Type 11 plane reconditioning

[Jim Andrew]

Just received the first plane from the auction site, and was both pleasantly surprised, and a little disappointed. The plane is not a rust bucket, and had no trouble getting all the screws out. All screws appear to be original, and by all the nasty stuff I found after removing the frog makes me think it has never been taken apart. The lever cap is chipped out in the center. Is it possible to just grind it off square, and round the edge off? The biggest disappointment is the edge of the bed, on the right side up by the handle has a piece missing the size of half a nickel. I would assume that makes it junk for a collector, but intend to go ahead and fix it up for a user. The blade is bowed from being clamped to the cap iron for nearly 100 years, is it ok just to try to straighten it. Maybe just turn it around for a while to try to get it flat? Both the tote and handle were cracked apart, and I was able to glue them up very well, the tote very well, the knob had a chip missing. Well maybe the next plane will turn out better. Waiting to get a #7. Jim

[Dewey Torres]

Jim,
Would you mind posting a pic of it?
Dewey

[Johnny Kleso]

I would write seller and ask for a rebate if the chip was not pictured so you could see it well..

Point out that the base is worthless and you cant believe it was not added to description..

This is what I do when I am surprised and has been a way to ease my losses..

Try to always as if there is and chips or breaks if not stated..

[Danny Thompson]

Ouch! Been there. I feel your pain. My 1st was also an 11, and a bit of a disappointment. The prior owner had fiddled with the depth adjuster to the point the blade would not sit flat on the frog. Ugh!

IMHO your biggest problem is the blade. The lever cap can be filed flat. What # plane is it?

[Jim Andrew]

It's a #5. Sorry I can't post pics. The lady was selling the plane "as is", so guess I took my chances. Jim

[John Dykes]

Eh - don't be discouraged... I don't understand exactly where the "chip" is out (bottom or side). Bowed bladed and chipped lever cap aren't too big of a deal.

Think you may be ok... take it a piece at a time.

- jbd

[Jim Mims]

It's a #5. Sorry I can't post pics. The lady was selling the plane "as is", so guess I took my chances. Jim
I got a good chuckle on myself. I also bought a plane, $5 with $9 shipping, a bargain like you have.
When I got it I compared pics, and it's the example "Stamped Frogs Are The Kiss Of Death" to stay away from at the bottom of the page!: http://www.brasscityrecords.com/toolworks/graphics/plane%20id.html.
It was almost worth the $5 to see all mods the former user went through to keep this plane working. It even had a piece of chromed copper plumbing pipe cut and hammered in place to adjust the blade. :(
- Jim

[Jim Koepke]

It's a #5. Sorry I can't post pics. The lady was selling the plane "as is", so guess I took my chances. Jim

You could give us the auction number. Then we could see what you saw before you bought it.

If there was undisclosed damage, "as is" is not an excuse.

jim

[Jeff Hallam]

I just wanted to comment on your idea to flip the blade over to counter act the bowing that you have. I don't believe this will work, as the blade was designed with a thin layer of tool steel on the "logo" side of the iron, while a different steel was laminated onto it. If you flipped the blade over you would be trying to sharpen a cutting edge on the softer layer of metal.

Someone else correct me if i'm wrong on this one.

Also, a blatant self promotion that I am currently selling 4 Type 11's on the auction site and one if them is a #7 (since you said you are still looking for one).

[Phillip Pattee]

I think if your blade is bowed that it is probably because something was dropped on the plane at one time. There isn't anything about clamping the blade in place that should deform it. If the bed is unusable, there are often times parts for sale. usually they are cheap. You could get lucky and find a nice bed that you can pair with your other parts. If you pay attention to the type studies you can even get one that is correct for your plane -- if not, you may have a good user frankenplane.:(

[Jim Andrew]

The item number is 360040356343 . The picture has the chip side in front, but I can't see it.

[Johnny Kleso]

Looking at pics I confused what is missing the dime size chunk...

I see the handle is cracked but fixable, try to buy planes with good wood as a rear handle can cost $25 You can sell No5 handles on eBay for $25 pretty much any day..

Plus when I save pic to my desk top and zoom in it a little to rusty, I like to buy planes with a little rust or tarnish is a better work as most time they sell for less than brite shinny ones..

