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i occasionally do big table tops and needed a plane big enough to flatten them, so i was looking for a #6,7 or 8. the price of good quality new planes and nice old planes were both way out of my reach. after consulting with the lumberjock experts i settled on some lesser know (not the collector hot bailey and stanley planes) names. the guys gave me a list of manufacturers that i should be able to get in my budget. i found a 60 some year old craftsman plane with good solid castings, but had broken handles and was pretty rusty and pitted from sitting in a barn, ... $20, just my price. the farmer told me he watched his father build the house and woodwork in it with this plane, and thought his dad bought it new as a young man. he never used it, but it worked real nice for his dad.

cleaned up all the wrought and cast metal/brass parts, but just couldn't bring myself to go old school black with rosewood handles. my craftsman is not a "collector", she's a user. so i decided to give her a personality with a little bit of whimsy. my "blonde" has maple handles with a a rubbed poly/linsead oil finish and a hot red enamel painted body. castings were wiped with a phosphate conversion coating to seal the rust pits. the tote was easy enough to make, but since i don't have a lathe, the knob was pretty tough to get round. roughed out a cylinder on the band saw and finished it with knife, rotary rasp, and sanded on the drill press. a good site for a tote pattern is : http://www.leevalley.com/html/16j4010k.pdf

put her back together without re-sharpening and did a test cut to see how bad the blade was, and to my surprise she effortlessly produced ribbon thin shavings in some old oak from the sawmill.

Gallery

Comments

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137 Posts
I like the red finish on it, might have to steal that idea for any future plane restorations I may do. Thanks for the post.
 

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nice work, very different.
 

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a 60 year old blond with red libstick waaoow I must say she looks gordius
she is in a fabilus form , she can turn the head on any teen right out
of highschool

great restore on that plan
I´ll bett you will use her
a lot
thank´s for sharing her
with us

Dennis
 

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nice. i like it! did you just use something like sprayed on rustoleum?
 

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In all probability, your plane was made by Sargent. I have an excellent #7 0f the same vintage. I think the Sargent planes compare very well with the Bailey's. I like the red finish, lends a certain touch as does the blond wood. Well done.
 

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That's a hot rod of a plane, but… I'm still looking for the hot blonde with a red dress ;)
 

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Well done.

Thanks for sharing, this is a great looking plane.

Good Luck!
 

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She is wonderful.
 

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Aaron - ignoring money, my choice of paints would be catalyzed polyurethane, and then enamel (lacquer is a bit too brittle for use on machinery or hand tools). i used enamel, but have used rustoleum on other hand tools/planes. i paint a coat and then put it in the oven at 150 farenheit for 3 or 4 hours, then recoat, ... i did 3 coats this way.

Thos.A - thanks for the confirmation, i had a hunch it might been a clone of, or produced by Sargent. the handle did not match up to some spare handles i had off another old bailey i had, so i didnt think it was done by either bailey or stanley.
 

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Drill motor clamped in a shop vise…"Poor-man's Lathe". BTDT many times.

Hey! Nice plane restoration! It does resemble my old Sargent too. I like your line of thinking with the "Hot blonde in a red dress" approach…and like a movie star, you'll be able to spot her from a mile away!

The other nice thing to know, I believe these old Craftsman planes were American made too, not like today's Chinese Craftsman stuff.
 

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You made the tool your own-giave it character.
May detract from its value to a collector
But will ADD to its value to any friend or family you may pass it down to.
 

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It turned out beautiful! Could you explain the phosphate conversion coating process?
 

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Actually looks like a redhead with blonde highlights to me, but then again I am biased.. :)...

That is a great looking restoration. I love the red color. Admittedly, not factory correct, but who cares?

And for a guy without a lathe, you got that knob awfully round looking to me!
 
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