restoring hand planes

5762 Views 54 Replies 10 Participants Last post by sreilly, Mar 18, 2019

twmv86

Discussion Starter · Feb 9, 2019 (Edited)

3

i've been grabbing up old stanley planes on ebay and restoring them. the new veritas and certainly the $300+ lie nielsen planes are fantastic but are out of my price range. cleaning these old vintage planes up is a good option at a much lower cost, usually $50-75, sometimes more if they've already been restored. i finally got a stanley #4 1/2 smoother & found a record combo plane with a bunch of cutters both coming soon. the combo was more a bit more at $120 but has tons of options. a new veritas combo plane is $400 with ONE cutter. i've also been watching videos making your own and might take a shot at making a shoulder plane.
i hadn't even used a plane til last summer but wow this is getting addictive.

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DesertRatTom

· #2 · Feb 9, 2019

It's a real pleasure working with hand planes. Restoring them sounds like fun as well.

JOAT

· #3 · Feb 9, 2019

You might want to get away from ebay, and hit some flea markets, and garage sales. I don't follow plane prices, but sound like you may be paying a lot more than you need to Last time I bought planes was two very nice wooden planes, no restoring needed, for $20 and $25, if I recall right, at a small flea market. I could have gotten some decent condition metal planes for considerably less.

Cherryville Chuck

· #4 · Feb 9, 2019

Beautiful shoulder plane Tim. I've managed to get a few good buys on planes off ebay.

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twmv86

Discussion Starter · #5 · Feb 9, 2019

tom i thought the rust would be hard to deal with but its not at all. messy and takes a bit of time but no big deal. i soak really bad small parts in vinegar. this paul sellers video got me interested.

mr joat i kinda like recliner shopping but flea markets sound like a good idea.

chuck anything i make wont turn out that nice im sure. young je makes a lot of beautiful stuff

thomas1389

· #6 · Feb 9, 2019

Very nice finished product. I'd practice a little more safety around those saw blades, though. You may not keep the fingers you need to turn out such nice specimens.

woodknots

· #7 · Feb 9, 2019

@twmv86
Tim - I've restored a few planes myself - will post some pictures later. I've purchased hand planes for as little as $5.00 at flea markets and an older like-new,in box Stanley #4 for $20.00. Ebay seems overpriced. Have you tried electrolysis rust removal? I've done it a few times and works pretty well - lot's of videos on google of the process.

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DaninVan

· #8 · Feb 9, 2019

Hey, Vince! Good to see you back!! (White snow + green golf balls?)
Another vote from me for for electrolysis.

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sreilly

· #9 · Feb 9, 2019

Great posts. I have a few old planes that belonged to my father-in-law who was 3 months shy of 100 when he passed in 2001. He was a self taught farm boy growing up in Southern Maryland just outside of DC. His family had a farm and they took produce to market in DC by horse and buggy riding on cobblestone roads in DC. Oh the history that man could tell was nothing like what we read in the school books. His recalls had real color and depth. He was quite the accomplished woodworker and I way too busy to take time to learn from him. I was working 60-70 hours a week back then. What a tragedy to have missed out on such a great opportunity. And they lived with us the last 10-12 years.....

So now I have some planes I need to identify, clean up, and put to good use. First to identify them......

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woodknots

· #10 · Feb 9, 2019

DaninVan said:
Hey, Vince! Good to see you back!! (White snow + green golf balls?)
Another vote from me for for electrolysis.

Hi Dan - thanks. No white snow for me - I'm in Florida. Got out of Ontario just before that snowstorm on Jan 19. So..... brown fairways and white golf balls.

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woodknots

· #11 · Feb 9, 2019

@sreilly - Hi Steve - there are a few websites around that could help you with identification, especially if they are Stanley - here's just one that is a good read:

The Superior Works - Patrick's Blood & Gore: Preface

twmv86

Discussion Starter · #12 · Feb 10, 2019

vchiarelli said:
@twmv86
Tim - I've restored a few planes myself - will post some pictures later. I've purchased hand planes for as little as $5.00 at flea markets and an older like-new,in box Stanley #4 for $20.00. Ebay seems overpriced. Have you tried electrolysis rust removal? I've done it a few times and works pretty well - lot's of videos on google of the process.

no sir i haven't tried electro method. i'll read up on that ty. i got a #4 1/2 without an iron pretty cheap recently that is really rough and is a good candidate for that. when i first started doing this i never would have bought one this bad, but rust doesn't scare my anymore. you can get these almost pristine with a little effort. i'm gonna make a scrub plane out it i think. i picked up two 2 3/8 irons fairly cheap.
i'm pretty low tech. just use 120 grit paper, wire wheel on my bench grinder or vinegar.
a new #4 smoother for $20? that just plain stealin:nerd:. i'm gonna have to venture out to a flea market next month. done blew my tool budget for this month. its nice when they pay you to stay home but you don't get as much $
now that i have a couple of #4 1/2's my quest for a #7 or #8 begins

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gmercer_48083

· #13 · Feb 10, 2019

Tim, That's a beauty...looks like the iron has been sharpened a few thousand times. Must have been owned by a real hand tool hands on woodworker.

