Stanley #62 (low angle jack) renovation (long)

**derekcohen** · 25th July 2004, 10:31 PM

Patrick Leach writes, "This is one of Stanley's better planes they ever decided to manufacture. It is nothing but a jack plane with the block plane mechanisms added to it, instead of the common bench plane mechanisms. It has its cutter seated at 12 degrees, an adjustable mouth, and the depth adjustment knob like that found on the other block planes in this series".

The #62 is the same length and size as the #5. This one likely dates to around 1920-30.

I recently bought this plane on eBay. Hans Brunner was selling it. He is a very reputable local dealer and can be trusted to provide accurate information - all of which made the description of the Stanley #62 sound less than a bargain.

Hans wrote: “Stanley 62 low angle plane – great for parts or show …..This one looks good but has a few problems. Mouth enlarged, both sides cut/angled at the very front and there is some mild pitting on one side. The handle has a hairline crack. On the positive side: Most japanning intact, full SW cutter and very good lever cap. Front knob complete with the bottom plate and the adjuster cam. Not recommended as a user but a rare plane with all those hard to get bits and pieces”.

When I looked at the pictures Hans included I realised that the plane may just be a user after all. The big issue would be if the mouth could be set for a fine cut. From the little I had learned about these planes they have a tendency for the mouths to chip at the rear. I suspected that a previous owner had filed this out (and from the pics had done so quite crudely). I could not see why the front of the mouth would be filed since the mouth is adjustable. Perhaps Hans may actually have got it wrong for once?

All the remaining blemishes could be repaired, with the exception of the filed front. Cracks in handles could be fixed and pitting could be lapped out.

In the end I got the plane for what I believe is a gloatable price - just $90 USD ($128 AUD). This was made possible as there were only two other bidders. The advert obviously scared off everyone, and the auction was limited to Australia. Generally planes in a useable condition run anything between $250 - $500 USD.

Below are some of the original pictures showing the state of the plane (see Pic #1).

Renovating the #62 (part 1)

I cannot call this a restoration since this implies a return to original state, which is impossible here. I just wanted a good user with improved aesthetics.

First of all the mouth was as I suspected – intact at the front and just roughly filed at the rear where it had chipped some time in its past. I filed it straight, then lapped the plane. The sole was mildly pitted on one side of the mouth, not to mention it was cupped along its length (about 1mm at the centre). I began with 80 grit and worked through to 360 grit. For this I have a 1m long piece of 10mm thick glass plate. The extra length of this makes much quicker work when lapping.

Since I also wanted to use the plane on a shooting board, I took care to lap the one side (left face) perfectly square to the sole. This was done on my tablesaw using the fence and an attached subfence (for absolute accuracy). I have attached a picture below of my method here. The other side of the plane, which was very pitted, was lapped to 360 grit as well but without concern for squareness since it would not be used in the same way.

See Pic #2 for example of lapping of the plane side

See Pic #3 for an illustration of the completed lapped sole

Renovating the #62 (part 2)

The rosewood handle had a tight crack that had previously been repaired. It was not quite centered and so was noticeable. However, sanding the handle down, first with 80 grit, ending with 600 grit, removed almost all signs that it was there (you have to look very closely indeed).

The front tote turned out to be cracked underneath (these planes are susceptible to this). I used superglue on this since I wanted an invisible repair, and this did the trick. Again, sanded down to 600 grit.

Both handle and tote were sealed with a single coat of blond shellac and Ubeaut Traditional Wax applied with 0000 steel wool. The result is a natural an incredibly silky feel.

The rest of the plane just needed a wash in soapy water.

See Pic #4 for the final result.

Making some shavings

I thought that the blade was in very good condition. For those unfamiliar with the Stanley #62 blade, it is about 50% thicker than the average Stanley blade. I have a LN blade on order, which is thicker still (at 1/8”). I am sure that this will bring performance improvements ( and it should then be every bit as good as a new LN).

Not that the Stanley blade was a slouch. I sharpened it to 6000 on my waterstones and then honed on Veritas green crayon. Trying the #62 out on the long grain of a piece of pine is no test at all, but this was the first time I had used a low angle jack. I was very impressed with the finish it produced – so smooth that it gleamed as if polished. This was repeated on the long grain of Jarrah. I did a side-by-side with my HNT Gordon (high angle) smoother, and the #62 by far left the better surface. I have not yet compared performances on figured woods.

A better test than long grain is pine and jarrah end grain. On this it effortlessly produced full-length gossamer shavings, surpassing my best low angle block plane, a Stanley #65 knuckle joint with a Hock blade.

See Pic #5 for end grain shavings

All-in-all I am very happy with this purchase. Every now and again one makes a really excellent find. This was one.

Regards from Perth

Derek

**E. maculata** · 25th July 2004, 10:50 PM

Nice job Derek certainly makes my long term semi restored pope look like a half ars3d attempt. I saw that 62 on obay and reckoned it would be out of my reach, and wasn't there another listed not long after?

Bruce C.

**derekcohen** · 25th July 2004, 11:20 PM

Thanks for the kind words Bruce.

Another one on eBay? Not that I know of. They are quite rare planes. I have not before seen one on eBay (Australia). You can find a few on eBay (USA) but they sell for much more than a new LN #62, the modern version (sometimes several times as much).

Regards from Perth

Derek

**Ivan in Oz** · 25th July 2004, 11:30 PM

Originally Posted by derekcohen

< SNIP >
For this I have a 1m long piece of 10mm thick glass plate. The extra length of this makes much quicker work when lapping.

