Refurbishing Your Old Planes

[John Dingman]

Hey all,

I am new to the forum so if this topic has been covered, please forgive me. I have been reading the forum for a couple of weeks now and I see that many are acquiring new/old hand planes. And the subject of sending them out to be refurbed has been brought up a time or two. I'd like to encourage you guys to try it yourself. With a few basic supplies it's not that hard to refurb a hand plane, and then tune it up and get it in top working condition. Now I know that many of you on this forum could run circles around me in hand plane knowledge. I am not trying to appear like the local authority on hand planes. But I have refurbed enough of them to know that it's not that hard to do. The purpose of this thread is to encourage those that may have considered trying it, but were too afraid to do so. Maybe afraid that they would mess something up :rolleyes: If you have a collectable plane I DO NOT recommend that do anything to it until you have consulted with an expert. I am talking about cleaning up your users and getting them in top working order. So if you have considered trying it and have a user that you would like to experiment on, I have outlined what I do to refurb a plane here: http://www.johnswoodshop.us/Tuning%20a%20Plane.html Using the techniques that I have outlined and the links that are provided you too can take a plane that looks like this:

http://www.johnswoodshop.us/Images/Bill's%20No.%204%20003.jpg

And make it look like this:

http://www.johnswoodshop.us/Images/Bill's%20No.%204%20001.jpg

Anyway, for you guys that have been thinking about trying it.....Give it a go. I think you will find it very rewarding.

Have a great day!
John

[Leif Hanson]

Simply outstanding, John! :)

[Jim Barrett]

John,
Excellent! I have a few planes kicking around. Will definitely use your site as a reference. Thanks again!

Jim

[Tyler Howell]

Thanks John,
Perfect timing. This just showed up on my door step yesterday.
When word got out I'd become a Rust Hunter, family and friends started cleaning out their basements.
Wouldn't normally give this a 2nd look but it belonged to my great grandfather and grandfather after him. Under all that rust is Bailey #5. The sole is flat and the sides are square but that’s about it. Not sure how to attack this one. I'll keep you posted.

[John Dingman]

Thanks John,
Perfect timing. This just showed up on my door step yesterday.
When word got out I'd become a Rust Hunter, family and friends started cleaning out their basements. Wouldn't normally give this a 2nd look but it belonged to my great grand father and grandfather after him. Under all that rust is Bailey #5. The sole is flat and the sides are square but that’s about it. Not sure how to attack this one. I'll keep you posted. Tyler,

That's neat that you have your Great Grandfather's Plane! And it doesn't look to me likes it's beyond hope. But you will need to get yourself one of these:




http://www.golfworks.com/images/prodimage_large/NYWF.jpg

It comes with an adapter and it will fit almost any make of bench grinder. I use one on all of the planes that I restore, and it makes short work of surface rust. You can be as agressive as you want with it and it won't damage the metal. I would suggest that you get the Medium Wheel for that plane. You can get them here: http://www.golfworks.com/item_disp.asp?pn=NYWF&bhcd2=1103482612

They are $29.90 each. I wouldn't even think of trying a plane like yours without one of these wheels, unless you are in the mood for a ton of sanding :eek:

I can't wait to see you return your GG's plane to it's original glory! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask, I'd be glad to help.


John

p.s. Oh, I meant to add that you will need some sanding sponges for the corregations on the sole. You can get them at Harbor Freight dirt cheap. I place the corners of the sanding sponge into the corregations and it does a fantastic job cleaning them up.

[Tyler Howell]

Great John,
I'll check it out. The Tote is some beautifully marbled Rosewood, like most the tip is missing. The Y. lever is broken, lateral adjusting lever is missing and adjusting nut is frozen. My Aunt says it took on this beautiful "patina":rolleyes: :rolleyes: after hurricane Camille hit Biloxi and has been returning to the earth ever since.:(

Question about Y lever and Lateral adjust. Are they available for replacement or is it best to look for a complete frog???
Thanks again.

[John Dingman]

Great John,
I'll check it out. The Tote is some beautifully marbled Rosewood, like most the tip is missing. The Y. lever is broken, lateral adjusting lever is missing and adjusting nut is frozen. My Aunt says it took on this beautiful "patina":rolleyes: :rolleyes: after hurricane Camille hit Biloxi and has been returning to the earth ever since.:(

Question about Y lever and Lateral adjust. Are they available for replacement or is it best to look for a complete frog???
Thanks again.Tyler,

I would replace the frog. There are several resources for them. Be careful because some are more expensive than others. Some folks seem to think they have the only replacement parts on the planet :eek: DAMHIKT:rolleyes: One guy I use a lot is Walt Q from the WoodNet Forum. And there are others. But if he has it, it is usually priced pretty fair. And Walt is a great guy to do business with.

hth,
John

[Kevin Arceneaux]

Thanks, I posted a couple of pics last week of some old planes that were my Grandfathers. Now I have a way to see if I can fix them up.

