Started simply enough, saying “I’ll take it!” to Patrick Leach the first week of March. He said the plane was indeed a project that he was pricing to move. “Spring stuff coming, need to clear space.” But it was for parts or restore if extreme restores were your thing, essentially. Well, it’s not my thing, but having a #62 is my thing. So I jumped. And I was excited when it arrived.
!
And this one of the sole, from Patrick’s list:
Despite the lack of iron depth, I was able to set it and make shavings as an early rite of passage to enter my shop. But something wasn’t right.
As I dug deeper into the plane’s ‘issues’ the floating plate portion of the adjustable mouth was clearly riding deep between the side rails.
A straight edge told the tale as well.
Lots of lapping, and I solved that problem. The pic that follows shows the initial contact with the floating plate. Progress! It also shows some pitting towards the front of the sole that’s not a detriment to performance / is staying put (character is okay in my shop).
On this shot, the rails are now flush with the plate. But notice the front edge of said plate… It’s curve doesn’t match the sole of the plane. Grinder and sanding addressed that.
EDIT: To clarify, the sliding section actually had a radius that was lopsided… pulling the sliding section forward got it flush on one side (the right side, looking down on the plane from above) but it protruded the sole by more than a sixteenth, almost an eighth inch, on the other side. I ground the sliding section so it’d be flush when in this ‘never in this position really’ position… the straight at the mouth is actually square to the sole’s mouth, it was just out of kilter at the front of the plane. Did I make the sliding section match a bad casting, or vise versa? Guess that doesn’t matter, just wanted consistency. END EDIT.
The tote had a previously repaired but now busted tote that needed repair. I cleaned the break and glued it up.
Then I cut the break clean (fix failed) and tried twice more before attempting to add mechanical fasteners (wire nails) up the inside of the tote from the bottom. Well, when I tried assembly that final time, the tote basically exploded into four pieces.
Now, all the while as the tote screw is moving in and out of the plane, it has a swagger like it’s bent at the threads. Try as I might, I can neither see it or resolve the problem. That bend definitely added stress to my repairs… Urgh.
After I was left toteless, I found Plan B. The elongated base of the tote, on a #62, is more stubbed than normal to allow room for the depth adjuster. Taking the base of the original, I traced it’s footprint onto a donor tote from a 60s era Craftsman smoother and shaped a replacement.
Here’s a pic at the fitting, after some stain had been applied to the hardwood tote to darken it up.
Then disaster struck. The tote screw broke off at the sole of the plane, just below the receiving ‘nub’, so an extraction was needed. I’d never done such a thing, but patiently (carefully) drilled a 5/32 hole that allowed me to twist out the screw with a small star bit. Whew! Did some grinding to shorten the tote screw of the Craftsman donor and pressed it into service on the #62 as well.
The plane needs an eccentric lever (on order) and a new iron (will order from Lie Nielsen) as evidenced here.
Will update this as completion draws nearer, but in the meantime it’s looking pretty good and does make shavings.
EDIT: Final pics at the end of the posts below, thanks for following along!
Edit 10 April: Restored tote from LJ Don re-installed, plane now really done :-)
-- Don't anthropomorphize your handplanes. They hate it when you do that. -- OldTools Archive
88 comments so far
ShaneA
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4012 posts in 795 days
#1 posted 464 days ago
Great job sir. I have never seen an iron that used up. Look forward to more.
Smitty_Cabinetshop
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6591 posts in 815 days
#2 posted 464 days ago
When I was sharpening the iron, I fully expected it to no longer reach wood once re-installed. There is a trick involved with depth adjuster threads and the ‘carriage’ for the iron; There’s no more to give re: adjuster, and the previous owner aleady elongated the slot in the iron well past the ribbed section… It’s really somthing, need to snap a picture of that iron. Fugality to the extreme…
Thanks for taking a look, Shane!
-- Don't anthropomorphize your handplanes. They hate it when you do that. -- OldTools Archive
Dave
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9407 posts in 1037 days
#3 posted 464 days ago
You have saved another one. A wonderful story on how everything does not go your way. But you adapted and overcame your problems. Thanks for the lesson Smitty, master of the 62.
