Dominic Greco
05-28-2007, 7:50 PM
Last week I posted a question here that asked if anyone knew of a source for Stanley 9 1/2 block plane bodies.
I got some leads on some possible online sources, but before I could act I was contacted by Walt Quadrato of Brass City Records & Old Tools (http://www.brasscityrecords.com/). He told me he had a couple bodies available and could send them out right away.
The package from Walt was waiting for me when I got home from work on Friday. When I opened it up, I was pleasantly surprised at the condition of the plane bodies. The soles looked like they were flattened and polished, and the overall condition was excellent. If I'm ever in the market for more old plane parts, or just want to purchase a "whole" plane, you know where my business will be going! :>)
Little work was needed to prep these bodies for use. All I needed to do was to remove the adjuster from the old body and install it in the "new one". That was as simple as punching out the pin having the old adjuster drop right out.
The bodies required little cleaning (just because I'm anal) and some examination revealed that the soles were flat. I just polished them and the sides up a bit using my "extra fine" (800, 1000, and 2000 grit) scary sharp set up. I used a brass wire wheel to remove the rust from my block plane's adjuster, lateral, front knob, lever, and blade. After grinding the bevel to 35 deg, the blade's back and front were flattened via scary sharp followed by waterstones. The blade was then honed via a combination of scary sharp and waterstones.
After all this I couldn't resist polishing the parts one more time with a flannel wheel charged with Tripoli compound. All of the parts were then given a light coat of paste wax and then the plane was reassembled. Once it was reassembled I couldn't resist trying it out. I choose some walnut scraps and went to work on the edges. After some minor adjustment I was able to get beautiful consistent shavings. I also tried it out on the end grain and was really surprised at how well it worked.
Overall I am really satisfied with the outcome of this restoration. While I wouldn't say no to a new LN or LV block plane, this restoration offered me the opportunity to add a classic, well built, trusty old tool to my arsenal.
Thanks for viewing.
I got some leads on some possible online sources, but before I could act I was contacted by Walt Quadrato of Brass City Records & Old Tools (http://www.brasscityrecords.com/). He told me he had a couple bodies available and could send them out right away.
The package from Walt was waiting for me when I got home from work on Friday. When I opened it up, I was pleasantly surprised at the condition of the plane bodies. The soles looked like they were flattened and polished, and the overall condition was excellent. If I'm ever in the market for more old plane parts, or just want to purchase a "whole" plane, you know where my business will be going! :>)
Little work was needed to prep these bodies for use. All I needed to do was to remove the adjuster from the old body and install it in the "new one". That was as simple as punching out the pin having the old adjuster drop right out.
The bodies required little cleaning (just because I'm anal) and some examination revealed that the soles were flat. I just polished them and the sides up a bit using my "extra fine" (800, 1000, and 2000 grit) scary sharp set up. I used a brass wire wheel to remove the rust from my block plane's adjuster, lateral, front knob, lever, and blade. After grinding the bevel to 35 deg, the blade's back and front were flattened via scary sharp followed by waterstones. The blade was then honed via a combination of scary sharp and waterstones.
After all this I couldn't resist polishing the parts one more time with a flannel wheel charged with Tripoli compound. All of the parts were then given a light coat of paste wax and then the plane was reassembled. Once it was reassembled I couldn't resist trying it out. I choose some walnut scraps and went to work on the edges. After some minor adjustment I was able to get beautiful consistent shavings. I also tried it out on the end grain and was really surprised at how well it worked.
Overall I am really satisfied with the outcome of this restoration. While I wouldn't say no to a new LN or LV block plane, this restoration offered me the opportunity to add a classic, well built, trusty old tool to my arsenal.
Thanks for viewing.