steven c newman
05-22-2015, 11:19 AM
Well, turned 62 last week, and got a present in the mail. A StanleyNo. 39 3/8" Dado plane. It did need some parts, though. Only one of four bolts for the nickers was there. Only the left hand side nicker was there. No iron.....
Ok, I THINK we can do something with it. Had an old cast steel tappett wrench. A duplicate, so it won't be missed. Cut a section long enough to attempt a cutter from it. Grinder and LOTS of water.
314018
then laid the blank on the plane, to size it
314019
A-yep, this will take awhile. Edge is skewed, sides are skewed. The end has to stick out the right side through a hole. Grind, dunk, check, repeat. Finally got it close, and without burning either the steel, or me, or the shop.
314020
I used the beltsander to refine things a bit. Plunked this blank into the plane, again
314025
close, but I figured I'd let it rest for awhile ( me too) and went to the computer. nhplaneparts had the nicker I needed. Bought it. However, he wanted too much for just two bolts..and I needed at least three. Hmm, well we will try something else. Already making a cutter, might as well remake the bolts?
Went to Lowes, and picked up a Tap & Drill that was close to the size needed, and picked what i thought was the right sized bolts ( note to self...ALWAYS wear my glasses when buy TINY items) and went to the shop
Drill breezed right through, was that close to the right size. Then set up the tap
314026
And it went in without any problems, even cut the threads without any oil. Then came the time to install a bolt.....no go? Ah, some dummy got the wrong size ( had me glasses on now) tap was for a 6-32 size, bolts were 8-32 size.:mad: Back down to get the right size bolts ( and some honey-do items) and try again. The shortest bolts they had were 1/2" long. Ran all four in all the way from the left hand side
314029
Then I could safely grind each down. One wanted to back right back out, screwdriver took care of that. Went to install the lefthand side nicker....bolts won't go through the top hole.....well, drill bit is still in the drill press, so, a wiggle or three, and the bolt went right in.
314030
Yeah, yeah, they don't look like stanley made them. I can come back later and work them down a bit. Test run showed the iron needed a bit more thinning
314031
until it fit just right. Awaiting the arrival of the right hand nicker, before I can try to cut dados. But, tried a rebate along an edge.....works, but, it is a finicky beasty. It will also be rough on the left thumb. There isn't anyway to adjust the depth other than loosen the cap iron, and slide things around, hoping for the best. Will take some practizing to get this one just right. Might even be fun...:D
Ok, I THINK we can do something with it. Had an old cast steel tappett wrench. A duplicate, so it won't be missed. Cut a section long enough to attempt a cutter from it. Grinder and LOTS of water.
314018
then laid the blank on the plane, to size it
314019
A-yep, this will take awhile. Edge is skewed, sides are skewed. The end has to stick out the right side through a hole. Grind, dunk, check, repeat. Finally got it close, and without burning either the steel, or me, or the shop.
314020
I used the beltsander to refine things a bit. Plunked this blank into the plane, again
314025
close, but I figured I'd let it rest for awhile ( me too) and went to the computer. nhplaneparts had the nicker I needed. Bought it. However, he wanted too much for just two bolts..and I needed at least three. Hmm, well we will try something else. Already making a cutter, might as well remake the bolts?
Went to Lowes, and picked up a Tap & Drill that was close to the size needed, and picked what i thought was the right sized bolts ( note to self...ALWAYS wear my glasses when buy TINY items) and went to the shop
Drill breezed right through, was that close to the right size. Then set up the tap
314026
And it went in without any problems, even cut the threads without any oil. Then came the time to install a bolt.....no go? Ah, some dummy got the wrong size ( had me glasses on now) tap was for a 6-32 size, bolts were 8-32 size.:mad: Back down to get the right size bolts ( and some honey-do items) and try again. The shortest bolts they had were 1/2" long. Ran all four in all the way from the left hand side
314029
Then I could safely grind each down. One wanted to back right back out, screwdriver took care of that. Went to install the lefthand side nicker....bolts won't go through the top hole.....well, drill bit is still in the drill press, so, a wiggle or three, and the bolt went right in.
314030
Yeah, yeah, they don't look like stanley made them. I can come back later and work them down a bit. Test run showed the iron needed a bit more thinning
314031
until it fit just right. Awaiting the arrival of the right hand nicker, before I can try to cut dados. But, tried a rebate along an edge.....works, but, it is a finicky beasty. It will also be rough on the left thumb. There isn't anyway to adjust the depth other than loosen the cap iron, and slide things around, hoping for the best. Will take some practizing to get this one just right. Might even be fun...:D