Help restoring Old Spiers Infill panel plane with heavy pitting

[Andrew Schofield]

H all,

Long time reader of these forums but this is my first post! Thanks in advance for any comments!

I have recently acquired an old Spiers Panel plane - seems to be in reasonable shape with the exception of the sole which is heavily pitted. With all my tools, I intend to use this plane so am considering taking the time to lap the base of the plane to try to remove some pitting (I will probably leave the sides as is).

335402 335403 335404

Any suggestions? Do you think the sole is recoverable? Are there any other things you would look for when tuning up a panel plane?

Thanks
andrew

[Kees Heiden]

It doesn't really look like these pits are a problem. Just leave them as they are. Think about a corrugated plane sole, that would be a plane sole with extreme pitting.

[Chris Fournier]

Personally I'd lap the sole until it was "flat enough" to use and pay no attention to the pitting. While I am not into vintage hand tools this type of plane is one that I have always wanted to own. Very nice!

[lowell holmes]

With such a valuable plane, if I really wanted it smooth, I would take it to a machine shop and see what they could do for me.

[Mike Holbrook]

Maybe more of a question but, does Evaporust damage wood? I love Evaporust, just bought a fresh gallon as the one I have used for the last two years was starting to work a little slow after adding water to it 3-4 times. Might be able to partially submerge/paint it on....

I have never tried doing this. I am wondering if anyone else has or has knowledge of how this might work? The improvement I have seen on old rusted planes and other solid metal hand tools has been astonishing, just wondering if it would change wood if it got on it?

[Jim Koepke]

Andrew,

Welcome to the Creek. Your location isn't listed in your profile. You may be near another member who is willing to lend a hand with your plane.

If you are in the Portland, Oregon area let me know if you would like to get together.

My preference is to lap a plane as little as possible to put it into working form. My main goal is for the plane be able to perform its task repeatedly without damaging the surface due to nicks or rough spots on the sole.

jtk

[Andrew Schofield]

Thanks for the replies. Glad to hear that hopefully it won't need much work other than a quick sole flattening (which I generally do with any 2nd hand plane). I am actually located up in Calgary, AB - not sure if any other folk are from up there but let me know if you are.

For $150 U.S. it cost me to buy I'm hopeful I could have a great user and a beautiful plane to boot.

Thanks for for your help!
Andrew

[Frederick Skelly]

Good find Andrew. Congratulations!
Welcome to the Creek!

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I agree with Kees with one exception- corrugated planes have no corrugation at the mouth. You seem to have some pitting around the mouth. I would lap it on glass or a planer bed or other flat surface just enough to get the mouth smooth and the bottom flat- otherwise the pits are no worries. Nice plane!

[Kees Heiden]

In the last picture I don't really see damage at the front of the mouth, but it's hard to see of course. On these old ones the mouth is rarely tight enough to be very effective anyway, so I wouldn't sweat it too much.

[Mike Henderson]

Beautiful plane. I agree - just make sure the sole is flat and otherwise ignore the pitting.

Congratulations on a great buy.

Mike

[Jim Belair]

You got a great deal on a classic tool. As others have said, flatten it a bit. I definitely would not send to to a machine shop- risk of removing too much metal. If there is any concern for corrosion taking place in the pits you might consider setting it in a shallow tray of evaporust and maybe scrubbing it into the pits with a toothbrush to break the surface tension. Or not.

[lowell holmes]

I definitely would not send to to a machine shop- risk of removing too much metal.

A machine shop does not have to take metal off with a lathe. They can lightly grind the surface to eliminate irregularities and not take a lot of steel.

I would put some 220 wet sand paper on my granite plate and sand it until it was right.

[Pat Barry]

A machine shop does not have to take metal off with a lathe. They can lightly grind the surface to eliminate irregularities and not take a lot of steel.

I would put some 220 wet sand paper on my granite plate and sand it until it was right.
A machine shop wouldn't use a lathe of course but a surface grinder would do nicely. Pretty much the same as you using sandpaper and a flat plate and a bunch of elbow grease.

[bridger berdel]

surface grinding is different in one important respect- fixturing. to grind, it must be mounted rather tightly into the machine, which can damage a fragile old plane.

scraping is a more gentle approach with the same or better accuracy. you can do it yourself. I self- taught plane scraping with a $40 surface plate, a $4 tube of prussian blue and a homemade scraper. here's a link:

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/woodworking-and-woodworking-machinery/restoring-planes-flatten-sole-269653/?highlight=scrape+plane+sole

don't take off metal that you don't absolutely need to. the pits are irrelevant to use.

[george wilson]

Don't take it to a machine shop. They are probably unaware that it is dovetailed together. Taking off too much metal might make the dovetails come apart. Pins that hold the plane's stuffing together might get too much taken off their peened heads,and come loose. They might charge you more than a BETTER plane might cost. They might get the dovetails loose by trying to clamp it tight enough to be secure for grinding or milling. Just get the sole FLAT,the pits are ugly,but not important.

Evaporrust will do exactly NOTHING to make the plane look better. How is cleaning the rust out of all those pits going to help its appearance? They will still be there.

What makes you guys think this is a LATHE job?:)

If you don't like pitted planes,don't acquire planes that are pitted in the first place.

[lowell holmes]

UNCLE, I cry uncle.:)

I learned something from this string. Now, I would clean it using my granite plate and fine sandpaper.
Maybe as suggested, just use it.

[Glen Canaday]

Just a thought, but if you wax the sole, the pits will retain the wax. Just like with corrugated planes, this is not a bad thing.

I'd clean it and sharpen it. Then I'd shave wood with it, all the while admiring the killer deal I got on a usable Spiers infill.

[Ray Bohn]

I always like have as much information as possible before making a decision. Try sending more detailed photos (especially the mouth and dovetails) to tablesawtom@hotmail.com

He is a machinist that specialises in hand planes.

[Frederick Skelly]

Try sending more detailed photos (especially the mouth and dovetails) to tablesawtom@hotmail.com

THAT'S a good idea. Well worth the try. (Though I have a hunch he's going to say the same things as George, who's also a machinist.) Please let us know what you learn Andrew.