Frederick Skelly
04-05-2014, 9:48 PM
Hi guys!
I'm pleased to tell you I was able to recover that #2 I wrote about in last weekend's thread. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?215899-Found-a-2-no-name
What a lovely little plane. The basic plane (sole, frog) dates from about 1900 (Type 8, I think). The cutter is a nice thick Union Mfg - don't know how to date it, but it's quite nice. The cap iron dates from around 1870 as best I can tell and the lever cap was cut down from a #3 somewhere down the line. So she's not "worth" much more than the $14 I paid for her - unless you're someone like me who REALLY wanted a user.
I really like this plane. She was flat and square. (OK, there's a small low spot about 3/16" wide at the toe, but everywhere else is right on.) I stripped all the black spray paint, cleaned off the rust, repainted her and then polished bottom and sides to 320 grit. She takes thin shavings that are mostly full width. And I didn't have to spend $275 to buy LN's lovely #2. The "before" pics are in the post I link above. Here's how she looks now.
286581286583286586286587286587
I can't tell if the tote/knob are Rosewood or Mahogany - seemed like the latter from the fine red dust. But I put several coats of clear shellac on them, burnishng with steel wool between coats. I really like the color/sheen on the tote. The knob is still darker than I'd like, but my knobs always end up that way. Maybe because they show so much end grain?
Anyway, I may not use this much - it really is small - but it's a lovely little tool and it came out well, so I thought I'd share it.
Take care,
Fred
I'm pleased to tell you I was able to recover that #2 I wrote about in last weekend's thread. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?215899-Found-a-2-no-name
What a lovely little plane. The basic plane (sole, frog) dates from about 1900 (Type 8, I think). The cutter is a nice thick Union Mfg - don't know how to date it, but it's quite nice. The cap iron dates from around 1870 as best I can tell and the lever cap was cut down from a #3 somewhere down the line. So she's not "worth" much more than the $14 I paid for her - unless you're someone like me who REALLY wanted a user.
I really like this plane. She was flat and square. (OK, there's a small low spot about 3/16" wide at the toe, but everywhere else is right on.) I stripped all the black spray paint, cleaned off the rust, repainted her and then polished bottom and sides to 320 grit. She takes thin shavings that are mostly full width. And I didn't have to spend $275 to buy LN's lovely #2. The "before" pics are in the post I link above. Here's how she looks now.
286581286583286586286587286587
I can't tell if the tote/knob are Rosewood or Mahogany - seemed like the latter from the fine red dust. But I put several coats of clear shellac on them, burnishng with steel wool between coats. I really like the color/sheen on the tote. The knob is still darker than I'd like, but my knobs always end up that way. Maybe because they show so much end grain?
Anyway, I may not use this much - it really is small - but it's a lovely little tool and it came out well, so I thought I'd share it.
Take care,
Fred