Restoring (3) Planes...help please :)

[Rhys Cooper]

I have 2 (soon to be 3) planes to restore.

I have a Stanley 110:


A Bailey No.4:


And going to be purchasing a Stanley No.5 very soon, looking at this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/STANLEY-PLANE...QQcmdZViewItem

the 2 i already have are going to be needing new blades (also for my peice of mind), thing is i have no idea where to buy new blades from...is there a website i can visit? sorry for the silly question, just new to restoring anything.

I have been reading this guide to restoring Planes:
http://www.majorpanic.com/handplane_restor1.htm

It is very helpful, my only problem is...i have no idea how to the elctrolysis bath? the last thing i want is to get electricuted

also what is Lapping? is it just sanding the surface flat?sorry again

I can honestly say i am looking froward to this, is going to be an experience.

Thanks for the help, greatly appreciated

[tomnewby]

Hi Rhys

This could be of assistance. From all I've read they are very good blades.

http://www.hntgordon.com.au/paulwilliams.htm

Regards
Tom

[haosiliu235]

lapping is flattening the surface

[Scribbly Gum]

Hi Rhys,
Congratulations on your new planes. Those are two very useful sizes.
My first plane was a Stanley 4 1/2 - similar to yours but a little wider, and my next was a block plane just like yours.
These were my only two planes for about twenty years and I did everything with them.
From the look of your two planes, they don't appear to be coated in rust so an electrolysis bath shouldn't be necessary.
You might be surprised at just how good the blades are that you already have.
These could clean up and take an edge that should serve you well.
I think that a lot of elbow grease will reveal a couple of quite good planes.
The number 4 seems to have an odd lever cap - ie no lever. It should still work OK but a Stanley lever cap would brighten it up a bit.
Have fun with the restoration.
Regards from Tele Point
SG

[Rhys Cooper]

Hi Rhys

This could be of assistance. From all I've read they are very good blades.

http://www.hntgordon.com.au/paulwilliams.htm

Regards
Tom

ok will look into it, thanks very much

lapping is flattening the surface

glad i got that right, thanks very much

Hi Rhys,
Congratulations on your new planes. Those are two very useful sizes.
My first plane was a Stanley 4 1/2 - similar to yours but a little wider, and my next was a block plane just like yours.
These were my only two planes for about twenty years and I did everything with them.
From the look of your two planes, they don't appear to be coated in rust so an electrolysis bath shouldn't be necessary.
You might be surprised at just how good the blades are that you already have.
These could clean up and take an edge that should serve you well.
I think that a lot of elbow grease will reveal a couple of quite good planes.
The number 4 seems to have an odd lever cap - ie no lever. It should still work OK but a Stanley lever cap would brighten it up a bit.
Have fun with the restoration.
Regards from Tele Point
SG

ok so electrolysis is more then likely not required, but what is another way to remove the paint to give it fresh coat? maybe a paint stripper bath?

i am unsure on the blades, thing is they arent straight and kind of taper off to the edges, i will try and get a photo tomorrow, but i think by buying new blades it will give them a new lease on life, and i am not that worried about buying new blades because technically i will be saving money ( by not buying the Veratis 5 1/4 Plane ()
Also i kind of like the no lever cap, seems to be working fine so far, just a bit of a hassle having to use a screw driver at times...

thanks all for the help, now to search for the wanted No.5 Plane
Rhys

[funkychicken]

If you can get yer mits on a AWR #57 then read Richard Vaughans article on Plane Restoration.

[Rhys Cooper]

well turns out that blade is meant to have a slight curve on the edge...this is correct isnt it?

if so, i may be fine after and just have to give the current blades a sharpen...still it may be better to purchase some new ones...

[Slow6]

Hi Rhys.. Electrolysis wont strip paint unless there is rust under it. If you want to take the paint off you need to use a stripper.. Citristrip (I think that's the name) is a good gel stripper that wont kill your eyes while you work.
Engine enamel will work well for a repaint, once it is baked it's not going anywhere.

Can we have a few more shots of that number 4?

[Rhys Cooper]

ok so paint stripper will work...that is good,

I will get some better photos tomorrow for you Slow6, any particular areas you want to see?

i am already pleased, because this afternoon i managed to dismantle both planes and gave them a blast with the Air compressor, they look better already.

