Spiers infill

[tyler mckenzie]

I found this little infill plane at a garage sale, tag said 15 bucks. I quickly grabbed it. As i handed 15 dollars over to the man he said "Nope its only eight dollars everything is half price". Big smiles, because i endured one of those large community garage sales with 50 houses selling baby cloths and kids crud wooooo, boring.

Anyways, I'd like to fix the crack in the bun, Ideas?? Bun looks like rose wood, not cracked all the way through. Epoxy?

Any other suggestions to make this a great user??

[Eric Hartunian]

Why doesn't that ever happen to me?
I am guessing that the bun is cracked above the pin? Is the cracked piece free, or still firmly attached. If it is attached, I'd leave it and use it as is. Better yet, sell it to me for $15...
Eric

[Phillip Pattee]

Tyler,

Has anyone told you yet that you suck:). What a find for $8, congratulations. That's about enough motivation to make me go to a garage sale.

[dan grant]

ya you suck big time:D

[Stephen Reid]

I have to call gloat!!!!!!!!!! You suck. just kidding

[george wilson]

Just like one I have,but I had to move the zero for it 30 years ago(the $15.00 zero) Great find. They are very solid planes.

[Barry Vabeach]

Todd, unbelievable price. I had one with a similar crack and tried to put glue in the crack and using a clamp to squeeze it back together. Didn't work because the crack was centered on the pin and the pin kept it from closing up. It looks like you have the same problem so it is unlikely you can glue it back together - though I would try. I eventually took the front bun off and replaced it.

[tyler mckenzie]

I eventually took the front bun off and replaced it.

Was that a lot of work??

[Jim Koepke]

Wow! What a find. I just hope you don't live in Longview, Washington.

That would really suck!

We didn't go to the garage sales this weekend.

jim

[tyler mckenzie]

Slightly north of you, Kelowna B.C.

[Barry Vabeach]

Tyler, if you can find stock the right size it isn't too bad. What I did was drive out the pins ( you first pre drill a hole in one end of the pin so the part that was peined can unmushroom and go through the hole - then I knocked each pin out, fitted a new bun, then put in new pins. If you check the post below on restoring a infill shoulder plane, it is probably easier to cut / chisel the bun out, then cut the pins from the inside and knock each half outward. Here is the picture of the crack
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee248/barryvabeach/IMG_0022Small.jpg
here is the how I drove out the pins
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee248/barryvabeach/knockingoutpin.jpg

and here is the inside of the cavity after the bun is removed
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee248/barryvabeach/IMG_0036Small.jpg

[David Keller NC]

I found this little infill plane at a garage sale, tag said 15 bucks. I quickly grabbed it. As i handed 15 dollars over to the man he said "Nope its only eight dollars everything is half price". Big smiles, because i endured one of those large community garage sales with 50 houses selling baby cloths and kids crud wooooo, boring.

Anyways, I'd like to fix the crack in the bun, Ideas?? Bun looks like rose wood, not cracked all the way through. Epoxy?

Any other suggestions to make this a great user??

Tyler- before you do anything to that plane, establish a few things first:

What is the maker of the blade and chipbreaker? An original iron will likely be made by Ward or Ibbotson during the time period when your plane was made.

Take the blade out of the plane and the chipbreaker off of the blade, and look at the backs of each. They will often have a "fitting number" stamped into the metal. Then look on the rosewood in the bed of the plane and underneath the lever cap (the bronze piece with the blade tightening screw on it). If the number stamped into the back of the blade and in the rosewood match, you've an original blade with a late 1880's Spiers plane, and that's rare and desirable for a collector.

Even if they do not match, and even with the crack in the front bun, you've a $300 - $400 item on a bad day at a tool auction.

If you wish to repair the bun, I would suggest to you that it will be best to try this first: using padded clamps, see if you can -gently- nudge the cracked part back into place so that the crack is mostly closed, or at least less noticeable. Then buy some low viscosity cyanoacrylate glue from a local woodworker's store - there are usually 3 flavors available - thick, medium and thin. The thin stuff will easily wick down into the crack by capillary action even with the crack clamped closed, and is a good repair that will hold up in moderate use in the shop.

It will also preserve the collector's value of the piece. Replacing the front bun is fine if it's yours forever and ever and you just wish to use it, but it will destroy the vast majority of the value in an auction.


Congratulations - there are very, very, VERY few British infills in this country that were brought over in late 19th and early 20th centuries - they are far more rare than even the really scarce and desirable early Stanley models. Most have been borught over by tool collectors and users in the last 20 years, and there's about a zero chance that one of those would wind up in a garage sale for $8.

[Frank Drew]

Congratulations - there are very, very, VERY few British infills in this country and there's about a zero chance that one of those would wind up in a garage sale for $8.

I guess Tyler's being in Canada is the explanation, but I still can't get my head around anyone finding a Spiers plane like that, for so little money. Deal of the century, Tyler!

[tyler mckenzie]

Tyler- before you do anything to that plane, establish a few things first:

Thanks David, i definitely want to keep this plane as original and solid as possible. Thanks for suggesting the route of low viscosity cyanoacrylate glue, i think that's a winner.

Everything matches, all stamped "0". This just keeps getting better.

I did get a #7 stanely from the same seller, 8 bucks as well.

[David Keller NC]

Tyler - Having a matched iron, cap iron, lever cap and plane from that era is very rare. The very earliest Spiers planes have wedges instead of lever caps; the next ones have the "Spiers, Ayr" stamped upside-down on the lever cap. But yours is still quite early.

You can ponder this, but I might be worth having the plane professionally restored by someone like Robert Baker. I would think such a crack would not be all that much to have restored invisibly.

In any event, you might want to consider purchasing a replacement blade and setting the original aside. So long as you don't polish the metal nor refinish the wood, the plane will hold its collector's value even if used in the shop and the original blade is not used up. If you want to do this, I'd recommend a Hock infill blade from The Best Things. I've done several infills this way - not only does it preserve the original blade, but buying a replacement that's a bit over-thick and doing some fitting, you can "select" how tight you want the mouth to be.

One other way to do this is to find a local tool dealer - most of them have a couple of boxes of replacement antique blades and chipbreakers, and you can go through them to find one that's the right width and the right thickness to give a tight mouth. This is what I've done to a Spiers unhandled infill that is much like your plane. With the I. Sorby blade I found from a tool dealer, the mouth is about 5 thousandths, and the plane performs superbly in figured wood.

[tyler mckenzie]

you might want to consider purchasing a replacement blade and setting the original aside.

That's good idea, but i couldn't help myself. I took a quick trip to the sharpening station. Then over to a ladder i am working on. The shavings are amazing. Eastern maple.

Would Lapping the sole reduce its potential value? Over the years its gotten some dings in the edges of the sole. I'd like to take those out.

Thanks David

[David Keller NC]

That's good idea, but i couldn't help myself. I took a quick trip to the sharpening station. Then over to a ladder i am working on. The shavings are amazing. Eastern maple.

Would Lapping the sole reduce its potential value? Over the years its gotten some dings in the edges of the sole. I'd like to take those out.

Thanks David

Yes, though not nearly to the extent lapping the sides, refinishing the infill, or -especially- buffing or polishing the lever cap. The reason that collectors, as well as users, don't care for lapped soles is that it opens the mouth. It's possible this was done in the past, of course, but if your original blade gives it a very tight mouth as-is, I would do nothing to it. If you've a small burr on the arris between the sole and the sides, that's something you could carefully correct with a smooth needle file without detracting.