Questions about restoring a wooden fillister plane

[Evan Ryan]

I was cutting dadoes today using a Stanley 78, and I decided to try a wooden dado plane for comparison.
Then I remembered that I also have a wooden fillister that I've never tested.
They were all working, I was having fun, and I got into some light sharpening and cleaning. Once the last dado was cut, I took off the adjustable part of the fillister and then I found that the front corner of the fence was coming off. Then it came off.
The depth stop was always missing.

I want to restore this plane to be a user, the blade is good, the body seems good, and it was cutting like a champ.

I'd like some advice and opinions about materials, order of operations, cleaning brass and finding replacement parts.

I want to make another fence. What type of wood should I use? I've read that decent boxwood is hard to find.

Any advice on cutting the mortises for the brass screw sliders, those two brass pieces that slide on the screws to adjust the fence, I think they're brass, I'd like to clean those up and so far I've only cleaned steel. I use scotch pads and wd40 for steel.

The blade holder needs refinishing. To refinish the wood, is it just a matter of light sanding and BLO?

I need to buy a new depth stop, how should I measure the thread size and who sells depth stops?

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Thank you!

[Kyle DuPont]

Is the wood in good enough condition to glue back with hide glue? If it fits back well, this would be the best route. If not you can use beech to make a new fence, that does not appear to be a boxwood fence on there fight now.

To clean the brass you could use a degreaser or a cotton cloth and a good wax, or Brasso. I would just use a cotton cloth or white scotch pad and wax.

To cut the mortise I would drill the wider holes from one side to depth and then the smaller through holes from the opposite side with the smaller bit.

As far as refinishing, is there a finish on it or is it just oiled? A light sanding and an oil finish would be fine. But do not finish, oil or wax the wedge or wedge mortise. This would very likely interfere with the wedge being able to hold it's and the iron's ability to hold a setting.

Take the body to a big box store and try different bolts to figure the thread. Be very careful to not cross thread the tapped hole. I don't think that they are common pitch threads but this would be the cheapest and fastest way to find out. I don't know of anyone making those depth stops. So my next step would be to contact the antique woodworking tool distributors. Check with them to see if they have any help they can give with parts they might have laying around. But really, for the cost and trouble of that depth stop, you could probably buy a moving fillister from The Best Things or Jim Bode Tools or others.

Good luck.

[Evan Ryan]

Thank you for the reply.
The original fence is beyond repair. The corner broke off. this as a good opportunity to build a new fence.
i don't know how to determine the type of finish that's on the plane, I will research that.
I almost oiled the wedge today, good thing I ran out of time.
i cleaned up this brass with a paste of vinegar, salt and flour.
i have some cherry so I started to make the fence, but chopping mortises for the brass screw sliders(?) did not work, twice. Tomorrow I'll try drilling some holes for depth before mortising.
My first attempt split the wood, second attempt made messy mortises with uneven bottoms. The mortises are too small for my router plane to get in and chew up enough wood to flatten the floors.
i searched around for a depth stop, I'll keep looking, no rush on a depth stop.

[Zach Dillinger]

The depth stop, while nice, isn't super important. Even with a fenced-and-stopped plane you should always work to a scribed line. Depth stops and fences move around and you want to make sure you don't ruin your work piece by planing too much. Who made the plane?

For the best general book on restoring vintage woodworking tools, you'll want to pick up Mike Dunbar's book "Restoring, Tuning & Using Classic Woodworking Tools". I've bought multiple copies because I always seem to give away mine just before I need to reference it (which is something I do often).

[Kees Heiden]

You are also missing the nicker. It should be in the wedge shaped pocket just behind the depth stop. It looks like you are missing too much to make this a worthwhile restoration project. All these parts aren't for sale anymore, so you need to find second hand parts. Good luck. Finding another, complete one is much easier.

[Zach Dillinger]

If you do end up scrapping this one due to lack of parts, make sure to hang on to the fillister head screws that held the fence on... those things are often missing and I've never found a proper modern replacement.