[Matthew Poeller]

John,

What japanning method did you use. The one that you posted and the ones that I have seen on your site look wonderful.

Matt

[John Dingman]

John,

What japanning method did you use. The one that you posted and the ones that I have seen on your site look wonderful.

MattMatt, The plane in this thread was not rejappaned. I have only rejappaned one plane. The No. 7 Type 5 that you see on my web site. That plane was shot in regards to the japanning. I used Ace Hardware Appliance paint. I know, the purists would shoot me for this, but trust me when I tell you that when it is done, you CANNOT tell the difference in the plane with the appliance paint, and the one with real japanning. All the other planes that I have refurbed, I have simply cleaned the japanning with Alcohol and then (another step that the purists will butcher me for) I finish the japanning with a light coat of Shellac. It's brings out the beauty of the original japanning without damaging it. And if someone wants to take it off later they can do so with alcohol without damaging the japanning. Just a note here, if I had a collectable plane, I would not recommend any of this. I would simply clean it and tune it up. I only refurb users with no collectable value.

hth,
John

[Louis Bois]

Nice work John! The glory of this plane has been expertly restored!!

Tyler, as you can see from John's example, your plane is simply a "diamond in the rough". Take things slowly and you'll have a treasure on your hands.

[Scott Parks]

Jeez guys, you're creating a lot of work for me. I don't have time to play with toys like planes. I have to be working on remodeling my house. But...

I have a stash of two Jacks and a combo plane that I've been storing for many years. They were my Grandfathers planes. (My Grandfather was a professional carpenter. The only thing I have is his lathe and the few planes. Wish I could have got more.) I didn't know anything about tuning, and I couldn't ever get them to work right, so I've put them away. Coincidentally, last week I got the "Plane Book" from the library and now I understand how these planes work. Now I can't wait to get home and dig them out. In fact, I'm not even sure what they are? I do know that I have a Stanley 45 box, and a complete set of cutters. But the combo unit was replaced by a knock-off unit. A few years ago I searched local antique stores and eBay for a 45 plane only, but never bought one. I have a feeling another relative swiped the original and sold it before I got them.

Thanks to all for the inspiration!

[Tyler Howell]

Tyler, as you can see from John's example, your plane is simply a "diamond in the rough". Take things slowly and you'll have a treasure on your hands.[/QUOTE]Gee I don't know Louis! I think I have a much longer journey here, but I'll give it my best shot.:o

[Matthew Poeller]

Thank you for the response John. I have a bunch (maybe 15) old planes that I have picked up in various places over the past year or so. I have only restored two but I used the spray paint method and did not like the out come very much. They work great though.

This brings me to two other questions though. The one plane that you had that the japanning was shot I am sure was all rusty. That is the case with most of the planes that I have. I find that the sandblaster that I have does not do a very good job. (but that might be the crappy sandblaster.) Do you have any other suggestions for getting in those hard to reach areas?

The second question is.....I am not sure what I have. I mean for the most part I know that they are jack planes and some jointers but other than that I am unsure of their worth and whether or not I should be refinishing them. Is there an easy place to look for this?

Thanks Matt.

[Wendell Wilkerson]

Tyler,

That #5 is screaming "ELECTOLYSIS". I wouldn't want to try to remove all that rust by hand. Here's a good link thta explains the processs.


Rust Removal via Electolysis (http://users.ev1.net/~gmuster/tool_restoration.htm)

Wendell

[Robert Tarr]

Tyler,

Add my vote for starting the process with zapping. I would then move to a finer wheel and polish that thing to the finish it deserves. This is especially usefull for areas that are hard to polish out (like the V bottom of the corrigations and any pitting that may/probably exists), plus is stops the rust and gives you a great place to start cleaning things up (plus, I have uses electrolysis to free "frozen" screws in a badly rusted plane.)

Please post pics of the progress.

Robert

P.S. Stanely, suprisingly is a great source for old hardware for very very old planes. Good luck.

