I've got frozen knobs on my wooden plow plane

[Evan Ryan]

I have an old wooden plow (plough) plane and the fence adjusting screws are frozen.
i can't turn any of the fence knobs or the other fence adjusting screws.
the weather could have swelled it.

any ideas to get the knobs turning?

i don't want to use any metal tools, this things an antique so I want to be gentle with it.

before the knobs froze I used the plane a few times with no problems, always only hand tightening.

[Jim Koepke]

Without a picture to guide me it is only my guess you have threaded shafts that guide the fence and the large wooden nuts will not turn.

Mentioning the weather as the possible cause to me it seems the plane may be in an unheated shop or at least on with a higher humidity than the last time it was adjusted.

Can it be moved in side the house for a few days in hopes of a little drying action?

If it is already in the house, maybe it could be closed up in a container with some silica jell.

As my age has increased, my grip has not. Often it comes in handy to have wide rubber bands of different sizes to place around things to improve my grip.

Finally, it may be possible to make a pair of wooden pliers for this kind of need.

Recently Chris Schwarz had something on his blog about making a "soft" wrench for turning plow plane screws. Making one was pretty easy:

321602

It is likely possible to make this adjustable or make the opening a bit smaller than seems necessary. The leather has a tendency to stretch.

jtk

[Evan Ryan]

Here's the plane

[Jim Koepke]

It isn't real clear in the image, but it looks as if the fence is at an angle to the plane.

This would be evident looking at the bottom of the plane. The skate and the fence should be parallel.

If this is the case, there may be twisting forces also working on the threads. If this is so, my efforts would be spent on the top right nut and the lower left nut to try and loosen them up a little to get things moving.

Otherwise as said earlier, if it is a humidity induced problem move the plane to a different area with a different humidity.

jtk

[Jim Belair]

You've likely had a humid summer in that neck of the woods so weather is probably the culprit. Either wait until the winter heating season or try and put the plane in a dry environment as Jim suggests. Then when you get the nuts to move, wax the threads liberally. I've got a centre bead plane with one tight nut and this helped. I'd hesitate to apply too much force for fear of snapping the threads at a root.

[Evan Ryan]

Thank you both for the advice.
I will give it time and see if it ever frees up, then I'll wax the threads.

[mike holden]

Evan, one final bit of advice: loosen the nuts when you are done with the tool, before you put it away.
Mike

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Bake it in the oven for a bit....

I would probably heat the oven to the lowest temperature supported by my oven, turn it off to avoid uneven heating temperatures with a hot flame somewhere, and then place it in the oven to dry for an hour. I assume that your highest temperature is less than 200 F.

[Jim Koepke]

Bake it in the oven for a bit....

I would probably heat the oven to the lowest temperature supported by my oven, turn it off to avoid uneven heating temperatures with a hot flame somewhere, and then place it in the oven to dry for an hour. I assume that your highest temperature is less than 200 F.

My not so pleasant experiences with trying to speed up nature in matters of humidity do not bode well for this method. Proceed with caution.

I would even advise against setting it over a heating vent.

jtk

[Barney Markunas]

I am with Jim Koepke on this one. I tried the warm (<200F) oven approach to hustle along the epoxy I had used to assemble a Krenov style plane and it turned out very badly. Some time in a somewhat drier room or the closed container with the silica gel seem like much safer alternatives.

[Jim Koepke]

Some time in a somewhat drier room or the closed container with the silica gel seem like much safer alternatives.

Patience is your ally, patience is your friend.

All things come to the one who waits.

jtk

[george wilson]

I would not go baking anything. But,applying water with a damp rag to the outside of the nuts,WITHOUT getting any on the screws might swell the nuts enough to loosen their grip. It might remove the patina from the nuts though,making them look new after you twist them enough to loosen them on the screws. That old brown patina will wipe right off with a little water,as I found out years ago,when I had to use a wooden brace in the rain.

[John Walkowiak]

I have solved the frozen nut problem by putting the plane in the refrigerator. It will dry it out slowly, it may take a couple weeks. But no damage will be done. Good luck! And, as stated above, store the plane with the nuts a bit loose from the body.

[Evan Ryan]

Thank you all.
rain today but winter is coming.
If it doesn't loosen up with weather changes, I'll try the damp rag, the fridge and the leather grips.
cant believe I left it tightened, whoops.

im also thinking about springing for the lee valley copy of the record 44 plow.

[Chuck Hart]

Thanks for the reminder. I took my plow plane down and waxed everything.

[Evan Ryan]

Stuck the plough plane in the fridge, sort of forgot about it for a week and today I got the knobs unstuck with my bare hands using slightly less force than opening a new jar of pickles.

[Jim Koepke]

Glad to hear you found a way to get it back to work.

Thanks for the follow up.

jtk

[Jim Belair]

.... using slightly less force than opening a new jar of pickles.

Good to hear of your success and great job at describing the effort required!