Lapping the sole - will this idea work?

[Frederick Skelly]

Neighbor gave me an old #4 plane. The bottom is pitted heavily and the sole needs to be lapped regardless. Will this idea work?

Spread 2-part epoxy over the sole and level it with a credit card or something. Let it cure and then lap the sole, per the usual practice. Im thinking the epoxy is durable, but not as hard as steel. So it should lap easily, and if i pay attention it should stay square and get flat.

Id be willing to practice it on this old plane to learn a technique that might help me with a later restore on something else.

Has anyone tried this, or have i been out in the desert too long?

Thanks guys.
Fred

[Mike Henderson]

There's nothing wrong with a pitted sole, providing that's all it is - just pitted. Remember that Stanley made corrugated soles, which are way deeper than any rust pit is likely to be.

I'd just lap the sole and then use the plane. Don't try to fill the pits.

Mike

[Jim Koepke]

+1 to what Mike said.

Many of my planes have pitted soles. The pits hold the wax better... That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Fragments of the epoxy might flake off over the years and then it would leave deep scratches on the work.

jtk

[george wilson]

A picture of the pitted bottom would help. As said,pits really don't affect the plane's performance. But,if you must fill them,use J.B.Weld. It is full of metal,and is hard as blazes when it dries,and will stand amazing temperatures too(not that your plane will be heated to 600º). It is pretty amazing stuff.

No kind of filler will be invisible on the finished lapped sole,but J.B. Weld is the best candidate due to its durability.

[Jim Matthews]

If the pitted sole can be lapped smooth enough to glide, why fill in the pits?

The more surface area in contact with the board, the more drag.
I tuned a few planes so that only three points of the sole are in contact.

That plane cuts a fine shaving.

It's like shoes, who looks at the bottom?

[bridger berdel]

one possible problem with epoxy as a filler is the tendency for it to clog up your abrasive.

the physics guys say that friction is independent of surface area- which means that pits and/or corrugations are irrelevant. which totally jibes with my experience using corrugated and smooth sole planes.

[Frederick Skelly]

Yeah. All this makes good sense. Should have thought of it myself. Needless to say, I wont be doing this now. Thanks guys!

George: JB Weld really is great stuff. I forgot about it. I agree with you. It would have worked better than the other product I was considering.

Fred