-- Superdav "No matter where you go - there you are." http://chiselandforge.com
Don W
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10211 posts in 765 days
#4 posted 464 days ago
Nice save Smitty. You’ll love the 62. One of the #4s I finished yesterday had a iron just like that. Luckily I had a replacement I won for $3 saving for a rainy day.
-- There is nothing like the sound of a well tuned hand plane. - http://timetestedtools.wordpress.com (timetestedtools at hotmail dot c0m)
Brit
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4297 posts in 1040 days
#5 posted 464 days ago
Looking good Smitty. There’s always something isn’t there that makes a job takes twice as long? Still, you found the solutions to the problems and you’ll end up with a nice user there. Welll done.
-- Andy -- Old Chinese proverb say: If you think something can't be done, don't interrupt man who is doing it.
Smitty_Cabinetshop
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6591 posts in 815 days
#6 posted 464 days ago
Thanks, fellas. In the not-so-immortal words of Super Chicken, “You knew the job was dangerous when you took it!” But then again, didn’t know I’d have these issues. I’m just pleased the (custom) knob is good, it’s ring is present, and the adjuster and mouth all work well. Ordering a LN iron this week, but will not include the toothed version unfortunately. They can groove thinner irons but don’t believe it’ll hold up.
-- Don't anthropomorphize your handplanes. They hate it when you do that. -- OldTools Archive
SamuelP
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566 posts in 843 days
#7 posted 463 days ago
Did you see the IBC iron is on sale?
This is a hand plane of my dreams.
-- -Sam - West Virginia -
lysdexic
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3467 posts in 820 days
#8 posted 463 days ago
Smitty,
Its beautiful. I read through but I didn’t catch what was “custom” about the knob. If I EVER come across a #62 tote I’ll nab it for you.
How dd you like lapping on the diamond plate.
-- I hate being bipolar. It's awesome! :^ ) ^:
Smitty_Cabinetshop
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6591 posts in 815 days
#9 posted 463 days ago
Sam- I went with a LN iron to make it the first purchase ever from them… A thicker iron to compensate for the (lapped) thinner and chipped sole / mouth. Can’t wait for it to arrive so I get a step closer to running this thing through it’s paces (lever still not here, either).
Thanks, Scott! The knob, per Patrick! ”... Is unique to this plane…” so this one being good means less search work. The diamond plate was a lifesaver, love my DMTs! And, Yes, the search for either a geniune tote is officially on…
-- Don't anthropomorphize your handplanes. They hate it when you do that. -- OldTools Archive
lysdexic
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3467 posts in 820 days
#10 posted 463 days ago
I did a google search for ” stanley 62 tote replacement” and didn’t come up with much. This blog entry ranked high though.
-- I hate being bipolar. It's awesome! :^ ) ^:
Smitty_Cabinetshop
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6591 posts in 815 days
#11 posted 463 days ago
That cracks me up… :-)
-- Don't anthropomorphize your handplanes. They hate it when you do that. -- OldTools Archive
Don W
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10211 posts in 765 days
#12 posted 463 days ago
Smitty. Once again I’m a little envious. I love my LN #62, but I’d love a vintage 62. Nice….
-- There is nothing like the sound of a well tuned hand plane. - http://timetestedtools.wordpress.com (timetestedtools at hotmail dot c0m)
lysdexic
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3467 posts in 820 days
#13 posted 463 days ago
This site has #62 parts but no tote. Look 3/4 of the way down under block planes. Ain’t cheap though.
http://www.antique-used-tools.com/stanley_parts.htm
-- I hate being bipolar. It's awesome! :^ ) ^:
lysdexic
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3467 posts in 820 days
#14 posted 463 days ago
Define genuine. Can you modify a #5 rosewood tote and still be “genuine?”
-- I hate being bipolar. It's awesome! :^ ) ^:
Smitty_Cabinetshop
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6591 posts in 815 days
#15 posted 463 days ago
Don, I get what you’re saying and it’s why I had to pop for this one… Didn’t think another would come along at a reasonable price, and I’d emailed with Patrick more than once on ones he’s had on hand. That said, I will have a LN #164 to go with this vintage piece. Another reason the LN iron is on the way.
-- Don't anthropomorphize your handplanes. They hate it when you do that. -- OldTools Archive
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