Stanley Bailey #6 Type 10 Resto

[Dwain Lambrigger]

I am in the process of restoring an old Type 10 #6. It is pretty rusty, so I am letting the parts sit in a vinegar bath for a day or two. This is the first resto I have ever attempted, and I have a few questions.

1) What is used to clean the rust and gunk of little screws and washers? I would think some sort of soft wheel material on my grinder would work, but what would you suggest?

2) What do you use to clean the grooves after the vinegar bath? I am thinking some scotch bright pad folded, but is there an better suggestion?

I have a dremel and a 6" grinder. I appreciate your feedback.

Thanks,

Dwain

[Douglas Brummett]

Hey Dwain,
I have been using evaporust to clean up rust and protect my planes. Can't comment on vinegar. I just drop all the steel part in a tub of evaporust. After about 2-6 hours in the dip I remove the hardware and use a wire wheel on the bench grinder to remove any remaining oxide or staining.

The dremel wire wheels are softer and will be easier on parts, but the bench grinder gets the job done much faster.

Which grooves are you talking about? If it is the corrugated sole of the plane I use a dremel. It gets in there better than the grinder.

[Jim Koepke]

For removing rust from screws and other small parts, a small wire brush works well, either the old type with the wooden handle and brass or steel bristles or the newer plastic handled style. These are about the size of a tooth brush. Old tooth brushes come in handy for some tasks also.

I will either chuck the screw head up in a drill or a pair of pliers. If using vice grips, do not over tighten. Do this above a large pan so the screw does not get lost if it drops.

Some of the items found in the oral hygiene aisle of the local supermarket or large drugstore can also come in handy for cleaning things.

If you plan on doing a few restorations, you may want to start looking for taps, dies and various files. Also, if you can get those rust buckets at a yard sale cheap enough, they are good for some of the spare parts that are hard to find cheap any other way.

have fun,

jim

[steve swantee]

Most of the planes I have aquired have not needed much in the way of derusting, but I have read of others using vinegar, and am interested in how your plane turns out after it's bath. As far as some of the methods I use in rehabbing planes, for getting light rust off metal screwheads I like to chuck up the threaded portion of the screw in my drill press and turn it on and buff it with VERY FINE steel wool or sandpaper. This works well with the brass nuts for the handles too, but usually just the steel wool is needed here. If the knob and tote are in need of refinishing I like to rub on a coat of shellac with a cloth, french polish style. Easy, and dry to the touch in minutes. Old planes often have a very dark patina on the cast iron, and I prefer to leave this alone on plane sides and lever caps. Everyone has their own ideas as to how they like their planes to look. Some like to sand the sides to remove it. It's a personal preference. If the japanning is toast I strip it and repaint, masking the frog seating areas on both body and frog. Finally, I prefer to replace the thin Stanley irons with thicker Lie-Nielsen irons. Not necessary, but in my opinion it sure makes them work great. And as Jim said before me, have fun.

Steve

[Jerome Hanby]

Sounds like a good time to put on your mad scientist hat and try electrolysis. Plenty of tutorials, just google. You need a big bucket, washing soda, some electrodes (I bought rebar), and an automotive battery charger.

[Ron Petley]

I have used citric acid, which works well, but might do the same as vinegar, I have not tried it. The citric acid does clean off the rust, with some scrubing, and does not harm the paint.
Cheers Ron.

[Jim Koepke]

Steve has a good point. If there is a patina on the plane, leave it alone. It is a type of oxidation like the bluing on a gun or rifle.
It is somewhat protective. It also looks good.

jim

[Dwain Lambrigger]

Thanks for the replies.

I have been reading up on plane resto's for a while. I decided to try vinegar because it was cheap. I believe it works like citric acid, but slower. I can see it working, but no where near as fast as electrolysis. I have tried chucking the screws on a drill press. I am kind of worried about the threads, so I am not tightening too much. I am letting the body of the plane sit a little longer, as most of the rust is in the grooves in the sole (#6c). I will send pics when I get the stuff out and cleaned.

Thanks again.

Dwain

[Jim Koepke]

I usually chuck the head to clean the threads. To clean the heads, I just screw them into a plane base and go at it.

I have a few old broken bases that have been cut down just for this and holding knobs and handles when they are being worked on.

Never throw anything away unless SWMBO makes me. Then I try to hide it from her.

jim

[steve swantee]

Good idea to keep those broken bodies around Jim. Dwain, I was always worried about damaging the threads too, but I just make the drill press chuck finger tight and have not had any problems with any of the screws I have buffed. Good luck on your resto.

Steve

[Alex Shanku]

I have beat up wooden jaws on my vise. I put each screw in, hit it with the wire wheel and am done. Takes about 14.5 seconds per screw.