Thread: Fixing up an old Mathieson Plane

Without pictures it's very hard to advise. All I can say for now is that Matheson tools were very good and if its not too far gone should be a good user.
Regards
John

I mix up equal parts Linseed oil and turps and throw the old wood planes in and let them soak it up.... at least the checks won’t go any further...I read somewhere that back in the day that was one of the apprentice jobs was to soak the planes at the end of each week. I wouldn’t worry too much about the checks unless they cause the plane to under perform.. if it does the job it’s ok.
Gaza

A few photos from the sale listing. I'll try to take a closer-up photo of some of the checks which are causing me concern. I used it as-is to chamfer the edges of the legs of my bench-vice and it worked nicely. It appears to have the original plane iron and chip-breaker. It is about 17" long, so I'm guessing a longish jack/shortish jointer? I'm surprised at the lack of a striking button. Should I add one or just leave as-is and just use a soft-faced hammer or rubber mallet?

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As far as those old woodies go thats in reasonable condition. As to a strike button its your choice but its been around a long time without one. I think strike buttons just encourage people to use steel hammers on them. Soft faced hammers /mallets are the go. If you really start liking old wood planes then a plane setting hammer may be a future project for you.
Regards
John

Enjoy the journey HM. It's only just beginning. Orraloon I love the mallet. Where did you get the brass from?

Was an old brass bolt. Came out of a skip if I remember right. Epoxy into hole in wood and turn down the head.
Regards
John

A few photos of the cracks along the front. I want to know if these are potentially fatal for the plane - I may look at injecting some thinned epoxy resin, CA glue or even putting a brass bolt through the toe end of the plane to hold it together.

The crack is not yet a full-blown split, but I'd like to do whatever I can to prevent it from getting worse. I gave it a good overall rub-down with stainless-Steel-O and methylated spirit to remove much of the somewhat grubby finish - I presume it was some form of shellac and/or linseed oil finish.

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I don't want to over-restore the plane. I won't be taking a belt sander to it or putting it through a table-saw. I want to rub it down enough to clean it, put some BLO or Tung Oil onto it and rub Paste Wax/Beeswax polish onto it. I want a useful plane for the workshop - I've never had a jack plane/fore plane at home - I've always done everything with a no-name No.4 smoothing plane - copy of a Stanley No.4 right down to the kidney-bean cap and everything. That No.4 just needs a good clean and a new chip-breaker. I dropped it on the concrete floor and now I get jamming on one side because it no longer makes good contact with the iron.

There is a wear pattern on the sole which tells me that this particular plane got a lot of use at an angle - about 30 degrees and the wedge completely covers the iron. It seems that this particular blade has worn down from being re-sharpened, so the plane got a lot of use in its working life.

I won't go nuts flattening the sole, but I think I will give it a go on a piece of melamine shelf with some 120 grit sandpaper just so I can see exactly the condition of the sole. All the corners have been dinged/rounded over. This was a well-used tool.

I am also given to understand that Mathieson stopped making planes in Scotland around 1924. Can anyone confirm this for me? I have a British-made Cornet made in 1923 (just a beginner in brass) but I seem to get along with old-fashioned tools and musical instruments (the pipe organ I played in college was made in 1875!)

I hope it can be made into a usable plane for a hobby woodworker. The timber appears borer-free. I will be mostly working in fairly soft timbers which shouldn't tax it much.

I was wondering whether a small double-faced hammer with a rubber chair roof over one side would work as a plane-setting hammer until I get around to making a proper one.

Those cracks are a worry and were not so visible in the sale photos. CA clue wicks into cracks but the gunk in there is the problem. Acetone may clear some of it but there is no guarantee. Brass bolts or screws are a working option. If it were mine I would put a few dowels all the way through and use epoxy glue on them. Bunnies has long dowel in many sizes. There are no invisible options so whatever you like the look of. Your hammer idea is fine.
Regards
John

PS The wedge may have had a part in causing the crack as the wood shrank the wedge pushes on the sides so take a light skim off both edges of the wedge. You often see old planes with the side bust open from banging in a too tight wedge.

Thanks for the suggestions.

The crack is too fine to run some glue into it unless I can come across some super-runny epoxy mixture. The wedge is a very tight fit side-to-side, so I think narrowing it slightly with some sanding or perhaps a couple of passes with my smoothing plane is in order.

I like the dowel idea. I wonder if I can get beech dowel. I have Tassie Oak dowel in a few sizes. I have quite a bit of 22mm dowel left over from making a wood handle for my new front vice.

Perhaps a 12mm dowel about 25mm up from the sole and another again about 25mm down from the top of the plane, both about 25mm ahead of the escapement? At this stage, I think all I can do is hope to stop further cracking.

You would have to make the beech dowel yourself I think. You will only see the end grain anyhow so Tassie Oak should look close enough. The dowel position sounds right but being the kind of person that likes security I would put another two near the front as well. The crack has not gone that far but best keep it that way. The huge humidity changes are hard on wood tools. I have noticed the old wood planes offered up for sale from the UK seldom are as cracked as they are here. They get a lot of woodworm however or simply rot. Anyhow If a 100 year old tool is still working a few scars are to be expected.
Regards
John

Well, I'm official down the rabbit-hole. I acquired a Mathieson "Coffin" smoother plate with a 2" blade. Great condition except for signs of a few borers having previously been in the wedge. I'm told that either heating it to 60 degrees or below freezing for a few hours is a good way to ensure that any borers are dead. I'm not game enough to try the microwave method though! I advanced the blade to see what clearances were like, and it is pretty clear to me that this plane hasn't seen much use since there is no wear on the sole and the mouth has only enough room for a shaving to go through.

I was also given a "TIGRE" brand plane made in Czechoslovakia. Plane irons need a sharpen and polish, otherwise in practically new condition. Though this is only slightly bigger than the "Coffin smoother" I am given to understand that this the continental equivalent to a Jack Plane. I rather like the funny horn grip on the front and how you use both hands on it. Another virtually identical plane, but in worn condition is also being sent to me. My thoughts are to set up the rough one as a Scrub-plane, and use the better one more like a smoother/jack.

Oh, and I put bits on another 17" Mathieson Jack plane and a 22" Jointer. Just need a block plane (possibly a DIY project) and to restore my no-name Stanley No.4 copy - probably to set up as a shooting plane.

My new Mathieson smoother and Tigre Planes. Both need a bit of a clean and irons sharpened, but otherwise they're both in pretty great condition for their age. I will still be fixing up the Mathieson Jack Plane. Just need to work up the courage to put drills through it to take dowels. I'm also considering the possibility of wedging the dowels, but I need to find some suitable wedge materials.

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As chance would have it I have both of those planes. The Tigre came as as part of a job lot and apart from sharpening it up and taking a few shavings have not used it a lot. I already have a scrub plane and a jack so its on the reserve bench for now. The Matheson smoother however is my go to smoother as it just feels so right for the job. All I have done to it was a gentle clean and sharpen. I have a Matheson infill smoother also and while it works very well the woodie just feels better to use. Life is strange. Paid $5.00 for the woodie and about $300.00 for the infill.
There were some worm holes on that Marples jack (pictured with the hammer) when I got it. Gave it a week in the freezer to be sure.
Wedged dowels would look nice and show some care was taken to a fine old tool. Line the wedges at 90* to the grain of the plane body so as not to cause a crack.
Welcome to the slippery slope
John