< SNIP >

Regards from Perth

Derek

G'Day Derek,
How/what do you use with the Glass when doing this?
I've used 'Wet and Dry' stuck to Glass with very thin 'Double-sided' tape
BUT, a Metre long :confused: :confused:

The finest I've seen wet and dry in rolls is about 120G. Bit Rough.

Count

**E. maculata** · 25th July 2004, 11:33 PM

Yep your right Derek,
checked my obay watch list it was a #65 that came up afterwards, are there any other low angle planes (makes etc) of reasonable price you could recommend for a plonker such as myself? as I do a bit of work with fiddleback box, spotty, ironbark amongst others.

Thanks in advance,
Bruce C.

**derekcohen** · 25th July 2004, 11:50 PM

are there any other low angle planes (makes etc) of reasonable price you could recommend

Bruce

The cheapest low angle plane would be a recent-ish Stanley 60 1/2 block plane. Spend the time tuning it and it will perform well on end grain. I think that I would stick to a high angle plane for long grain planing on the timbers you mention.

Regards from Perth

Derek

**derekcohen** · 26th July 2004, 12:02 AM

what do you use with the Glass when doing this?

Count

I don't use wet-and-dry for the coarser grits, just ordinary Nortons Aluminum Oxide sandpaper (the white not the yellow, which tends to curl at the edges). 80 - 180 grit. Then wet-and-dry 240 - 360 (and sometimes 600).

I am preparing an article on this at present so don't want to spill the beans just yet. Basically it is a method for holding down paper without glue or water.

There is a picture of the glass plate in a recent post. I can't recall which one.

Regards from Perth

Derek

**E. maculata** · 26th July 2004, 12:08 AM

Thanks Derek,
always amazes me that so many everyday people with invaluable skills are willing to dispense good advice to each other....no strings, some public figures should be so giving.
Anyway back to subject on hand, by high angle do you mean 50+ degrees or standard 45 degree type? and if as I suspect you do mean 50+ is there any conversion tricks or inserts to modify a standard 45?

Bruce C.

**derekcohen** · 26th July 2004, 02:56 AM

Bruce

"High angle" begins at 50 degrees. The HNT Gordon range of planes, developed with our difficult Aussie hardwoods in mind, use a cutting angle of 60 degrees. I have a few of these and they are often the only way to go on tricky grain. My best plane in this regard, however, is a home built infill with a blade at 55 degrees. This has a very (very!) small mouth, and it is the combination of small mouth, high angle blade (and often thick, rigid blade) that is the best recipe for avoiding tearout on difficult grain.

Today, as I was building a pine chest of drawers for my son, I noticed that I was getting occasional tearout. Pine can be tricky to plane as it is deceptive. Being soft it planes very easily. But it will change grain direction and then it offers little resistence to tearout. I had no joy fixing this with the #62 and it only disappeared with my high angle infill (which I could plane against the grain and still not get tearout!).

A quick and cheap fix for the standard Stanley plane, which has a cutting angle of 45 degrees (fine for softwood or long grain only), is to add a back bevel, usually 5 or 10 degrees. This will effectively mimic a high angle setup.

Regards from Perth

Derek

**LineLefty** · 26th July 2004, 12:27 PM

Derek,

Thanks for the article, it made for interesting reading. I'll keep an eye out for a #62 going cheap at the local markets.

You mentioned that the mouth had been filed. You've straightened and smoothed this out but obviously it is still wider than it's supposed to be. How have you overcome this?

**outback** · 26th July 2004, 01:44 PM

Congratulations Derek on a fine job.
I may have been like others, unsure of the 62, and the description certainly scared any intentions I may have had.

Sounds like you have a terrific worker at a great price. Thanks for the update, I had been wondering about the progress since your purchase.

**derekcohen** · 26th July 2004, 02:44 PM

Thanks Outback. I had our last conversation in mind when I wrote this.

Adam, the mouth was filed at the rear only. This has no impact on the way the plane works. Problems only arise when the front of the mouth is filed away. These low angle planes would be unusable on difficult grain if the mouth was wide. They depend for control (of the natural tendency to slice rather than scrape) on the shaving being kept as small as possible. All I did was to straighten the rough filing at the rear of the mouth. I did tune the front of the mouth, that is, made sure it was 90 degrees to the sides, and perfectly straight. Careful use of a file here. Make sure that the edges of the mouth opening are square.

Regards from Perth

Derek

**Ben from Vic.** · 23rd August 2004, 12:53 PM

Derek.

Could you tell me what you call a fine mouth in mm.?

When I go much smaller than 1mm the mouth clogs and jams.

Ta.

Ben.

**Dan** · 23rd August 2004, 01:25 PM

Derek,

Any chance of a photo showing the plane disassembled? I'm interrested to see the area under the blade.

Good post

**derekcohen** · 23rd August 2004, 11:14 PM

Could you tell me what you call a fine mouth in mm.?

Ben

1mm seems awfully large for the mouth to clog. I took a few pics (below) of the mouth of my #62 set at 0.05mm and the full shavings I obtained in both pine and jarrah. I might have been able to do better than this but I thought that it would be enough for a demo.

I might add that my 55 degree infill plane has a mouth set at 0.02mm, and this does not clog either.

I suspect that your chipbreaker may be too close to the edge of the bkade. It should be about 1-2 mm back. Or your chipbreaker does not sit flush with the blade, thus permitting shavings to get stuck underneath, which starts the blockage. If this is the case then you need to smooth it off in the same way that you sharpening the blade.

Regards from Perth

Derek

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