Stanley #62 Refurbish - Done!
NOTE: Rescued this post from "Photosucket" 07 Jan 2018. Smitty
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
NOTE: Rescued this post from "Photosucket" 07 Jan 2018. Smitty
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