Bad Day 4 Old Friend & The Recovery

[Jim Koepke]

My shop has a cement floor and much of it is often covered with shavings that make it softer. Well, actually I don't clean everyday and the shavings are just there waiting to be picked up. Now that winter is on its way many of them will find their way to the fire place.

Anyway, my #65-1/2 block plane was being used on the endgain of a cabinet door all the way across the shop from the bench and the floor had been swept recently in that area. Then it happened, the plane fell from my grip and hit the cement.

I heard a sound I didn't want to hear, the tinkling of a piece of cast iron freed from its bonds of planehood.

Fortunately it was a single piece from the side and was able to be repaired.

208621

It isn't as pretty as it was in the morning, but it is still a user.

A little dab of JB Weld and a bit of a wait later it is back to work.

I did remove some of the excess JB Weld and did a little filing where needed.


jtk

[Paul Incognito]

Your heart must have sunk when it hit the floor. I know mine would have.
Glad you were able to get it fixed up.
Paul

[Joe Bailey]

Always hate to hear a story of this sort, but good for you for soldiering on.
I guess that's one of the ways in which tools acquire character."

[David Weaver]

I nearly had the same thing happen this weekend. I drop wooden planes (ones that are beat at least) fairly often - couple times a year, but not metal planes.

I had a 60 1/2 this weekend land flush on the floor (concrete) when I got in a hurry, but it was an LN saw. Made a great noise, but landed flush on a cheek so not even a dent in a corner or anything to file off.

I figure with the old ones, if you work with them long enough, sooner or later one is going to slip out of your hands, or you'll forget it's on the corner of a bench and bump it or whatever, and something will break. the only way to avoid something like that for certain is to be unreasonably anal retentive about where everything is all the time (that would sure be a buzzkill in the shop) or put everything in the case.

The fact that it broke clean and you can repair it is a nice conclusion.

[Joe Fabbri]

Hey Jim,

Sorry to here the bad news, that's a shame. I was block planing the ends of some boards today, and since I haven't gotten a chance to build a proper bench yet (I only have a rickety table to work with), I've been doing the work on top of short wall outside my garage. Anyway, today the piece of wood slipped out of my hands and I hit the plane against the blue stone. I didn't crack it luckily, but it got a decent scrape. It's only a user, but it's been in my family for a long time (an old Sargent craftsman), and I'm always afraid I'll drop it. I guess thats because you use it with only one hand.

Anyway, at least you fixed it up pretty easily.

Joe

[Tom Vanzant]

My Stanley #60 1/2 found the cement floor several years ago and gave up a hefty scallop out of the right cheek. A few minutes with a Dremel tool smoothed off the sharp edges and I now have a dedicated chamfering plane.

[Bill Moser]

Jim - glad you've been able to give your block plane a new lease on life. But I have question -- why not put a few sheets of 4x8 plywood under your bench? I hear of people dropping favorite tools, and its always the unforgiving concrete surface that gets them in the end. In fact, the floor under my workbench is maple (hard, and with a hard finish), but I'm considering throwing a few sheets of plywood down as well, just so I can get some traction while planing

[James Owen]

Jim,

Sorry to hear about the plane accident, but glad to hear that the damage was not too bad and that you could repair it.
I have a bunch of rubber mats all around my bench, just for that reason. Even though they were something of an expense, they have proven to be worth every single penny spent on about a half dozen or so occasions.....two of them preventing LN tools from damage.....
Glad that you didn't lose the use of an old friend!

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

Ouch. Makes me feel a little bit better about the fall my LN 62 took - the plane came out unscathed (With our old fir floors, I doubt any of my tools would have been damaged) but it took a big bite out of the iron. (I was in the process of putting on the lever cap) A little frustrating because I had just ground out a chip where I had hit a piece of brad that I must have missed, which left a big scratch on the sole and messed up my iron right where I needed it for shooting... BUt I'd be more bummed if I had cracked one of my old planes. Glad you could get it going again.

My favorite cracked planes are when you see "rare bullnose rabbet" planes for sale in an antique shop or on the 'bay - all of which are invariably cracked no 3s or 4s....

[Chris Griggs]

Ouch is right! That is a frustrating story - glad you at least got it useable again. Thanks for sharing the experience.

Before I built a bench inside, I would woodwork out my concrete patio behind my house. I would carry my tools in and out of the house at the start/end of a woodworking session. I dropped my old Baily No.4 on the concrete at least 2 or 3 times, and it somehow managed to come out unscathed each time - Not sure how. One time I left my Woodriver No.6 hanging a bit off my shooting board and it flipped off and hit the concrete right at the tip of the toe. They're not kidding when they say the newer metals in planes is tough. The thing literally, bounced a couple times, and came to a stop on the front knob. It had a couple very small scratches/burrs on the corners of where the cheeks meet the sole that I sanded out easily, and small scrape on the front knob, but was otherwise fine. I had heard that falls like that can also knock the soles out of flat, but haven't had any issues in that area either.

Needless to say, I got lucky on more than one occasion.

[David Keller NC]

Jim - Several solutions come to mind. Plywood as was suggested is a good idea, but it can be pricey, and if your shop floor gets damp on a regular basis, you're inviting mold growth under the plywood/OSB. Chris Schwarz has suggested horse stall mats as the ultimate in back-saving fllor coverings, but they're frighteningly expensive.

I also have a concrete floor, and to save chisel edges, cast-iron tools and my back, I bought a few of these:

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2004762/17425/AntiFatigue-Floor-Mat-2-x-5-Pebble-Beveled-Edge.aspx

They're not anywhere near as nice as horse stall mats, but the price is right, and they don't absorb water.

[Jim Koepke]

Jim - glad you've been able to give your block plane a new lease on life. But I have question -- why not put a few sheets of 4x8 plywood under your bench?

Thanks All,

I am thankful it was just a little damaged and not a total loss.

I was across the shop from my bench working on a door for a storage locker. The door was too big to work on my bench.

Around my bench there are usually enough shavings to save falling tools or mostly lose small parts when they drop.

I have looked at the horse stall mats, but they are a bit on the pricey side.

Maybe there is an idea in this for Rob Lee, safety belts for old block planes.

jtk