The blade is pretty much wore out also

I dont mean to put you down at all, I too have bought my fair share of lemons and just trying to help you.. Happy Hunting :)

[Jim Koepke]

The chip really does not show in the pictures. I have a few with areas broken out most likely from being dropped.
That does not look too bad for what it cost.

As far as the blade is concerned. Sometimes the cap iron gets bent by a previous owner for whatever reason. When the screw is tightened, the blade can bow. I have straitened a few without much problem.

As Johnny said, it looks like there is not much blade left. You may want to get a newer Stanley blade to use until you get the plane set up. That would be the least expensive option. An aftermarket blade will cost more than you paid for the plane. Once you get it cleaned up and adjusted with the blade sharpened, you will be hooked.

My first project would be to repair the handle, then while it is setting up, sharpen the blade.

For the handles, there are a few ways to get to a good end. On mine if the break is not too bad not much more than gluing it back together is needed. Look at Johnny's site, rexmill.com for some ideas. If the break does not go together well, I have planed the area down carefully to fit together then glue them. Be careful, each pass of the plane will shorten the handle just a bit. A lot of bits make one big byte. if you have some rosewood, file a little off and mix the dust with epoxy. You can make it real hard to find the repair.

This is one reason to save old knobs and totes that are not repairable. For one handle lately, a piece was cut off of a knob and spliced into a tote like a biscuit. After the epoxy set, it was worked down with chisels, gouges, rasps and sandpaper. It is now on an old 5 1/2.

That is one I have been meaning to take some pictures of. It was bought on eBay. It was kind of a serendipity. Someone asked what to look for in buying planes for auctions. It was one of the examples being used and the more I pointed out on it, the more it appeared to be the type of plane I like for my use. It was unattractive, yet repairable. There was one unknown surprise, the tote threads were a little loose in the base. These were repairable.

When buying used, there is always the chance for unknowns. The trick for the buyer is to be able to handle and be ready for these things.

Some would say that is the reason people should buy new. The only other option is to buy from a dealer who has already done the restoration and will stand behind item.

First, if this were my case, I would likely not have many planes at my disposal.

Second, why let someone else have all the fun and why should I pay them to have that fun?

Fettling can be fun,

jim

[Danny Thompson]

Don't do it! . . .

I've got an old #4 blade. That won't fit his 5, will it Jim K.?

[Jim Koepke]

Don't do it! . . .

I've got an old #4 blade. That won't fit his 5, will it Jim K.?

#4 an #5s both use the same 2 inch blade.

Someone posted what seems likd a good idea. If you have a decent blade from the time an early plane was made, buy one of the more recent plane blades to use and save the old one for its collectability. Most of the old ones are not really collectable, but for some reason there are people who are willing to pay more for them.

Blades from after the SW Hart era are plentiful and can be bought inexpensively.

jtk

[Jim Andrew]

I worked over the old plane today. Had already glued up the knob and the tote. Luckily they both were broken with rough grain, and it was easy to clean them up and glue them back. Sanded the bottom of the #5, as the back part of the plane was off a little, could slip a feeler gauge under it, and worked over the cap iron, it had a gap on one side, someone had used a grinder on it, and the blade was sharpened to 20 degrees, and had been burned about 1/8". So I ground it down some, and then used my new waterstone and honing guide on it. Have some white (burr oak) that I was practicing on, planed off long thin strips, so guess it works Ok, and so I also worked over grandpa's old fulton. And it really planed well, even better than the stanley. THink the stanley blade is going to need to be ground a few times to get rid of the burned part, hope it is long enough.

[Danny Thompson]

Keep us posted.

[Jim Andrew]

received the #7 in the mail today. It was packed really well, and is really a nice plane. The only flaw is the top of the tote is chipped off and missing. The handle had a crack, which was screwed together. Cleaned up the break, put some glue on it and put the screw back in, and put it in the vise. Sharpened up the blade, also worked over the cap iron, and it makes very nice long thin shavings. Happy with this one. It is also a type 11. Jim

[Danny Thompson]

Great news, Jim!

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"I'd rather be lucky than good." -- Lefty Gomez