James Spangler
01-16-2021, 11:43 PM
I recently restored a Winchester W4 plane which was in rusty/crusty condition and the tote was cracked in two.
It cleaned-up nicely and I'm happy with the restoration - just wanted to show it off.
449659
The tote was broken in two pieces about 3/4 inch from the bottom. To repair it, I used J-B WoodWeld epoxy to glue the two pieces back together, but was still a bit nervous about structural strength of the bond, so I took the extra step of reinforcing it by drilling a hold up from the bottom of the tote (drilled parallel to and behind the existing bolt hole), and using a tap, carefully threaded the hole for an 8-32 machine screw. (I had to open up the cavity at the bottom of the tote a bit to allow the tap to be screwed in far enough to bite into the upper piece of the glued tote). I then put a little glue into the hole and screwed in the 8-32 stainless steel screw. After waiting for the glue to dry, I trimmed-off the protruding end of the screw with my dremel and plugged up the extra space at the bottom with some quick-wood epoxy filler. The glued seam between the two pieces was reamed-out with a tiny dremel burr to remove excess epoxy and was then filled with a paste of glue and rosewood sanding dust followed by a final sanding. The repair is now nearly invisible.
449664
I post this because I haven't seen it done before and I'm rather expecting to be accused of over-kill. I just was concerned that the existing break was a major stress point and wasn't sure if the epoxy alone was enough. Thoughts?
Also, does anyone know the dates when Winchester actually marketed these W-series planes (supplied by Stanley using the bedrock design)?
I've read everything I can find on the web including on SMC (link (https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?2476-Winchester-Planes)) and I understand that Winchester sold planes made by both Sargent (4-digit model numbers) and Stanley (W-series), and Winchester marketed their tool line from about 1919 to 1931 as described here (http://www.thckk.org/history/winchester-hist.pdf). But were they actually selling both the Sargent and Stanley versions at the same time?
I did find a "Winchester Pocket Catalog of Tools" from 1923 on the web here (http://www.blackburntools.com/articles/rose-tools-catalog-archives/pdfs/winchester-1923-catalog.pdf), and on page 13 ("Iron Bench Planes") it lists plane type and length, but no model numbers, so no real clue if these were Sargent or Stanley-made. (Although it does say "Handle and knob varnished" - would that indicate Sargent, or was "varnished" a generic term that would include a shellac finish found on the Stanley-version?). I also read in one of the above links that in 1922 Winchester merged with Simmons Hardware, which sold the KeenKutter planes - also Stanley-Bedrock based. So perhaps sometime after that merger, Winchester approached Stanley to start the "W" line of planes, taking advantage of the existing subcontracting agreement that Simmons already had to create the KeenKutter "K" series of planes?
Does anyone have access to a Winchester-Simmons Catalog from later in the 1920's that might shed more light on this?
It cleaned-up nicely and I'm happy with the restoration - just wanted to show it off.
449659
The tote was broken in two pieces about 3/4 inch from the bottom. To repair it, I used J-B WoodWeld epoxy to glue the two pieces back together, but was still a bit nervous about structural strength of the bond, so I took the extra step of reinforcing it by drilling a hold up from the bottom of the tote (drilled parallel to and behind the existing bolt hole), and using a tap, carefully threaded the hole for an 8-32 machine screw. (I had to open up the cavity at the bottom of the tote a bit to allow the tap to be screwed in far enough to bite into the upper piece of the glued tote). I then put a little glue into the hole and screwed in the 8-32 stainless steel screw. After waiting for the glue to dry, I trimmed-off the protruding end of the screw with my dremel and plugged up the extra space at the bottom with some quick-wood epoxy filler. The glued seam between the two pieces was reamed-out with a tiny dremel burr to remove excess epoxy and was then filled with a paste of glue and rosewood sanding dust followed by a final sanding. The repair is now nearly invisible.
449664
I post this because I haven't seen it done before and I'm rather expecting to be accused of over-kill. I just was concerned that the existing break was a major stress point and wasn't sure if the epoxy alone was enough. Thoughts?
Also, does anyone know the dates when Winchester actually marketed these W-series planes (supplied by Stanley using the bedrock design)?
I've read everything I can find on the web including on SMC (link (https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?2476-Winchester-Planes)) and I understand that Winchester sold planes made by both Sargent (4-digit model numbers) and Stanley (W-series), and Winchester marketed their tool line from about 1919 to 1931 as described here (http://www.thckk.org/history/winchester-hist.pdf). But were they actually selling both the Sargent and Stanley versions at the same time?
I did find a "Winchester Pocket Catalog of Tools" from 1923 on the web here (http://www.blackburntools.com/articles/rose-tools-catalog-archives/pdfs/winchester-1923-catalog.pdf), and on page 13 ("Iron Bench Planes") it lists plane type and length, but no model numbers, so no real clue if these were Sargent or Stanley-made. (Although it does say "Handle and knob varnished" - would that indicate Sargent, or was "varnished" a generic term that would include a shellac finish found on the Stanley-version?). I also read in one of the above links that in 1922 Winchester merged with Simmons Hardware, which sold the KeenKutter planes - also Stanley-Bedrock based. So perhaps sometime after that merger, Winchester approached Stanley to start the "W" line of planes, taking advantage of the existing subcontracting agreement that Simmons already had to create the KeenKutter "K" series of planes?
Does anyone have access to a Winchester-Simmons Catalog from later in the 1920's that might shed more light on this?