Thread: Ruined a good plane

Proberly that same kid (now adult) who welded the teachers steel rule to the welding bench 30 years ago.


ps His still wanted


Max Ripper Its my shed full of tools enter at your own risk

Originally Posted by Clinton1

Some people annoy me.
This is a favourite maker and style of mine. Sargent Auto-set 7## series of planes.
Look what some fool did to the mouth. :mad:

Can't make out what's happening. Has it been widened out to the sides?:confused: If so, what a twat.

The mouth has been filed so that it is longer, looks like no matter how far forward the frog is adjusted, it'll never be able to be set fine. The sides just look that way with a reflection shining on it.

Originally Posted by Clinton1

The mouth has been filed so that it is longer, looks like no matter how far forward the frog is adjusted, it'll never be able to be set fine. The sides just look that way with a reflection shining on it.

I wonder why they did that. Thicker blade maybe?:confused:

stupid is as stupid does.

Shedhand has a point there. If you fit a thicker blade will it overcome the problem.
It could be why it was widened in the first place and the person then sold it with the original blade.

By moving the blade too far forward the cap can't sit flat against the blade, making it not clamp properly. Is a 'different' design for the cap.
Must admit to pulling a thicker blade out last night and seeing if I could somehow work around it..... still no easy fix I'm afraid.

Its a rare design, and this company had the original patent for that setup.... which later went on the Stanley Gage's... ruined something that with a bit of care would have been able to be used for another 100 years, and still been in good knick.

Ruuned I tells ya.

G,day Clinton,
In regards to the mouth of your plane being filed away I think that you could build the edge up by using Nickel Bronze brazing rods & an oxy - acetyline welder setup. CIG ( BOC ) Comcoat N rods are the go. They are a low temperature rod & flow very easily without having to apply extreme amounts of heat. You should be able to control distortion very well & keep it to a minimum. You should be able to control the flow / deposition of the filler metal quite well. Use a # 10 tip, heat the metal to a dull red & then feed the rod onto the surface, moving along the face. If the parent metal starts to get too hot, just remove the heat & rod & let it cool down to a dark red & go again.
Let the plane body cool slowly & then file the weldment back to the correct size & shape as required.
I've personally done this type of repair / reclaimation in the past & it has worked very well. ( Not on wood planes though. )
Sorry that this reply is so long winded, but it is easier to do than actually try to explain. You may like to give it a go as you've got nothing to lose & everything to gain. ( A Sargent Autoset # 7 Plane for starters. )
Regards,
Barry.

Barry, your a bit of a champ mate. Are there any dramas doing this on cast iron? What colour is the repair?
And please carry on beig long winded - puts me in good company!

Clinton

In addition to Barry's suggestion (where the main concern is heat warping the cast iron), I wonder if it is possible (not knowing the frog set up with the Gage-type planes) to fit a blade from an old woodie. These blades are tapered, with the business end sometimes as much as 1/4" thick, but the rear end may be quite thin. Another idea is to braze a thick bevel end to a thin blade, although I fear that this may have a problem with flex.

Otherwise you have a very long scrub plane on your hands. Bummer!

Regards from Perth

Derek

G'day Clinton,
Sorry that I've not been able to reply to your queries sooner, but my computer turned turtle on Sunday arvo after ( yet ) another power failure here in Gawler!:mad: The power pack gave up the ghost & I had to have a new one fitted, which created a couple of other dramas - not major, but just enough to keep me from getting the 'puter on line till this evening.
Anyroads, to your queries. You can definitely weld ( braze ) cast iron with these rods - I've done it myself on numerous occasions.
Nickel bronze is a light silver / gold colour. It tends to blend in reasonably well with cast iron & steel, although it is still noticeable. It is tougher than ordinary bronze ( Tobin Bronze ) which is very yellow in colour. I'll take a couple of piccies of a couple of tools that I've made using Comcoat N to braze them & post later this evening so that you may be able to get some idea of the colour.
As for distortion, you could clamp some flat steel to the plane foot & sides , leaving a gap around the area that you want to build up so that you can apply the heat & filler rod. Once you've completed the weld ( ? ) allow the plane body to cool very slowly before removing the backing plates. As well as helping to control distortion, they also act as heat sinks & draw away some of the heat.
Nickel bronze tends to be a low temperature rod & flows very well without excess heat - a dull red usually does the job.
Hope that this is of some help to you Clinton. Let me know if you need some more info & I'll try to oblige.
Regards,
Barry.

Thanks Barry.
Think I'll have to have a play around and see how it scrubs up.

G'day Clinton,
As promised t' other night, Here's a couple of pictures of a two special box spanners that I fabricated for adjusting the bridges on Cummins & Caterpillar engines several years ago. They have been used constantly - on a daily basis until about 1 1/2 years ago. I sort of retired as a diesel mechanic then, but I still dabble. They have copped a bit of a hiding over the years but have never failed.
The first piccy is of the Cat. bridge adjusting tool. The handle ( Cummins V903 valve pushrod ) is brazed onto the tube extension with Comcoat N. The socket is silver soldered onto the tube using CIG SBA 245 silver brazing solder.
The other two shots show the Cummins bridge adjusting tool with the Cat tool. The socket is brazed onto the tube ( Cummins 855 c.i.d Big Cam II injector pushtube ) with Comcoat N. The tube is brazed into the El Cheapo ratchet head with Tobin Bronze brazing rod . The colour difference is very easily seen.
I'd recommend that you practise on some scrap cast iron first to get the feel of the brazing technique / heat application & material deposition rate etc..
Good luck Clinton, stay in touch & let us know how you go.
Regards,
Barry.

P.S. the tools are resting on pen blanks for Ians pens.






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