| Blog series by dsb1829 | updated 292 days ago | 12 parts | 4351 reads | 81 comments total |
Part 1: Groz planes, Plane and Simple
I have commented all over the net about Groz planes. I really think they are a good option to save some money. My set included a #4 smoother and a low angle block with adjustable throat. It was on sale for about $40-50 over at Woodcraft. Quality-wise they are comparable to a flee market or e-bay Stanley branded plane. I think the Stanley is a bit nicer, but it is definitely a buyer beware situation buying a 30-100 year old plane sight unseen (know what I mean Vern). With the Groz you ge...
Part 2: Another plane rehab
Stanley 78 this time around. No patent dates and no marking other than the brand and model. Probably not very old. I saw this on e-bay a while back. All the parts, not much rust, and a buy-it-now price set below fair market value. So I snagged it up. Upon receipt I gave it an inspection. Everything ship shape. Dull blade with a slight back bevel and no longer square may indicate a casual user as the previous owner. About 20 minutes on the granite slab with 120 and 220 grit paper cl...
Part 3: No.7 rehab
I got my No.7 in the mail on Thursday. They have been getting a bit higher in price on e-bay as of late. At least the nicer ones are going more than I care to spend and the rust seized ones are creeping up to about $30-45 at auction close. So I decided exactly what I wanted, a Stanley No.7 in user condition with a corrugated sole. I watched auctions for about a month got outbid on a couple, but stuck within my price limits on each so I don’t feel bad about being outbid. Finally one...
Part 4: My newest sweety
Once I started using scrapers I was caught with the bug. They are just so handy, but the drawback to card scrapers is that they can and do catch the second your focus wanders. So I started looking around for the typical scraper, the no.80. I had been watching e-bay for a few days when this 80M shows up. Hmmm, what’s that? Off to Blood & Gore for a quick ID. Apparently it is the ductile iron version of the scraper. Well, that could come in handy. The japaning looked good, b...
Part 5: Plane restorations
Over the last several months I have taken time that could have been spent woodworking to adopt and care for some old planes. Most were inexpensive, rusty, and unkept. With a little time and attention these antiques are ready to serve another generation of user. I think that is pretty cool. In this era of disposable tools these relics of a time gone by are heartwarming. These tools have character. All are 50-100 years old and a testament to the “they don’t make em like they u...
Part 6: Working on planes
Been fussing over some hand planes in the garage. Okay, so what’s new there? Evapo-rustYep, that’s right Evapo-rustThis stuff is cool. Dissolves/converts rust in a non-toxic and non-corrosive chemical reaction. It is rare to come in contact with a cleaning solvent that actually works yet is not something that you have to worry about getting on your skin. Here is an example… before: after:About 5 minutes with a wire brush and the dark oxide comes right off leavin...
Part 7: No5 Restoration
I have been recieving some questions on plane restorations, so I figure I will put together a start to finish on one of the planes I just did. In the beginning we have a sub $10 e-bay win. Never going to win any beauty contests and not of a very well regarded vintage. So it is a perfect candidate for a facelift. Initially I just cleaned it up and put it to work. This gave me a chance to test drive prior to investing much time or money. I would recommend testing a plane prior to a fu...
Part 8: Little woodie
Well, this one has been on the workbench for about a month now. Before that it was on the shelf for a while. I don’t really know the last time this plane actually saw any use. Here is how I got it. Honestly it doesn’t look too bad.But initial looks are a bit deceiving. Iron and cap were a bit rusted. The plane sole had a couple cracks and the wedge was anything but flat. The wood got sanded down. I used titebond3 to seal and bond the cracks. Then it got a couple coats...
Part 9: Plane fun
I caught the hand tool bug back in July. Since then I have been adopting promising candidates for the garage shop. Most have required restoration to some extent. Some were just scrubbing, lubing, and honing of blades. Along the way I picked up bits of information on how to deal with rust, corrosion, tote refinishing and repair. With each plane I gained some confidence in just how much I could do to restore these tools. I just finished restoration of my most ill cared for planes. Two no...
Part 10: Taking inventory
I posted this photo on my last blog (it may get clipped, if it is just click the image to see the whole thing). Well this afternoon I took inventory. I had type cast a few previously, but wanted to do all that I could. Back Row (L-R):1 – Sandusky coffin smooth plane, pre-1900’s2 – Stanley No78 rabbit plane, likely from the 1940-1960’s3 – Stanley No40 scrub plane, 1920-19404 – Stanley No7 jointer plane, type11, 1910-19185 – Stanley No6 fore pl...
Part 11: Blade prep, freehand
I have tried a few different methods over the last few months to flatten blades. Here is my go-to method for flattening the back of a new blade. Adhere some sandpaper to a flat surface. I prefer 3M super77 and a granite surface plate for the substrate. Use 60-80g until you have a uniform scratch pattern. I prefer Norton 3X 80g at this phase. It is a fast cutter and the paper is thick, so it is easy to install and remove from the granite. Next comes the 220g w/d. Generally I can ...
Part 12: Sentimental plane restoration complete
Back at the end of November my Father rolled into town. He had brought a truck-load of booty from California. Amongst the junk from my childhood was a N06 that had belonged to my Great Grandfather. It was rusted, missing the knob, tote cracked into about 4 pieces, and had not likely cut a shaving in more than 30 years. I really should have taken a picture as I received the plane. To date it is the crustiest plane that I have brought back to life. edit 1/21 okay, I managed to dig up a...
Just a hybrid workshop run by a mad man at wits end. Okay, not that bad really. Here you can follow some of my projects, mistakes, victories, and growth as a woodworker. Hope you enjoy.
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