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Thread: Calling all wooden plane cognoscenti!

  1. #1

    Calling all wooden plane cognoscenti!

    Couldn't resist the impulse and just purchased a lot of over 40 wooden planes, hollows and rounds, complex moulding, rebates, plow, dado, and one bench plane. Plane to use the respiration as a vehicle to learn about the care, adjustment, and use of these planes. But I know next to nothing about them. I hope to post pictures of two at a time and get some feed back on what I have, if it's worth restoring, and any other tips. Here are a complex moulding plane and plow plane. Complex moulding has a mark indicating maker was DP Sanborn but it's hard to believe this one was really made in the 19th century. Generally seems to be in good condition with a few cracks. Should I fill the cracks or leave them alone? If fill, what's a good material to use? The plow plane has some kind of mark and a letter to indicate the maker. But that's all I get. The iron also has a mark that I can't read. I haven't included a picture of the frog, but I have it.
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  2. #2
    Calm down. Calm down.

    Start with one plane...the bench plane.
    Restore it. Use it.

    Everything else should be similar... just more complicated.

    Work on plow plane last. It's probably the most complicated.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    Longview WA
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    Howdy Eric,

    Here is a post of mine on rehabilitating wooden planes:

    https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?242156

    Recently a little of my time was spent working on a coffin smoother. The worst part about it is some one gave it a coat of varnish.

    The wedge was wrong for it, but that can usually be taken care of with a little trimming. Otherwise it isn't hard to make a new wedge.

    As for cracks and some of the other problems of wooden planes there is an old post by Bob Smalser on repairs to wooden plane bodies in the Neanderthal wisdom/FAQs:

    https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?103805

    jtk
    Last edited by Jim Koepke; 10-20-2018 at 1:16 AM.
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  4. #4
    Thanks Jim. I did read your thread and look forward to Bob's post!

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2016
    Location
    Northeast PA
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    I love using moulding planes. They can be finnicky to set up, but once you get them working right they're a blast. The bodies need to be straight along their length (no warping laterally) & the soles should be straight/flat with the areas before and after the mouth riding in the same plane. I won't waste my time on a warped H&R plane, just find another to replace it.

    If you have matched pairs of H&Rs, tune the round plane first and then use it to straighten up the corresponding hollow plane. The shape and straight/flat of a round plane's sole can be tweaked using a block plane or small bench plane. Once you get it where you want it, you will have to grind the iron to match the profile. You can then use it to true the matching hollow plane.

    FYI, a mistake I made when I first started experimenting with H&Rs was to open up the mouth/throat to prevent clogging. Do not do this! If the plane jams or clogs, it is indicative of a plane that needs to be tuned and/or set properly. The iron should match the profile of the sole as perfectly as possible, should be very sharp, and should be set to take a fine shaving. The plane needs a tight mouth to help prevent tear-out since there is no chip breaker.

    I've never restored a wooden bench plane (seems to me like a waste of time when a good Stanley Bailey series plane can be had so cheap & fettled so easily) so I cant speak to those.
    ---Trudging the Road of Happy Destiny---

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