I will also take a photo of the blades against a straight item to show you the 'curve' at the end.

thanks for the help all

[switt775]

I've just finished "renovating" rather than restoring 4 planes, with 4 more to come. Here's what I've picked up so far.

Electrolysis is dead simple. Use a 12V battery charger as the power source, pick up a package of washing soda from Woolworths to make the bath, and any piece of shiny scrap steel as an electrode (I wandered around an industrial estate until I found someone that manufactured steel products and asked if I could buy a couple of offcuts. They gave me two pieces for free.

Full instructions on electrolysis here. A bit long but worth reading. The important points (IMHO) are: get the polarity right, and it's impossible to leave it in too long. Overnight is a minimum in my experience, but if you want to leave it 24 hrs or more, no harm done. Better to leave it a little longer (again IMHO).

As for blades, it all depends on your budget. You can get older (meaning used) blades from The Tool Exchange. They have all kinds of parts, you can likely get a lever cap there if you want to replace the one you have.

There is a guy selling new Stanley blades on OZtion, but from what I've heard the newer Stanley blades aren't very good (too soft). Anyway here is the link to his store.

Have fun.

[mic-d]

Majorpanic has posted an excellent pictorial here:
http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ad.php?t=29549

If you want to change the blades, I can highly recommend the Paul Williams blades. I can also recommend aluminium zirconia abrasive for lapping the sole, it is extremely hardwearing.

Cheers
Michael

[Slow6]

i am already pleased, because this afternoon i managed to dismantle both planes and gave them a blast with the Air compressor, they look better already

It's often the case that they don't need nearly as much work as you first think. they are more often than not just filthy.

I'd like to see what's up with that lever cap. is it a broken stanley with a hole drilled in it?

and what's written behind the frog just in front of the tote?

Personally I'd give the blade a go as it is (sharpened of course).. if it is bent beyond use I'm sure I have a spare Stanley or Falcon blade lying around.
No need to drop a hundred dollar blade into that plane to make it sing.

[Scribbly Gum]

After you have cleaned up your planes to your satisfaction, you might like to watch a couple of videos on handplane use.
These are from Taunton Press' Fine Woodworking.com


Handplanes Essentials
Award-winning furniture-maker Philip C. Lowe answers eight common questions about choosing and using handplanes.

Tune Up a New Plane
Chris Gochnour shows how to tune up a block plane for flawless performance.

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworki....aspx?id=30997

There is also a magazine available in the newsagents called Hand Tool Skills
which contains heaps of really useful information as you can imagine.

Happy planing
SG

[Theodor]

I have been renovating a No. 5 1/2 and a No. 7 and although the No.7 had no signs of rust, I still gave them both (and all parts) the electroysis treatment. Using 12V will not electrocute you unless you do something pretty silly (like stick the electrodes in your mouth). It does not damage anything, and you do get a protective layer of black/grey gunk on it which will do you over until you lap the plane body and blade. So I would recommend trying it anyway as per the above links in Switt's post. I also got into the habit of coating all the parts in camelia oil to protect the metal from rust.

I tracked down those 3M Scotch-brite wheels and must admit that they do an excellent job. I just wish I had some paste wax to put on the parts while they were still warm from polishing with the fine wheel. Doing all the buffing and polishing of screws and nuts on the bench grinder has sped the process up compared to using a polishing mop on the drill.

I know Lord Nibbo had a thread on stripping the japaning from his planes, but I haven't need to do that yet. If you search for his name you ought to get some ideas.

I hope you enjoy the process. I certainly have and I now feel I really own the planes because I have given them a true working life again.

Cheers,
Mark

[tomnewby]

I guess it depends on what finish you are looking for on your planes. If you check out Major Panics website listed in one of the posts above you can see what a full renovation can do. They come out looking very special!

Otherwise, pulling it apart and cleaning down with some spirits will get most of the old gunk off. The process of lapping will get the sides and sole looking very clean indeed, and remove any surface rust. This is all I did with mine. The wood i gave a light sanding and rubbed with BLO and wax.

So its up to you what finish you are looking for. Once you've got that sorted tuning is the next thing to read up on. There is plenty of good info if you do some google searches.

The only warning I will give is finish your exams before starting to read up on tuning and restorations and sharpeing etc..... there is days of information out there! You could very easily get badly distracted.....