Plane restoration under way

[Zach Dillinger]

Fellow Creekers,

I've started the restoration of my new 5 1/2. I made some good progress today. I got the old nasty housepaint stripped off and the first coat of new black paint on. It will take one more to look perfect. You can see the results on my blog at www.eatoncountywoodworker.blogspot.com (http://www.eatoncountywoodworker.blogspot.com/)

Thanks,

Zach

[Prashun Patel]

Nice. Looking forward to more progress. I'm into this myself.

One question: What do you use to polish the cheeks of yr planes? I use a 'fine' wire cup brush chucked in a drill press, but it's not efficient. Have you ever tried a deburring wheel?

[Zach Dillinger]

Nice. Looking forward to more progress. I'm into this myself.

One question: What do you use to polish the cheeks of yr planes? I use a 'fine' wire cup brush chucked in a drill press, but it's not efficient. Have you ever tried a deburring wheel?

Thanks for your kind words. I do use a deburring wheel to remove any staining or rust. After that, I sometimes use Noxon metal polish to really bring up a shine. It's probably overkill but I like the way it looks.

Zach

[Prashun Patel]

What kind of deburring wheel do you use?

[David Keller NC]

Zach - You can remove all of the corrosion and grime with a citric acid bath (you can get citric acid in powder form from a home beer brewing supply place). Evapo-rust also has its adherents.

After the rust and grime is gone, you can polish the insides of the throat and sidewalls very effectively with the "fine" grade of the synthetic steel wool sold at WW stores for rubbing out and leveling finishes. Can't quite remember, but I think this grade is maroon in color, and is a little less aggressive than a Scotch-Brite pad.

[Jim Koepke]

Zach,
Looks like some nice finds.
Looking at the 5-1/2, I could not see anything to indicate it dates to 1898-1902. Does it have any markings on the base, frog or lever cap? The base looks like what was used from about 1888-1902. There were four types in that time span. Type 6 has no foundry marks on the parts. Type 6a has a dot, type 7 an S and type 8 a B.
The type 6 still has patent information inside the brass depth adjuster.

jim

[Zach Dillinger]

Zach,
Looks like some nice finds.
Looking at the 5-1/2, I could not see anything to indicate it dates to 1898-1902. Does it have any markings on the base, frog or lever cap? The base looks like what was used from about 1888-1902. There were four types in that time span. Type 6 has no foundry marks on the parts. Type 6a has a dot, type 7 an S and type 8 a B.
The type 6 still has patent information inside the brass depth adjuster.

jim

Jim,

I can't recall off the top of my head if the adjuster has a patent date, but the body of the plane doesn't have any casting marks, simply the 5 1/2 on the toe. I was told by several different people that this indicates a Type 7, meaning that it was likely produced during the time period I mentioned. Also, the 5 1/2 wasn't produced until 1898, the beginning of the Type 7 production. It's almost like Stanley didn't know that they were supposed to build things according to the type study! I'm just happy to have found such a great plane at a great price.

Zach

[Jim Koepke]

Jim,

I can't recall off the top of my head if the adjuster has a patent date, but the body of the plane doesn't have any casting marks, simply the 5 1/2 on the toe. I was told by several different people that this indicates a Type 7, meaning that it was likely produced during the time period I mentioned. Also, the 5 1/2 wasn't produced until 1898, the beginning of the Type 7 production. It's almost like Stanley didn't know that they were supposed to build things according to the type study! I'm just happy to have found such a great plane at a great price.

Zach

Oops! Mea culpa, I did not check on the production dates of the particular size. If it has patent dates in the adjuster, that would be a curiosity.

jim