No 7 gloat and Questions!

[James Williams 007]

I finally got my hands on a decent No 7 from the bay!:D I did not think I was going to get it because I only bid 60 and I have seen them go for an average of 120 or so. It has a lot of patina(rust) but that's about it! The iron is in perfect condition with no pitting and the body of the plane only has minor pitting on one cheek about the size of a quarter. The sole is flat and the jappaning is about 98%. This plane dose not look like its had much use over the years as evident by the stanley decal on the tote. There inlies my question, I would like to perserve whats left of the decal (not for collection purposes just becasue I think it looks cool) is there a method that anyones used to clearcoat the tote? Would it make a night and day difference if I bought a hock iron for this plane or should I just stick with the original. I am so excited, I can't wait to finish my new bench top after I rehab and tune it!:p I've fallen down the slope and my big power tools are so jealous! I love my collection of sweethearts!

[Pat Keefe]

For a user get either a Hock (http://www.hocktools.com/products.htm) or LN (http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?cat=512) blade and chipbreaker to improve the performance. Keep the original blade/chipbreaker in some oiled cloth for the time you pass it on to another woody, many years down the track.

If you get just a blade you will notice an improvement, but the combination of thicker blade/chipbreaker combo is another world.

[Jim Koepke]

I use a Hock blade and breaker in my #7 and it is an improvement.

If you want to save the decal, the easiest way would be a replacement handle.

There is one on the Bay currently with no bids. Looks like minimum on it is ~$15. Search on Stanley Part.

Even with a good clear coat over the decal, it still might deteriorate and come off. This happened to one of my handles. It has the outline of the decal.

Once you start collecting parts and such for your planes, you are well on your way down the slope.

jim

[Richard Niemiec]

If you want to preserve the decal, make (or buy) another tote.

[willie sobat]

Nice plane. Great price! I got a plane several years ago with a partial decal on the tote as well. I figured I bought the plane to be a user and would enjoy the tote as it was made from the factory.

[David Keller NC]

James - Believe it or not, despite the late manufacture of your plane (I'm guessing it's probably a type 15 or so, though you'd have to run through the typing trees on the web to be sure), your plane does have a modest bit of collector's value because its seen little use and the intact decal. Typically, I see planes like this sell for about $50 - $75 over what a decent user sells for of the same type.

As others have noted, the best way to preserve the decal is to by a replacement handle. However, if you really want to clear coat over it, don't do it with polyurethane. Poly's near irreversible without methylene-chloride containing solvents (which will destroy the decal) and/or surface abrasion (which will also destroy the decal). I would also advise against laquer. Though reversible, getting it back off requires laquer thinner, which will probably also destroy at least the colors on the label.

Instead, I'd suggest a light coating of shellac. You might choose to take a tiny piece of t-shirt on the end of a toothpick, soak it in denatured alcohol (the solvent for shellac), and just touch it to a tiny area of the decal to see if the colors are stable in alcohol. If not, you're out of luck with shellac. If so, I'd clean the handle thoroughly with a damp (not soaking) cloth, and give it a couple of coats of a 1.5lb. cut of shellac.

Regarding cleaning the rust off of your plane - I would suggest disassembling it, and cleaning the metal parts off with citric acid in water. This is perhaps the gentlest means of removing the rust without disturbing the japanning, or any original tooling marks from the plane's manufacture.

[James Williams 007]

I finished cleaning her up this weekend and got the iron razor sharp! The rust dropped right off after a citric acid bath and I used paste wax to clean and buff the tote and front knob and the grain came through beautifully. If I can pick a new tote up on the cheap I might do that and preserve the old one but it's my user so maybe I'll just watch the decal wear off over the years. David I think this plane is a type 14 but you never really know. All of my planes are Sweethearts from around this era.
So I'll probably go for the Hock iron. Can I stick with the old chip breaker and use the screw with the new iron or do I have to upgrade that at the same time? A2 or High Carbon, so many decisions:o? Here are some pics:D

[Jim Koepke]

Beautiful!

My Hock blades were bought at a show from Ron Hock himself. In our discussion, he felt the High Carbon can get a little sharper, are easier to sharpen and need sharpening more often. The A2 is harder to sharpen, but does not need sharpening as often and he said, "do not get as sharp."

The infinitesimal difference in sharpness is likely not really noticeable.

I went with the High Carbon for all my Hock irons.
I did find with the #3 the screw had to be taken down a bit due to interference with the lever cap.

I am not sure if the threads are long enough of a regular cap iron screw. Tomorrow I can check and get back to you on that. I bought the Hock cap irons because they are a little heavier and a better design than the original.

jim

[Jim Koepke]

I just looked at the original pictures again and it just shows how often there is a real diamond in the rust.

jim