thickness). Everything fits well, and I could not resist taking a few shavings even without sharpening it up. It is a little out of square, but there are no major issues that I can see.
Any advice from the experts will be much appreciated!