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twmv86

Discussion Starter · #14 · Feb 10, 2019 (Edited)

@vchiarelli hey vince i saw a wood magazine video on electrolysis that said it might take off some of the japaning. have you noticed that happening? i have a trickle charger so i just need to get a hunk of rebar or something.
i started looking into a diy japaning recipe and it doesnt seem to be as hard as i thought it would. just mix some liquid asphaltum and some spar varnish do thin coats then bake at 250-300 and reapply. it may not be as good as original but its surely doable.
so far i havent had one thats lost most of the original japaning but i can see myself trying it at some point

twmv86

Discussion Starter · #15 · Feb 10, 2019

gmercer_48083 said:
Tim, That's a beauty...looks like the iron has been sharpened a few thousand times. Must have been owned by a real hand tool hands on woodworker.

thats just the lever cap and chip breaker. it was missing the cutting iron but i hear ya. it may have been used a ton by a dedicated woodworker but now i got it lol. im a hack but i like messing with the stuff. i need to get some oil or shellac on the wood it looks quite parched

TwoSkies57

· #16 · Feb 10, 2019 (Edited)

Finding, restoring, tuning and use of hand planes can be one of the real joys of woodworking. There is nothing quite like them. I'd suggest before moving onto the battleship
planes (7&8), find a couple old stanly 6 1/2 and 9 to restore. Small block planes can be the workhorse in any shop. Especially when it comes to "tweaking" things. Find or make yourself a couple of winding sticks. Invaluable when it comes to plane work!! And while your looking, keep an eye out for a quality straight edge, 24" at least, 50" or better if the price is right. Then then 7 and 8 will make more sense. If versitility is what your after, look into a 5, 5 1/4 or 6. Great choice for shooting boards and donkey ear jigs.

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twmv86

Discussion Starter · #17 · Feb 10, 2019

TwoSkies57 said:
Finding, restoring, tuning and use of hand planes can be one of the real joys of woodworking. There is nothing quite like them. I'd suggest before moving onto the battleship
planes (7&8), find a couple old stanly 6 1/2 and 9 to restore. Small block planes can be the workhorse in any shop. Especially when it comes to "tweaking" things. Find or make yourself a couple of winding sticks. Invaluable when it comes to plane work!! And while your looking, keep an eye out for a quality straight edge, 24" at least, 50" or better if the price is right. Then then 7 and 8 will make more sense. If versitility is what your after, look into a 5, 1/4 or 6. Great choice for shooting boards and donkey ear jigs.

hey bill. since july i have a 3, a 4, two 4 1/2s, two 5s, 5 1/4 & a 6 and a 110. all are stanleys except for the record combo plane. i was gonna make a scrub out of one of the jacks but will use the lesser of the 4 1/2s now that i finally have one. problem is after restoring they all look great haha. im going to attempt to make a router plane besides the shoulder plane shown above.
i saw a paul sellers video on winding sticks. planes are something i wish i got into years ago. i guess im better at acquiring them and cleaning them up than using them so far but i do like it

TwoSkies57

· #18 · Feb 10, 2019 (Edited)

@twmv86

Tim, the issue your going to run into with converting a 4 1/2 into a scrub is the sheer width of the blade and how much wood that bad boy is going to try and hog out with each pass. Typical scrub irons are around 1.5" in width and 3/16" thick give or take. If you have ever spent any time with a scrub, you know it ain't gotta be pretty in use, just remove the wood thats in the way of the iron. I buy all of my wood rough cut. Prior to running thru the planer, just about every board see's some amount of hand plane work. Some way more than others on occasion. When I do use the scrub, its a work out to say the least. What you suggest may very well work. I've never tried a scrub that wide. Couple of things I would suggest would be, go with a thicker iron, and be very careful with the radius on the cutting edge. I"d also look into widening the mouth of the plane to accommodate the extra thick pieces of wood thats going to be removed.

Just my thoughts on the matter, but if you're inclined to build something, build a block plane. Hock offers an excellent kit with a premium iron at a fair price. Router plane would make for a fun project, but honestly, they are easily had and very cheap if you keep an eye out and are patient, especially the smaller versions.

As far as using them goes, what kind of wood working are you looking to get into? When it comes to acquiring and restoring, that too can be a most enjoyable pastime and quite lucrative at that!!

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twmv86

Discussion Starter · #19 · Feb 11, 2019

nah i havent used a scrub. i saw how to make one on a paul sellers video and i thought he had used a 4 or a 4 1/2. i'll probably give it a shot but i see what you are saying about it taking a wider bite. the 3 and the 5 1/4 both have a 1 3/4 iron and the jack has a 2".
i was always over equipped for what i produced lol. i used to make things for the house. entertainment center, kids beds ,shelves, toys and stuff. i hadnt done anything since the late 90s but got the itch last year to start back up after retirement. i need to make a couple tables and my wife wants an wardrobe thing she saw, but mostly im going to make smaller stuff, maybe some hand cut dovetails, just something to keep busy. i gave my nephew my table saw, long bed jointer and a bench planer after he remodeled our bathrooms about 10 years ago. the jointer & planer are the only big tools i havent replaced yet.

DaninVan

· #20 · Feb 11, 2019

My crystal ball sees a brand new cabinet saw in your future...also some traveling.

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