Thread: Falcon Pope hand planes - underappreciated?

Will see how I can polish the red handles, they do look good.

Originally Posted by bennylaird

.....Actually had it featured twice in Flying Scale Modeler Magazine..

That is a very carefully-posed shot, benny! You had me fooled for a bit 'til I thought "hang on, there seems to be a lot of space in the cowling; that ain't no radial engine turning that prop!"

Sweet little 504 and yes, definitely woodwork - when's the full-sized replica being made - is that what you need the hand-plane for?
Cheers,....

PS, not a lover of plastic handles meself - they may look cool, but they don't feel too cool in hot sweaty hands when you are doing some serious planing....

Thanks Ian

Previously made a 48 inch powered by a 20 glo engine as well. Now have plans for a 1/4 scale at 9ft powered by a 62cc Zenoah motor......

100_0582 (2).jpg

As I said, that is one sweet little model, & you've managed the details superbly! Been fooling with scale models of planes too, of late, but mine don't fly..... 1-3rd scale.jpg

But let's not get too far off-topic - I'm in the middle of a pretty ambitious project atm (well, ambitious for me) & hopefully, I'll have more to show soon in a separate thread...

Cheers,

I am sure that you will get your Falcons back to their shaving best in due course.
I wrote a little review of a couple of Falcon Pope planes some years ago, that did not include an F5.
It has since been updated to include this model:
The Village Woodworker: Falcon Pope Hand Planes - A Small Review

I was faced with a similar task to you long ago when I was left with only the bed and the frog on my F5.
The bed is excellent - straight, flat and of uniform thickness, and the frog was in good order.
I had to find some donor handles, and I added a Titan HSS blade, a two piece cap iron and an old Stanley key hole lever cap.
It is an excellent user.
Here are some pix
Tom


20211010_093623.jpg20211010_093655.jpg

So where did you steal the "stay-set" cap-iron, Tom?? :U
It looks a bit better made than the one that came with my new Clifton, the removable piece didn't sit straight, and I had to skew the upper part on the blade to get an even gap! IMO, they are one of those inventions that was made to solve a non-existent problem, or at the very least, a problem so minor it doesn't require a solution. I ended up making my own SS (standing for stainless steel, in this case :U ) cap iron and gave the original to someone willing to give it a home. My first attempt wasn't a complete success because I got the adjuster cam slot slightly out of whack & the adjuster thumbwheel had to be wound back way too far to get the blade to engage. We learn as we go!

Where are all those missing lever caps?! The (type 11) 5 1/2 I inherited from my old pot was also minus it's lever cap, the handle/tote was in a very sorry state and the front knob was missing altogether. Replacing the woodwork was no challenge, and I bought a new LC from Stanley (via my friendly neighborhood hardware store; they were still available 25 years ago). The sole was pretty rough, and I only partially flattened it, but it works very well as my everyday jack. I like the lighter casting of the old Stanleys:
Late LC.jpg

But that shiny LC looked so out of place on the old girl! I eventually found a "correct" LC for it (at an eye-watering price), but it looks a whole lot better to my eye now.
Proper LC.jpg

The knob is a slightly exaggerated version of the old "hot air balloon" shape of the pre-1918 models (I like a broad, flat top on the knob), but the tote is a faithful copy of an old Rosewood tote from roughly the right era - in shape, that is, the original Rosewood is no longer legally available so I used she-oak instead. It has the same silky feel as Rosewood when polished up....
:)

Definitely a real looker now for sure - a beautiful result.
As for the two piece cap-iron - I am sure that someone used to sell them as a replacement or an upgrade many years ago, and I bought a couple in different sizes at that time. I'm blowed if I can remember where I sourced them though.
Anyway, they are well made and sit straight.
The slot needs cleaning from time to time so that the keyed front fits properly, otherwise it works well.
Tom

I've had an offer to swap my Turner cap-iron for a Falcon. (not a car!!!!)

Should I do it or retain the Turner as my Dad had it that way?

Thinking I'll go with nostalgia and keep it.

Let the thread-urrection begin!

Some bulk Falcon plane parts on eBay currently (not my auction).
Rough condition mostly but they might be of use to a member completing a Falconstein plane:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/116038804194

V
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