Plane tuning

**ftje** · 23rd October 2007, 01:25 PM

Hi All,

Well I am slowly progressing through to the darkside.. I'm not there yet, but am enjoyng it more and more.

The story so far goes like this. I bought a Stanley bailey #4 from bunnings, lapped it, sharpened it and it worked quite well.. or so I thought. I've posted on the forums about that saga previously. Then my dad came over from perth for the wood show, took one look at the plane and said "the blades in wrong.. its supposed to be bevel down".

So he tweaked it, hand sharpened the micro bevel, handed it back and said" try this"

All I can say is "OH MY GOD"

... it seriously makes a huge difference... I was so surprised that teh little changes can make a huge difference. Just the sound of it now as you push it across the wood is fantastic...

Anyway.. this weekend i made the trip to carbatec to pick up the dust extractor that i bought at the woodshow and decided to go past a 2nd hand tool place on the way home. I picked up a couple of planes and tuned them as best i could over the weekend.

I got a #5 stanley bailey, a stanley spokeshave, a small rebate plane (slightly damaged but useable until i get more experience) and a #6. The #6 is a bit of a mongrel. its a stanley bailey, but the frog has been replaced with a record.. it work.. it was cheap and i' have already got it working pretty well. the only issue is that the sole of the plane is havily pitted.. not so much that i couldnt give it a test run, but enough for me to want to smooth it out properly.

Now, to my question. What is the best way to lap the sole of a heavily pitted plane. I've been using 60 grit sandpaper, but after a short while it seems to be fairly ineffective. I havnet been able to find wet and dry in rolls, nor have i been able to find wide course emery paper in roles. Any ideas on either a supplier of good sandpaper in melbourne or another method of lapping would be helpful. If i can get the emery/sand paper then i can use it for sharpening too

cheers

Joe

**kman-oz** · 23rd October 2007, 01:44 PM

You might consider talking to an engine reconditioner.... what you ask? They often have larger scale belt sanders for flattening heads. If you're luck they may even be able to machine it in the same way you would deck an engine block.

To be on the safe side, I'd be sticking to 60-80 grit Al-Ox paper. I also flattened a Falcon No. 6 which was badly pitted and warped, took quite a few hours all together (I have the triceps to proove it), but this was the only way I was confident getting it right. You just have to keep replacing the paper every 15-20 minutes until it's right.

**ftje** · 23rd October 2007, 02:20 PM

Thanks kman...

Ive been doing it with the 60 grit and then cleaning the paper with an eraser to make it last longer... but it just seems to be going too slowly... I guess its just a matter of hard work.. sigh..

well i know what i'm doing this evening when i get home

Cheers

Joe

**derekcohen** · 23rd October 2007, 08:44 PM

I'd pop it on my beltsander with 60 grit.

Regards from Perth

Derek

**eddie the eagle** · 24th October 2007, 05:32 AM

Joe,

Providing that the plane works, I wouldn't worry about the pitting.

They used to make planes with a corrugated sole.

All that matters is that the metal that's left is level.

Cheers,

eddie

**ftje** · 24th October 2007, 09:19 AM

I had another go at it last night. and it seemed to work pretty well.

Derek i did use the belt sander and that seemed to help though the 60 grit belt i had is a bit knackered so i might get another one. I also got a longer flat piece to lay my strips of sand paper on. I used that for the #4 and #5 plane and they have both come upa real treat. First with the 60, then 80, then 120 then 240. Not quite a mirror finish.. but not too far off.

the #6 is the pitted one and i managed to smooth it off a lot more than it was. Its going to take a lot more work but i think i'll get there soon enough. I reckon i'll have to get some more sand paper though.

Eddie, it seemed to work fine even with the pitting and i know that i dont need to get it perfect.. but there is just something about getting it nice and smooth that appeals to me... what i'll probably end up doing is use it and sand it alternately for a while and i shoudl eventually get it looking good.

To be honest, i'm half tempted to go out and buy a lie nelson or a veritas.. but then i figure its almost a right of pasagte kind of thing. It seems more appropriate that i start with an old clunker, get to know it and how it works, and then when i have mastered that move on to the newer more expensive models.

**kman-oz** · 24th October 2007, 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by ftje

Eddie, it seemed to work fine even with the pitting and i know that i dont need to get it perfect.. but there is just something about getting it nice and smooth that appeals to me...

You'll soon get over that doing by hand

Be careful with the belt sander, unless you have a really big one with a flat area the size of your plade sole you could make the sole *less* flat. The reason I suggested an engine reconditioner is because they have the big belt sanders.

Thread: Plane tuning

Thread Tools

Search Thread

Plane tuning

Similar Threads

The Lee Valley “Little Victor” reproduction Block Plane

What do you use as Winding Sticks?

Tuning a new plane - buyer beware

Tuning an old wooden plane

Lie-Nielsen and the National debt.

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions