Thread: Falcon #5 plane

Your best bet is to Bead Blast ( glass beads ) and this will remove the bit of plating that is left, but his does mean that you have to get access to a bead blaster, or maybe some mechanical places may be able to help. I did this recently on a Carter #6 and had it re Nickel plated so it all looked as new.

Geez Mick, I wish I had your focus. I'd love to get all the caps re-plated.

I also have a Pope Falcon #5 plus a Stan Bailey #5.

OP, if youre not too anal, just clean up as well as you can, sand back so the face is smooth, wash off in turps, then very carefully spray with Chrome spray (auto store) around 5 light coats. To get that nickel look you could try the spray 'Hammer Finish' also. Once dry I 'bake' mine carefully with a heat gun to harden up the paint. It's not as good as plating, but with 9 to do, it works for me. It won't look original, but it will look good. I just overspray the logo on the face of the cap, too.

I tried to mask off and repaint the RECORD logo on my #6, quite successfully too. When I put it next to the f#5, I prefer the look of the f#5. So much so that I'm re-doing my whole set of planes this way. I hope that when complete (4 done so far) they will look like a matched set. Early indications are promising. I also have taken the bodies down to the bare cast metal, inc the frogs, but lapped the sides to a mirror sheen. Very minimalistic and military utilitarian apearance. These planes are looking for biffo!

Finally whats wrong with a PF? I've got a #3 and #5. They are both great tools, once tuned, just as good as the Stanleys and Records.

If you're interested, I'll be posting piccies in a few days when the whole set of planes are re 'decorated'

Would like to see the way the nickel / hammertone looks.
I would like this plane to look really schmick but past experience tells me that I will probably not go as far as glass bead blasting off the old nickel plate.

rayc

As an alternative to these two excellent suggestions, you could try using a Dremel (if you have one! If you don't - get one - you'll be glad you did!). I managed to polish the damaged nickel coating on a Stanley #3 lever cap to a fairly even result and then used a metal polishing paste to clean it up. It looks OK.

I'll try to remember to dig it out tomorrow and post a photo for you.

Col

I'm with Driver here. The Dremels (or clones) are really useful when restoring old tools.

Like to see the polished cap, as the chrome spray never gets near a properly plated chrome appearance.

rayc

here's my #3 as promised. I haven't got a 'before' shot so I can't demonstrate for you how much it has been improved by the process. However, the nickel plating on the lever cap was looking rough - with bits missing particularly around the area of the Stanley logo.

I haven't taken it all the way back to bright shiny metal, as you can see. I've just polished it sufficiently to remove the daggy bits and left it with a bit of surface marking. I like it that way. It illustrates that this is an old plane with a bit of history. That's my personal preference.

I've treated the wood on the front knob and handle in a similar way by removing the old varnish and sanding to 400 grit - then applying Danish oil and UBeaut Traditional Wax. Gives the wood a really silky finish without robbing it of its history.

Good luck with your Falcon!

Col

I am a minor fan of the Aussie Pope-falcon planes, currently boxed & awaiting their new shed are #'s 4,5,6,&7 and have tuned a few of them to work well enough on the local harder hardwoods, have removed flaking plating with the wire wheel on the bench grinder..........carefully.
Would also like popes' 4.5 & 5.5 when the time is right

Bruce,
Seeings that you've a few FP's, do you have an opinion on the Carters?

I saw a Carter 4 1/2 the other day, and its a monster piece of metal sole. Seemed pretty rough though.

Hey Clinton, I reckon if the casting is thick & true it can be tuned, I bought an old carter in Glen Innes a few years ago and after quick going over it was a fine user. Minister of war & finances then sold it on ebay when it was realised I had 3 #6's on the plane rack lost out to the sweetheart stanley and a half tuned P/Falcon, so what the hey if a hefty 41/2 was for availiable at the right price I'd nab it, even if just to modify it to an infill "ala Derek" style.

Thanks.
I reckon the casting thickness on the sole was at least 1/4" thick. Definately more than on a Stanley. Very heavy. Pretty rough surface finish though.
I was thinking of it just cause its an Aussie war time one. A bit interesting is all really.

Originally Posted by Driver

rayc
I've treated the wood on the front knob and handle in a similar way by removing the old varnish and sanding to 400 grit - then applying Danish oil and UBeaut Traditional Wax. Gives the wood a really silky finish without robbing it of its history.
Col

I really like the way this plane looks. It hasn't lost its links with it's past. Shows it has had a life yet very schmick in a well worn way. Things like the small chip out of the tote and the marks on the metal give it a real nice vibe.

Originally Posted by old_picker

I really like the way this plane looks. It hasn't lost its links with it's past. Shows it has had a life yet very schmick in a well worn way. Things like the small chip out of the tote and the marks on the metal give it a real nice vibe.

Glad you like it. I've got a small collection of old planes now. I've tried hard to tune and fettle them without losing their old look. It's just a personal thing but I feel that it's important for me to respect the link with the past.

Actually, this little #3 is a beautifully balanced tool and is rapidly becoming one of my favourites. It's a Canadian Stanley, the only one I have from Canada. I haven't yet done a proper type-study exercise but over the weekend I'll have a bit of a look at some of the websites and try to pin it down. I reckon it might be WWII vintage.

Col

Originally Posted by Driver

I haven't yet done a proper type-study exercise but over the weekend I'll have a bit of a look at some of the websites and try to pin it down. I reckon it might be WWII vintage.

Now I'm slightly confused. I had a good look at the Type Study and Time-Line websites here

http://www.hyperkitten.com/tools/sta...flowchart.html

All the indications are that this #3 is a Type 15. However, the lever cap, as you can see from the photo in post #6 above, has a kidney-shaped hole. Type 15s are supposed to have a keyhole-shaped hole.

Can any of our resident experts tell me if its Canadian provenance would make a difference in this respect? Or have I simply got a hybrid - ie, with a non-contemporaneous lever cap?

(I'm not too bothered about the authenticity of the lever cap. This plane is a good little user and I like it - which is all that really matters).

Col