[John Dingman]

This brings me to two other questions though. The one plane that you had that the japanning was shot I am sure was all rusty. That is the case with most of the planes that I have. I find that the sandblaster that I have does not do a very good job. (but that might be the crappy sandblaster.) Do you have any other suggestions for getting in those hard to reach areas? Matt, I hit it with a wire wheel attached to a hand drill. And what I can't get with the hand drill, I scrape away with an old chisel. After all the old japanning is gone I use rust eater spray and I wire brush it with a wire brush that looks like a toothbrush. After that I blow it off with compres air to make sure the surface is dry. This prep worked very good for me. I saw a guy use paint remover once and that didn't take the finish very well, so I wouldn't recommend that. As far as what the other guys are suggesting I have never tried that method but I heard it works ok.



The second question is.....I am not sure what I have. I mean for the most part I know that they are jack planes and some jointers but other than that I am unsure of their worth and whether or not I should be refinishing them. Is there an easy place to look for this? Thanks Matt. Check these two sites for Plane Type info:

http://www.tooltrip.com/tooltrip8/stanley/stan-bpl/bailey-types.htm

http://www.hyperkitten.com/tools/stanley_bench_plane/dating/dating_flowchart.html

Hope that helps,
John

[Bob Hawley]

Tyler, if you will go back to John's first post, to the John's woodshop link,take the repair link and it tells how to clean that beauty with electrolysis. I wouldnt do anything to it till it had been cleaned electrically. All you need is a plastic tub, a peice of rebar or window sash weight, a box of washing soda {not baking soda} and the auto battery charger you already have. Connect negative connection to part to clean pos to scrap iron {not stainless} make sure the pas connected piece doesnt contact the neg contacted piece.You can leave it hooked up for several hours, I'm told it only works on the rust, then quits. Use a wire from the clamps to your parts, if they are immeersed, they will errode and be ruined. After the part is clean, I boil them, then they clean fairly easily with steel wool or a scotch brite pad. P.S. Brownells used to sella nifty .004 stainless steel wire brush. I haven't checked lately,if you just have to spend some money. For what it's worth, I agree with John about everything but thr wire brushes, and his plane sure looks good in the pics.

[John Dingman]

Tyler, if you will go back to John's first post, to the John's woodshop link,take the repair link and it tells how to clean that beauty with electrolysis. I wouldnt do anything to it till it had been cleaned electrically. All you need is a plastic tub, a peice of rebar or window sash weight, a box of washing soda {not baking soda} and the auto battery charger you already have. Connect negative connection to part to clean pos to scrap iron {not stainless} make sure the pas connected piece doesnt contact the neg contacted piece.You can leave it hooked up for several hours, I'm told it only works on the rust, then quits. Use a wire from the clamps to your parts, if they are immeersed, they will errode and be ruined. After the part is clean, I boil them, then they clean fairly easily with steel wool or a scotch brite pad. P.S. Brownells used to sella nifty .004 stainless steel wire brush. I haven't checked lately,if you just have to spend some money. For what it's worth, I agree with John about everything but thr wire brushes, and his plane sure looks good in the pics. Bob, You are correct, there is a link on that page for electrolysis and from what I understand the process is effective, that's why I listed it. However I have never tried it. As far as the wire brushes go.......don't knock it until you try it ;) This plane looked almost as bad as Tylers, and this is the results I got with wire brushes and the finishing wheel that I pictured earlier in this thread. This is the only plane I have ever rejapanned so again, I'm by no means an expert.

http://www.johnswoodshop.us/Images/Dave%20Churnega's%20No.%207%20001.jpg


Have a good one,
John

[Tyler Howell]

Couple of Questions:confused: :

Run down most of the links from all of you on Plane Restoration. Many thanks to John, Lief and all the rest. I've been taking notes and planning strategy. I even took a survey of on site electrolysis supplies.

This is about a Type 8 Bailey #5C best I can figure.

The plan is to return it to a user. This one I want to spiff up for the family.

Is it better to track down an old frog or go right to Stanley. The PDF catalogue doesn't specify old or new parts and sizes that I can see.
Are there WW ethical codes on hybrid planes (new and old parts)
Stanley has about the best prices. I'm not expecting a Rosewood tote but I don't want the sprayed on lacquer like the 60s.(I tried Bob Smalser's Tote repair with limited success. Going to keep practicing but in the mean time:o )
Thanks again

[Dave Anderson NH]

Replacement totes are available from some internet sources in both the traditional rosewood and in cocobolo and other exotics. The Stanley replacement totes are mostly plastic nowadays. I seriously doubt that the newer Stanley frogs will be quite the same since there were a lot of changes to design over the years. Check one of the type studies and then make a determination. Often you won't have a choice but to go for the more expensive old tool dealer repalcements.