Recondition wooden plane

Bought a couple of wooden planes at an auction of "antique tools" recently. Jointer and a coffin smoother.

Wasn't looking as a collector, but wanting users. Am about to start reconditioning them.

There is the usual rust etc on irons and caps, which I am fine dealing with, and will flatten sole, etc as a matter of course. Not worried about sides/square, as will never be used on a shooting board. Coffin mouth a bit loose, will either fit brass insert, or thicker blade and remouth, not decided yet.

One bit of advice sought:

Jointer shows quite a bit of end checking on toe, and some longitudinal cracks in front of sole. Should I stabilise these by wicking in CA, before I true the sole, or leave them be?

I await the wisdom of the forum.

regards

I think advice might be a little scewed until the extent of the damage is more obvious. A picture paints a thousand words.... that said, checking or cracking in a solid body plane is evidence of one of a couple of possibilities; a) the plane has been mistreated in it's life, or b) it was manufactured from a sub-standard blank in the first place.

Personally, neither of these circumstances would stop me truing it up and using it. But either of these could have a longer-term impact on it's useability. Was it expensive enough to bother spending a lot of time on it?

If you decide to address the cracking it may be worth jointing the sole and applying a new hardwood sole with CA to help seal it.

Hello,

A pic or two would clarify the situation :).

I have found out that there can be quite bad looking plane toe splittings (for example halfway through all open) and still get good results when planing. If the sole is trued, mouth is tight enough and/or you can adjust the chipbreaker with sharp blade, things should go well. The plane body rigidity and strength is seldom the main problem, as far it is enough in one piece.

*************'

I have usually picked up oldies to make them users as well. It's about three planes I have actually restored as antique items, all others have been bought to gain irons or for serious rebuilding and tweaking.

Sometimes I have bought old woodies to gain aged and stabilized timber to use in rebuildling other woodies, or to make a new plane. A long one meter behemoth jointer wreck gives timber for one to three new smoothers or for a new plougher and so on. Most of the planes do not have much historical value or personal value, but if they can teach you something serious in toolmaking (or at least something in respecting better tools), it is worth it. I do not regret doing like this, nor I feel not respecting old tool, on the contrary.

Just imagine visiting some wood store to ask for smaller pieces of 100 years old hardwood timber. It is kinda strange how a flea market can be sometimes actually a better place to buy quality wood than some high profile timber market.

It is not a long time ago my pal bought about 80 years old ruined dresser wreck. Under all that stain and paint it was entirely made of Dahlbergia nigra. He stripped it down in pieces and gained about 4/5 of the wood in top condition. So far he has made two wall mounted glass windowed showcases, a nightstand with a cabinet, various turnings and a smoother plane. I heard there is still about 1/3 of salvaged wood left.

kippis,

sumu

Hi Sumu
I have a whole sea chest of my great great grandfathers 170 year old planes that I still use. Most of them are in great condition but I have bought a few at the markets as users too. If they are cracked I usually just give them a big drink of linseed oil to fill and firm them up again.

Hello Claw,

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Claw Hama

Hi Sumu
I have a whole sea chest of my great great grandfathers 170 year old planes that I still use. Most of them are in great condition but I have bought a few at the markets as users too. If they are cracked I usually just give them a big drink of linseed oil to fill and firm them up again.

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You would make a favour to toolin' mankind if pics of those planes ended up here someday :2tsup:.

Generous oil spill would be a pretty good choice, just let the linseed oil cure well before cleaning up and truing the sole, otherwise it may smear a bit the planed wood.

********'

Spilts and cracks in old planes are usually difficult and hard to close with glues and clamps. There is usually all kind of splinters, crap and defomation on the crack surfaces, preventing them to close clean anymore. Glue seam remains quite visible, too.

Because someone out there is considering this:

Old woodies made of halves can be usually taken apart by heating the hide glue soft again. But before that, there is serious need to secure the positioning of halves so that they really get back together as they were. Usually and without a designated rigid jig, it is pretty bad task.

I have tried this with one plane. There was a big crack along the mid axis, and I thought that I could repair it by splitting the plane, smoothing the division surfaces so that the crack vanishes and then I could compensate the removed missing wood with a couple slices of veneer. It was about the silliest plane repairing attempt I have ever done :p.

It is so that plane halves should stick together, no matter what. Or then something else is done with the timber :).

kippis,

sumu

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sumu

You would make a favour to toolin' mankind if pics of those planes ended up here someday :2tsup:.

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Agreed! Pics please!

I'll stick up some pics over the w/e.

Not expensive, $35 the 2, and most said above probably true. Not too much evidence of abuse, looks more like checking from wood movement, and largely confined to the area in front of mouth.

My concern re "resoling", is that I have a homemade, with NZ Beech body, laminated to an Oak sole, and with the swings in humidity in Sydney this year, have had quite a bit of movement. Can't tell if due to movement in the Beech, or differential between body and sole. (sounds like a line from a song!!!)

Anyway, felt that wicking in thick CA, before truing up the sole would be the most effective way of stabilising the timber.

regards

Hello,

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Alastair

My concern re "resoling", is that I have a homemade, with NZ Beech body, laminated to an Oak sole, and with the swings in humidity in Sydney this year, have had quite a bit of movement. Can't tell if due to movement in the Beech, or differential between body and sole. (sounds like a line from a song!!!)

Anyway, felt that wicking in thick CA, before truing up the sole would be the most effective way of stabilising the timber.

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True, and does not even need to be so much changes in RH or temp either, to make a bit too lively plane made of different species of wood. I have had the same problem hereabouts, too.

For planes, there is not that many wood species matching naturally together so well that there is no significant changes in geometry. Symmetrical sides can be made of different woods as is, also wear plates. But if there is a way to stabilize the wood, there will be also much more species possible to choose from to use together in planes and other tools.

As Claw Hama hinted, oil dip is one of the practical things to do, for much more stable construction. See Steve Knight's way to stabilize planes having different wood for sole: http://showcase.netins.net/web/iabon...building1.html

The general idea anyway is to tame down moisture travel rate in and out of the wood, a bit like cutting off the min and max peaks, to tame down swellings and shrinkages.

Kippis,

sumu