Rust Hunt Brightens the Day

[Jim Koepke]

My activity level has been down of late. My dentist has been doing a lot of work in my mouth and dealing with that has been an ordeal.

Yesterday it was my wife's turn in the barrel with an appointment for a bone density test. On the way home she allowed me a stop in my favorite antique mall. Imagine my delight seeing this:

#39 Dado Plane 3:4%22.jpg

It is a 3/4" which works fine for my projects. It is missing one of the flat head knicker screws. The thread is 6-40 which is odd but should not be so hard to find something that can be modified to do the job.

Remember the cry of the rust hunter…

"If you don't ask, you won't get." The price on this was fair but close to 'full retail.' It is almost a habit of mine to ask if the price can come down a bit. The person keeping shop yesterday, John, said he could always call and ask. Sure enough the seller was willing to come down $15. It also didn't hurt that the seller, Dave, knows me and has sold me a lot of things in the past.

A little time was spent talking to John since the shop wasn't too busy. He was happy for me to share a lot of various bits of information about the plane being bought and a few others that were in the shop. There was a nice SW #3 in the shop, but there are already two just like it in my shop. Besides, the one in the shop had a bit of a break out problem with the knob.

jtk

[Frederick Skelly]

Nice score Jim!

[lowell holmes]

I had one, but I have not seen it since Hurricane Harvey visited Galveston County Texas. I will look for it, my shop is still in bins and boxes.

The shop is almost operational, the saw is not damaged, the drill press is dry, the jointer never got wet, and my seven Bedrocks were up high and suffered no rust.

[Jim Koepke]

I had one, but I have not seen it since Hurricane Harvey visited Galveston County Texas. I will look for it, my shop is still in bins and boxes.

The shop is almost operational, the saw is not damaged, the drill press is dry, the jointer never got wet, and my seven Bedrocks were up high and suffered no rust.

Glad to hear things are starting to work for you. Also thank God for high shelves and less rust.

jtk

[Steven Mikes]

Jim, is that a rebate plane? Looks like it's in great condition.

[Jim Koepke]

Jim, is that a rebate plane? Looks like it's in great condition.

It is a #39 dado plane, 3/4" size. It can do a rebate if needed.

The dado planes are made with a skewed blade and the body is machined to a single size for cutting cross grain slots. This one is missing one of the nicker screws which shouldn't be too difficult to reproduce.

jtk

[Stew Denton]

Hi Jim,

Ya did good! The plane looks in great shape.

Stew

[Randy Chesnut]

Totally love those planes. I have put together a full set of working models and they are so easy to use and maintain that I tend to find uses for them even when they may not be needed. As far as the nicker screw goes, however, be really careful not to bugger up the threads in your attempt to conger up something. I have generally defaulted to one of the two guys on eBay that sell salvaged screws (nhplaneparts or deycart. They don't give them away free, for sure, but if you pay attention to the quality of the threads and the screw slot, you can find great replacements. When you use it, make sure that there is no misalignment between the nicker and the plane body (and keep the iron even or slightly proud of the side of the plane body) so that you don't get ragged edges or stepping as you deepen the cut.

[michael langman]

That plane would brighten my day Jim. It's in really nice shape. Enjoy it.

[Jim Koepke]

Totally love those planes. I have put together a full set of working models and they are so easy to use and maintain that I tend to find uses for them even when they may not be needed. As far as the nicker screw goes, however, be really careful not to bugger up the threads in your attempt to conger up something. I have generally defaulted to one of the two guys on eBay that sell salvaged screws (nhplaneparts or deycart. They don't give them away free, for sure, but if you pay attention to the quality of the threads and the screw slot, you can find great replacements. When you use it, make sure that there is no misalignment between the nicker and the plane body (and keep the iron even or slightly proud of the side of the plane body) so that you don't get ragged edges or stepping as you deepen the cut.

Howdy Randy and a belated welcome to the Creek. Also a thanks for responding since this is my first (possibly only) #39.

It seems one of the nickers is a bit proud on one side. Have you seen this on any of your planes?

Also thanks for the leads on parts sources to check.

The Wilco store in town carries a few screws for guns. Today a flathead screw with a 6-40 thread was purchased. There was a need to run a tap to clear the threads. Someone may have tried a different screw in it in the past. The screws were swapped around on the other knicker, making me think someone unfamiliar with the plane was fiddling with it. Filing the screw down to be flush was a little work. That is when the proud nicker mentioned above was noticed. The screw is a hex drive. One of my thoughts is to check out gun parts sources and see if a flathead screw with a straight slot drive can be found.

That plane would brighten my day Jim. It's in really nice shape. Enjoy it.

Thanks Michael.

jtk

[Dan Carroll]

I have had luck getting that type of item from Stanley directly. It is amazing what they have in stock. I was able to get knickers and screws for mine several years ago.

[Jim Koepke]

I have had luck getting that type of item from Stanley directly. It is amazing what they have in stock. I was able to get knickers and screws for mine several years ago.

Stanley Parts Service used to be a great resource a few years ago. Now it seems the game has changed and almost every part clicked on is "out of stock."

jtk

[Jerry Olexa]

Nice find, Jim!!!

[lowell holmes]

My Harvey hurricane rust hunt continues. I have spent four hours today removing rust and applying Johnson wax to tools.
As I mentioned before, my son came in and placed all of my tools in plastic bins. I have been cleaning rust off of tools and
applying Johnson's wax. I should be finished in a day or so.

I am an "old dog" and I had stuff stashed away and forgotten. Flood waters found most of them. Fortunately, my power tool motors
all escaped the flood. Also, the electric circuits in the shop are good.