Thread: Restoring an old Auburn 06 handplane

Welcome Dave.
It could be several things that are causing you grief. Hard to say without seeing a picture of the plane.
Do you think you could take a few pix and post them here. That will give us a better idea.
Cheers
SG

The plane is currently disassembled. I'm in the process of trying to clean up all the mating surfaces. When I tried to lap the frog, I found it to be needing some work on the bottom, where it meets the body. I'll have to wait until I can whip it into shape, hopefully this weekend.

Work-in-progress and disassembled shots are acceptable

Cheers, Vann.

ps I've never heard of an Auburn plane before. Where's it made?

Dave -
It could be a number of things, and the first one that springs to my mind would be to check the cap-iron to see if it's an original. While any old cap-iron of the right width may seem to fit, the distance from adjustor slot to mating tip of the cap-iron is critical, & varies a bit between clones (& on some of the long-running Stanley models). If that distance is a few mm short, it will not allow full extension of the blade. It's quite possible someone has slipped in a thicker blade/cap-iron combo, somewhere along the track. If that isn't the problem, then you may have to consider opening the mouth a bit, which I see no harm in doing on a 'user'. If your original blade isn't much chop, you may want to switch to one of the after-market blades, which are all thicker than the oldies, so it is something you will need to consider.

A less-common problem is the tip of the adjustor yoke. The spigot that engages the slot in the cap iron can become badly worn or broken off, reducing the amount of blade travel it can apply. New yokes can be obtained relatively easily, or the tip built up by brazing on a blob & filing to shape.

Cheers,

The Auburn plane co was out of Auburn, NY. I also have a wooden plow plane from them. It's also on the list of "to be restored".

The chip breaker has the original logo on it. That's how I was able to identify the maker. Other than that, there's just the "06" in front of the knob.
The cap has no markings on it. It appears to be the correct cap. It does fit tight. I have actually had to loosen the screw, so I could turn the adjuster at all. I dont know if its an adjuster that is too short, or what. All I know is, to get the blade down far enough, I run out of adjuster screw. The blade and chip breaker are very hefty. Unlike some of the Stanleys, which seem to always have blades that are too thin. I have 2 Stanley #4's. An old Bailey and a Sweetheart. Both of the original blades were broken at the same spot, because they were too thin.

Originally Posted by Recruiter

The Auburn plane co was out of Auburn, NY. I also have a wooden plow plane from them. It's also on the list of "to be restored".

The chip breaker has the original logo on it. That's how I was able to identify the maker. Other than that, there's just the "06" in front of the knob.
The cap has no markings on it. It appears to be the correct cap. It does fit tight. I have actually had to loosen the screw, so I could turn the adjuster at all. I dont know if its an adjuster that is too short, or what. All I know is, to get the blade down far enough, I run out of adjuster screw. The blade and chip breaker are very hefty. Unlike some of the Stanleys, which seem to always have blades that are too thin. I have 2 Stanley #4's. An old Bailey and a Sweetheart. Both of the original blades were broken at the same spot, because they were too thin.

Recruiter,
I think you have an Ohio made plane.
Their numbering system is as you say your plane is marked.
They used a thick tapered iron.
And I would be pretty confidant your adjuster is fine, and the back iron ( what you are calling a chip breaker) is the problem. It is a replacement, and that is the piece marked Auburn which is not correct for that plane. If it is not the correct distance between the slot that engages with the adjuster lug, and the the bottom of the iron, you get exactly the problem you are describing.
Regards,
Peter

I had to go to the basement, so I made a slight detour.

The logo is actually on the blade, not the chip breaker, as I originally thought. (That's what happens as you get older). There's a lot of crud that needs to be removed, including at the logo, so I can see what it really says. There also seems to be a globe, around which the wording is stamped.
Any idaes, how I could best clean up the front? I don't want to lap it, it would take out the logo, and I'll never know who made it.

Originally Posted by Recruiter

I had to go to the basement, so I made a slight detour.

The logo is actually on the blade, not the chip breaker, as I originally thought. (That's what happens as you get older). There's a lot of crud that needs to be removed, including at the logo, so I can see what it really says. There also seems to be a globe, around which the wording is stamped.
Any idaes, how I could best clean up the front? I don't want to lap it, it would take out the logo, and I'll never know who made it.

Recruiter,
that explains the 'Auburn, NY"
The globe is the Ohio logo, and on my Ohio planes it is surrounded by
Above
"Ohio Tool Company"
And on the left
"Columbus, Ohio."
On the right
"Auburn N.Y."
and at the bottom.
"USA"
I use a sharp razor blade at a low angle to remove the rust, then a light oil and scotch bright to gently remove the rest.
When I get my computer recognize my camera again I will post a picture of the logo. (edit...done & done)
Here is a picture of the 02 Ohio ( far right) with a couple other #2 planes, and the blade.
Attachment 185151Attachment 185152

Regards,
Peter

You are correct
Under all that gunk, I can make out some of that logo.
I'll try to work on the plane over the weekend, to see what other surprises I find.
When you posted the logo, I had to check my plow plane, to make sure it was, what I thought it was. Its a wooden #100 plow by Auburn Toolworks. At least I'm not going totally mad.

Over the weekend, I spent about 6 hours lapping the plane. I lapped the top of the frog, where the blade sits. The bottom of the frog, where it screws to the plane body. Even the bevel to the mouth. Then I cleaned up the 2 surfaces, where the frog screws down to. That was the easy part.
I then spent about 4 hrs. lapping the body. I have the sides about 80% lapped, each side. The sole is flat, except for a triangle behind the mouth, about 3 inches long. I'm still working on it.

Over the weekend, on PBS, I watched "The Woodwright's Shop", and Chris Schwartz was on. They were discussing the Jack plane, primarily. Chris would occassionally also group the fore plane in the discussion. The #6 is a Fore Plane. They discussed that the blade should be sharpened with a camber on the jack plane, with a large mouth opening. Should I also be sharpening with a camber and large mouth opening on the #6?

BTW: I thought this could be interesting. On my plane, its obvious my grandfather also had difficulties with the depth adjuster. Instead of being round, it had been flattened a bit square, most likely by a pair of pliers, to turn the knob.
Thanks
Dave