plane irons reconditioning

[Mark Hohnbaum]

I have been a lurker for the past few weeks and have enjoyed looking at the discussions that are ongoing.

I have grown to appreciate not only the scope but the depth of knowledge that is exchanged.

So much for the accolades, now the question.

I have some old planes and chisels (I'm guessing 1880's to the 1940's) that I've accumulated whose value to me is that they plane, slice and chop wood as effectively as is possible.

How is the most effective and efficient way of lapping and grinding old plane and chisel blades into the best cutting instruments possible?

I have at my disposal waterstones from 220 to 8000, sand paper from coarse emory and 50 thru 2000 grit abrasive paper on marble slabs,and a 4x36 hobbyist belt sander.

Any suggestions?


Thanks in advance for your help.

Mark

[Mark Hohnbaum]

Oh, I should have mnetioned that what I am really interested in this how to recondition the moderately and heavily pitted irons.

Thanks again,

Mark

[Don Henthorn Smithville, TX]

Oh, I should have mnetioned that what I am really interested in this how to recondition the moderately and heavily pitted irons.

Thanks again,

Mark

In my humble opinion once a blade is pitted you will waste your time trying to bring it back. You will never be able to get a continuous sharp edge because of the pits.

[Noah Alkinburgh]

If your purpose is usability then buy a new blade, particularly for the pitted ones. Newer blades like the Hocks hold an edge better and longer. They are also thicker (if I remember correctly) which help reduce chatter. Just my .02

Noah

[Paul Barnard]

Oh, I should have mnetioned that what I am really interested in this how to recondition the moderately and heavily pitted irons.

Thanks again,

Mark

If you must use them, and they may be unusable in the long run anyway, find someone with a surface grinder. Due to the amount of wear involved using stones or even scary will probably cost more than a replacement blade. Don't try to use the belt sander as there is minimal probabilty of acheiving a surface flat enough for the back of an iron and you will still have to spend almost as long on stones or scary once the pitting is removed get the iron usable.
Removing pitting is something I tried just once and then ditched the iron.
At the 'economy' end of replacement irons the Hock and LV are very good. There are other suppliers who have been recomended by others but I have never tried them.
have fun

[Dave Anderson NH]

Inspect the irons carefully. Often the older irons will show a line across the blade anywhere from 1/4" to an inch or more up from the cutting edge. If this is the case, you have an iron with a cast steel cutting edge forge welded to either mild steel or cast iron. The oldest irons are the ones most likely to show this condition. Cast steel is a bit less prone to pitting than the rest of the upper part of the iron and often this can be ground/sanded/stoned away without a huge amount of work.

Another thing to check is where the pits are in relation to the cutting edge. If they are back a 1/8" to 1/4" or more, it could be worth your while to spend the time to work the back of the blade. If they are random and go all the way to the cutting edge, it probably isn't worth the trouble unless the pits are very shallow. Essentially, you are looking for areas continuously free of pits all the way across the iron and hopefully at least 1/4" in height. If you can find areas like this, the iron is well worth trying to salvage.

Questions for you are:

1) Is the iron tapered- thicker at the bevel, thinner at the top?

2) Are the irons single irons or double irons- double are like modern plane irons with a cap rion held in place with a slot headed bolt?

3) Are the irons held in place with a wedge or with a lever cap?

4) Can you take pix of the planes or the irons?

[Roger Nixon]

Hi Mark,
You didn't mention what kind of planes the blades came out of. If they are Bailey type, you can sharpen the blade with a back bevel which will take the pits out and eliminate the need to flatten the back.

[Mark Hohnbaum]

Don, Noah, Paul, Dave & Roger , thanks so much for all your replys.

I have several (turn of the century, I'm guessing) Stanley Bailey planes 4, 6, and a 7. These belonged to my grandfather. These are in pretty good shape and I may chose to upgrade the irons and caps. Also a K5 with a stanley blade but I don't know if this was my Grandfather's or it just turned up plus a Keen Kutter 8 that is old but in fair shape.

Dave here is all the info i can give you about these planes.

The real problems are 3 wooden planes that I have aquired. #1 & 2 have slotted screw caps holding the cap iron, and all are wedge held.

One is a coffin style smoother approx. 8" long 2 1/2" wide with a 2 1/8' double blade. Markings on the body are E.C. Ring and under this is ringsville, Ms. The blade has "Phreysville MFG. Co." and under that is" _ _ _ _ _ _ NTED". This is a tapered blade thicker at the bottom than the top, and it looks forged. The bottom portion of the back is in pretty good shape.

Two is a small German style horned plane approx. 9" long 2 1/2" wide with the blade 2" wide. This is also two piece and tapered. No markings on the body but the iron has an almost oval mark with "EXTRA QUALITY" on top and in the oval is "P" with "GUSSTAHL" directly under it and under that is "GARANTIE" This has some very shallow pitting on the bottom back of the iron. Don't know if this whole blade is forged or not but has a forged piece at the very top of the blade.

The third is a horned narrow old scrub plane. Blade approx 1 1/8" wide with a 2" x 10" body it has a single tapered blade and no markings on the body. the blade has an icon that looks like an iron cross tilted45 degreees so it is like a thick x sitting on something that looks like a primitive butcher block. Then under this is an icon with "WARRENTED" under this with an icon are a "WB" and under that are two "k"'s with the cast steel stamped under that. this bladeis in the same shape as #2.

Sorry no pics, my daughter is in NM with the digital camera.

Also is the scrub plane used with the bevel up or down?

Also any suggestions on replacement irons for the Bailey style planes. I've read some of the plane iron studies elsewhere on the site and they were great but anyone with input would be appreciated. I've been looking at LV and Hock, because those are just the most talked about.

Sorry for the length of this message.

Thanks again,


Mark

[Paul Barnard]

Also is the scrub plane used with the bevel up or down?

Also any suggestions on replacement irons for the Bailey style planes. I've read some of the plane iron studies elsewhere on the site and they were great but anyone with input would be appreciated. I've been looking at LV and Hock, because those are just the most talked about.

I can chip in on these questions but will leave the woody questions to those more knowledgable.

The scrub iron is bevel down.

I have both Hock and LV replacement irons. The LV is A2 and the Hocks high carbon, though Hock does do A2 as well. Both makes are excellent irons. The LV was easier to flatten and sharpen on the examples I have. I have Hocks in my jointer and in a 60 1/2 and absolutly no complaints. The LV is in my No 5 and is my most used plane. The edge holds up really well to lots of abuse. It may be only an impression but I fancy the Hocks take a better edge though I'm not sure if they hold that edge as long. The toughness of the LV has been very impressive.

Paul

[Roger Nixon]

A few other ideas. Whenever I find broken pre-war Stanley planes cheap (around $2-$5), I buy them and salvage the blades, chipbreakers, totes, and screws. The older laminated Stanley blades are pretty good and it's always nice to have the correct blade for your planes.
A couple of replacement blades I can recommend are the Shepherd Tool Company and the Academy Saw Works. I haven't finished my tests of them but they will outperform my old favorite Stanley blades in every aspect.