[Evan Ryan]

The plane worked well before I took it apart, broke off a piece, sharpened the blade and cleaned the brass. I figure I'll either improve it, abandon the proj and take Kees advice and look for one all set up or learn to love using my 78.
How about a wooden depth stop? old brass depth stops do look cool, even if They just hang there disengaged, ha ha.
I've got rusty steel I could repurpose for a nicker, or i could buy a plate from the hardware store. how was the nicker secured, wedged, shoved in to the triangle slot or was there something more complex?
I haven't found a makers mark on the plane. It looks like other fillisters I've seen online, my guess is that it's probably made by whoever made the most back in the day. That's usually what I find.
thanks zach for the book recommendation, I put a library hold on it this morning.
i should add that I'm trying to restore this to a user, so I don't need period accurate parts, but I don't want to do something like screw a nicker to the body.

[Evan Ryan]

If you do end up scraping this one due to lack of parts, make sure to hang on to the fillister head screws that held the fence on... those things are often missing and I've never found a proper modern replacement.
Cool. They are nice, and they still fit.

[Jim Koepke]

Evan,

If you want to restore this and other old tools, some of the simple tools you will need include a thread gauge. They are an indispensable tool when working with various threaded fasteners.

The nicker on old wooden planes were often nothing more than a modified cut nail.

It shouldn't be a difficult task to make a workable depth stop from a hunk of brass. it appears there is a dark spot on the plane outlining a vague sizing of the depth stop.

Though it wouldn't be correct for a restoration, rosewood is a good hardwood for making fences.

jtk

[Evan Ryan]

Cut nail! Perfect, I've got those.
The plane is marked Ohio tool co. And there's a "55" stamp as well.
I will shop around for a thread gauge.

[Kyle DuPont]

"Understanding Wood Finishing" by Bob Flexner is a very good book to read. Get the completely revised and updated version of the book ©2010. It goes over how to determine t he finish on a piece, along with everything else.

Cleaning brass is a personal choice. Some like it brightly polished and some like it tarnished but clean. It is you choice.

To avoid splitting the wood, you could try to clamp it to keep the walls from blowing out. Drilling would alleviate a lot of the pressure along the long grain to help avoid the split. Also try to cut the cross grain (long side) of the mortise before creeping up on your long grain finished width.

Some nickers were wedged with a small wooden wedge and some were just wedge shaped pieces of metal with a sharpened end. Yours looks like a sharpened cut nail would work just fine.

You don't need a nicker or a depth stop to use the plane, it just makes some functions easier.

[Evan Ryan]

"Understanding Wood Finishing" by Bob Flexner is a very good book to read. Get the completely revised and updated version of the book ©2010. It goes over how to determine t he finish on a piece, along with everything else.



i cut mortises into the fence today. The brass sliders fit. I'm stoked.
i left the fence piece wide to avoid blow out while chopping, but using a clamp to avoid blowout is a great idea. Next time.
My mortise chisel was on fire today, it made me want to get a toolbox for the tools I have that are excellent and separate them from the tools that I have that are no fun to use.
I sawed the head off a cut nail for a nicker. It Almost fits, more work to do. I've got a bag of nails, lots of chances.
I have the flexner book. I have it on kindle. Kindle is a crappy place to have a how to book. When I'm working and need to check the info, I've got to clean up then read from the iPad. When I have to reference the info that will not stay in my head, I think "I should write this down, for reference." That's insane. I think flexners book is poorly organized, and I'm sure it's because I'm reading it on a kindle. I wish the book contained basic recipes for a beginner, a species and the steps to finish it.

[Kyle DuPont]

The book is organized a little differently than others but is quite nice. Once you decide on a type of finish, all the needed info is in close proximity.

[Evan Ryan]

I was using the fillister plane yesterday for the first time since the restoration, and one of the screws that holds the fence is no longer holding. I'm going to drill out the hole and glue in a dowel, then redrill. I've never done this, any recommendations or experiences?
As a side note, I ordered a copy of flexners "finishing 101."