Tote and knob question

[Brian Greb]

Hey guys... I'm sorta new to this... The neander thing not woodworking. So here is the point of this post. I have a stenley #5 jack plane that was my great grandpa's and I just got a Stanley #6, they have the same problem... there tote horns are broken. So here is the quandry, I wish to make new totes;

Question the first: should I make them out of rosewood and be true to the original meterials or would it be kosher to use another wood.

Question the second: would royal ebony(black & white ebony) be a good choice for totes and knobs?

Question the third: how big does the turning blank need to be to make the knobs.

I think that covers all of my questions.
Thank you for your input/ help.

[Jeff Burks]

A quick Google search turns up a lot of guides. I don't have time to go through them all at the moment, but these look promising:

Handle Repairing (https://home.comcast.net/%7Estanleyplanes/planes101/handle_repair/handle.htm)

Making Totes (http://www.shavingsandsawdust.com/projects/makingTotes/index.asp)

Hand Planes #3 (http://lumberjocks.com/PurpLev/blog/10604)

Handle Refinishing (http://home.comcast.net/%7Erexmill/planes101/handle/refinish.htm)

Making Faux Rosewood (http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/jThompson/restore/roseTote/roseTote1.asp)

How to fix a Broken Tote (http://www.georgesbasement.com/fixatote.htm)

Hand Plane Tote Replacement (http://lumberjocks.com/Scotach/blog/5140)

Turning Hand Plane Knobs (http://www.cianperez.com/Wood/WoodDocs/Wood_How_To/INDEX_How_To_pages/Clovishound_on_TurningPlaneKnobs.htm)

Rehabbing Old Planes (http://www.cianperez.com/Wood/WoodDocs/Wood_How_To/INDEX_How_To_pages/Smalser_on_RehabbingPlanes.htm)

[Jim Koepke]

Check Johnny Kleso's site at rexmill.com for information on repairing totes.

As far as what wood to use, the rosewood of old is difficult to come by these days.

There is always the disclaimer that your tote was just practice until the right piece of wood comes along.

There is also an item in the Neaderthal wisdom/FAQs about making totes look in catagory #6.

You can also search Lee Valley's web site for > Handle Template < to find drawings to help you make new totes for Stanley planes.

jim

[Brian Greb]

Thanks for the input guys.

Now I just have the problem of wood selection left. I have a hunk of 100yr old rosewood I could use... but I'm reluctant to hack it up, I was also thinking I'd like my planes to look different. So back to my OP would Royal Ebony(b&w ebony) be ok to use, or would I be better off using....(make suggestion)



Another question... Is it possible to make a new horn with out damaging the finish on the handle (my no.6 still has the decal on it) just curious.

[David Weaver]

Thanks for the input guys.

Now I just have the problem of wood selection left. I have a hunk of 100yr old rosewood I could use... but I'm reluctant to hack it up, I was also thinking I'd like my planes to look different. So back to my OP would Royal Ebony(b&w ebony) be ok to use, or would I be better off using....(make suggestion)



Another question... Is it possible to make a new horn with out damaging the finish on the handle (my no.6 still has the decal on it) just curious.

Save the 100 year old rosewood for some day when you decide to make an infill plane. Far and away the worst thing for me so far in woodworking (in terms of searching for something that seems like it should be simple) has been finding good dry exotic wood in blocks big enough to make infill planes. I have found exactly one so far, and I already used it.

Even a somewhat wet new turning blank would be fine for a tote, and to some extent, a knob (in my experience, a blank that's too wet as a knob can crack, but I haven't had a tote crack yet).

Ebony is fine. I've used macassar ebony for the majority of re-make totes I've made - because I have 2x2x18 turning blanks and boards of the same thing. It's a little harder to work and drill than walnut or some domestic, but it takes a *much* nicer polish and has a nice feel. You're not working that much wood, anyway, so the fact that it's hard to work, in my experience, has not been too much of a problem. Just remember to remove the drill bit from time to time and out to release chips when you're drilling the tote.

[Jeremy Dorn]

I'd suggest a slightly different route than making a brand new tote.

Simply sand a flat on the existing tote you have removing the damage to the horn, and then use some epoxy to put another small bit of rosewood back onto the plane for reshaping the horn. I've done this many times, and as long as you're careful to pick a scrap of rosewood that actually is a close match color wise to the old tote the repair will be almost invisible.

Doing this means you get to continue using the tote that your g-grandpa had in his hands, which preserves more of the tools legacy. Not to mention its alot easier to reshape a simple horn repair than it is to make brand new totes/knobs :)

[Jim Koepke]

+1 for what Jeremy said.

Johnny Kleso has information on this at his rexmill.com site. Maybe I can take a picture of some totes that I have repaired to show replacement pieces included. I haven't had to do a horn repair yet. My broken totes are getting to the point where that may be necessary next time I need a tote.

I always save broken knobs and totes. If they can not be repaired, they can be used for making fill in pieces.

jim