Wooden Try Plane Refurbishment.

[Stewie Simpson]

The top and end profiles on the planes stock have been re-applied, and a test coat of Danish Oil with a darkening additive trialed. It will likely take another 4 to 5 coats to achieve the finish I am after. Tomorrow I will add the a leading edge wear bevel to the front end of the sole, then add some further coats of top finish. I will also need to order in some Liquid Hide Glue so its available when needed. A few other jobs to be do include a replacement front impact block, and repairs to the rear tote. Expect a lengthy delay on the next update.

Stewie;

[Stewie Simpson]

Hi Jon, appreciate the feedback. This woodie is for personal use, so I am not overly concerned on resale value. I wouldn't recommend this level of refurbishment unless your have some prior experience on how they are traditionally made. There is a fair chance if you were to ask a lot of woodworkers to use this type of bench plane, the 1st question your likely to receive is "where's the depth adjuster."

regards Stewie;

[Stewie Simpson]

Its difficult to get an exact date of manufacture on this plane. From the available online data it looks to be within a time period of 1889 - 1932.

Stewie;

In 1889 Edward Preston Jr.'s three sons were brought into the firm and the name was changed to Edward Preston & Sons. Part of the firm's output was a healthy line of malleable and gun-metal planes and patent adjustable iron smoothers, shoulder planes, bullnose and block planes - a range that was expanded in later years. The 1901 catalogue shows several styles of planes which were unique to the Preston brand, along with the usual styles which had already been set by other makers such as Spiers and Norris.^[6]
The death of Edward Preston Jr. was reported in the Lichfield Mercury of 26 September 1913: "Mr. Preston was decidedly of an innovative turn of mind," the newspaper wrote, "as many of the machines in use at his works, as well as of the tools produced were the invention of himself and his three sons, who now manage the business."^[7] The report noted that at the time of his death, the business was carried on at Whittall Works, Cheston Street, Aston, Birmingham.
Later years[edit]

Falling on hard times, the firm of Edward Preston & Sons was sold to John Rabone & Sons in 1932 and shortly thereafter manufacturing rights to some of the Preston range of planes were sold to the Sheffield firm of C. & J. Hampton, who would later merge with the Record Tool Company. Some of the Preston planes were directly added to the Record line by the Hampton firm, while others were modified or discontinued altogether.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Preston_%26_Sons

[Brian Holcombe]

Nicely done Stewie, certainly looks nice and crisp again.

I'm curious about the sole, when I install the irons I notice that the supporting wood, directly under the irons will deflect outward causing a slight hump to appear on the sole. On Japanese planes we acknowledge and attend to that hump (removing it). On Western planes I almost never see comment WRT the hump (maybe a better description could be made on my part than 'hump'), however I have attended to it on the planes that I use (David's build) and noticed an improvement in certain months of the year when the sole is slightly bellied.

So my question; have you checked the sole for flatness with the irons installed?

[Chuck Nickerson]

Kees; then you are likely to be disappointed to hear that the old patina on this ole plane will be completely removed. The makers stamp on the front end of the plane will be preserved.

Stewie;

This is the part of the process I hope you document for us. I've trued up a couple dozen woodies recently, but I left the heels and toes alone and have not done anything to balance the finish.

[Stewie Simpson]

Nicely done Stewie, certainly looks nice and crisp again.

I'm curious about the sole, when I install the irons I notice that the supporting wood, directly under the irons will deflect outward causing a slight hump to appear on the sole. On Japanese planes we acknowledge and attend to that hump (removing it). On Western planes I almost never see comment WRT the hump (maybe a better description could be made on my part than 'hump'), however I have attended to it on the planes that I use (David's build) and noticed an improvement in certain months of the year when the sole is slightly bellied.

So my question; have you checked the sole for flatness with the irons installed?

Hi Brian; apologies for not replying sooner. The sole of the plane was flattened without the double iron fitted. Bearing in mind that the beam strength on this Western Woodie is likely 2 fold to your average Japanese plane, I don't expect to see much of a change when the sole is under load. I will double check this with the double irons fitted nearer to completing this refurbishment.

I agree with your assessment on seasonal change. Its much easier to manage a slight convex within the sole, than a concave sole. Appreciate the feedback.

regards Stewie;

[Brian Holcombe]

Anytime!

I'm curious to see your findings, I was surprised to find it on my planes to be honest, given the higher bedding angle, but lo and behold.

[Jerry Olexa]

Nice work, Stewie....The Danish oil did its work..Looks good...Thanks

[Stewie Simpson]

Thanks Jerry; its taken on a much darker appearance after applying some extra coats this morning. The additive I mixed in with the Danish Oil has worked out nicely.

regards Stewie;

[Stewie Simpson]

Repairs to the damaged top edge of the iron have been completed, the cutting edge re-honed to a light camber, and the softer steel above the harder laminate re-blackened on both sides. The top height of the wooden wedge has also been shortened by 1/2" to make it easier to adjust the double iron's depth of cut.



As a matter of interest, the original deflection angle on the front edge of the cap iron was measured at 30 degrees, for a bed angle of 47 degrees.



Stewie;

[Kees Heiden]

Hi Stewie,

I am curious about the leading edge of that capiron. My Nooitgedagt plane irons also have a very flat bevel on the capiron, but ultimately at the very edge they do steepen up to almost 45 degrees. It takes some close scrutiny though to recognise this, here under magnification.

foto (3).jpg

In my experience you can make a lower angle work too, but its effect becomes less, so you need to set the capiron even closer to the edge. In a wooden plane you don't want the angle too steep, because chocking is always a real possibility.

[Stewie Simpson]

Hi Kees; I have just returned from the workshop after reading your post. I ended up clamping the cap iron in a machine vice and checked the leading edge under a L.E.D. magnifying lens. There was a slight change in reflected light approx. 0.5mm in width from the leading edge. From a side view the change in angle would represent little more than a 1 degree increase above the primary angle. My best guess, is likely the result of the cap iron being previously stoned to remove the wire edge. From here, its likely we will have to wait until the refurbishment on this plane has been completed, and I can test the plane in use for tear-out. I tend to agree with your comment that a woodie requires less of a deflection angle than its metal bodied cousins.

On another note, I should have expanded further on my take of a light camber. It equates to a value of 0.4 - 0.5mm projection across the full span of blades 2 1/2" width. There is a formula somewhere to work out the actual radial but I don't tend to worry about using it.

Hopefully the above information is of some assistance.

regards Stewie;

[Phil Mueller]

Enjoying the restoration, Stewie. Thanks for posting. If the wedge you show represents the color you achieved with the darkening agent, it looks very close to a 100 years of patina. Nicely done.

[Stewie Simpson]

Repairs to the rear tote have been completed, and the below mortise line taped off to prevent the oil finish interfering with the later use of Liquid Hide Glue.

The Danish Oil with the darkening additive being applied to try and colour match the developing patina on the planes stock. It can take numerous coats to get the look I am after. Then its left to a later application of dark wax and mother nature to build on that. Not what you would catagorize as a rocket science approach.






Stewie

[Stewie Simpson]

As this photo clearly shows, I will need to go back and apply the same mix of top coat I am using for the rear tote to the main stock of this wooden plane.