39-Restoring Plane-1Cjoe.Indd
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Hand Plane Rehab A plain and simple prescripti on plan for old and new planes By Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk t’s common knowledge that anI old hand plane usually needs Pick a plane, any plane (almost) some TLC to get it into top To fi gure out how planes work, it’s best to start with one that's been working form. But you may not around the block a few ti mes. In additi on to Stanley Baileys and realize the same is true for most Bedrocks, you may fi nd decent planes bearing names including Sergeant, new planes. Regardless of a tool’s Miller’s Fall, Victor, or Winchester. (Consult woodworking hand tool age, the trick to tuning it up is forums online for informati on and opinions on plane pedigrees.) determining whether it needs If you’re lucky, you can snag a respectable tool for under $20. a bit of preening or a complete However, because bargain planes oft en suff er from missing parts overhaul. Tearing a plane apart or defects, consider investi ng a few more bucks. When you come across an att racti vely-priced candidate, remember to factor in the the tool is a basket case, a full cost of a replacement blade. For example, a $60 No. 3 might sound renovationisn’t terribly is dif�icult, the woodworking but unless like a steal, but if the plane needs a new $40-100 blade, it’s not such equivalent of performing a heart a great deal compared to a brand new WoodRiver No. 3 at $120. transplant to treat a hangnail. A soup-to-nuts treatment can be society, I’ve combined techniques newer ones that aren’t living up expensive and time consuming. gleaned from other stories, to their full potential. With the There’s also a risk that overwork conversations with tool collectors, following instructions and a little might diminish a tool’s value or and my own experience to develop practice, you’ll be able to quickly even damage it. Why take the a three-level tuning strategy. The diagnose and treat those tools chance if you don’t need to? advantage to my approach is that As a card-carrying member of it can be used not only to revive or decide whether or not a plane warrantsthat require heroic only measures. a little �irst-aid, the26 “Ifwoodcraftmagazine.com it ain’t broke, don’t �ix Feb/Marit” 2011old planes, but also to �ine-tune Start with a Figure 1: The Parts of a Plane careful cleaning As shown in Figure 1, Blade there aren’t many parts to a (iron) bench plane, but for smooth Lateral Chip- Lever adjustment breaker cap adjustments and clean lever cuts, everything should be in good working order. Apply oil to Start by cleaning the tool. This screws and bearing points. will give you an opportunity to Polish top to help clear Depth shavings. adjustment suchlearn as how cracked the parts castings �it together, or knob and to look for any fatal �laws Polish back face Dress missing parts, before you invest Frog of blade and edge to fi t too much time or money. hone level. breaker. Before knocking off any rust, remove the knob and tote. Light Dress edge to rust can usually be erased with mate with blade. Sand frog spirits and steel wool. For Tote face fl at to Sand frog contact Plane Tuning Key heavySand�lex rust, blocks, I’ll use or amineral chemical seat blade. points to fi t body. Level 1 - Check this fi rst. Repairs almost remover like Top Coat, or place Frog adjusti ng always needed. the parts in a plastic tray and screw Level 2 - Check this next. treat them using a process Repairs may be needed. Body Level 3 - Check this last. Repairs may prevent rust from blooming the Mouth Knob not be needed. (throat) instantknown asyou “electrolysis.” put the tool on To the Flatt en sole. shelf, apply a light coat of oil File mouth to remove burrs Lightly chamfer or wax to all metal surfaces. and/or fi t thicker blade. edges. Initi al diagnosis Date to Remember After cleaning a plane, it’s wise Like many old-tool users, I’ve found that pre-war planes (1941 or to establish a performance earlier) require less work than post-war planes. The Web is crawling baseline before doing further with plane-dati ng fl ow charts, but to quickly ballpark a plane’s age, work. To do an initial test, check the frog and tote. Most pre-war planes, like this No. 3, sharpen the blade (See have fl at-faced frogs and varnished totes; post-war versions, 1 like this No. 4 ⁄2, have raised-faced frogs and painted totes. page 31), and check or 1 replace“Sharpening the chipbreaker. made simple,” Now Stanley No. 3, Stanley No. 4 ⁄2, make a few test shavings. type 12 (1919-24) type 19 (1948-61) There’s a slim chance that the plane was well cared for. If it produces silky shavings of consistent thickness, you can consider yourself lucky that your job is done. In most cases, the repair work is just beginning. As shown at right above, rehab work falls into three levels. The to put it to work. For example, level tune-up. Smoothing planes approach you choose depends not jack, fore, and jointers—planes deserve more attention in order just on the cost and condition of used primarily for rough work— to produce the wispy shavings the tool, but also on how you plan rarely require more than a mid- Photos: Jim Osborn; Illustrati on: Christopher Mills Feb/Marnecessary 2011 woodcraftmagazine.com for re�ined work. 27 your plane. Most secondhand Level 1 planes suffer from this ailment. Check the chipbreaker To close the gap, hone the 1 Positioned about 16" behind underside of the leading edge the cutting edge of⁄ the blade, the chipbreaker forces the approaching shaving backwards, aon consistent �ine-grit sandpaper angle, move until the it’s chipbreakerstraight and as�lat. shown To establish in tearing away from the surface. Photo A, keeping the screw It“breaking also helps it directup” before shavings it can start hole aligned with the edge through the plane’s throat. To of your honing platform. work like it should, the edge of While you’re at it, polish A the breaker must contact the the top of the chipbreaker Dress the edge to close up a blade/ blade perfectly, or else shavings to minimize friction against breaker gap. Site on the screw can jam in the gap and choke the approaching shavings. hole to set the grinding angle. Flatt en the sole Because cast iron is slightly For a plane to work properly, minor hollows aren’t likely to and lap the body under normal compromisedead �lat. Realistically, accuracy in a fewuse. working�lexible, youtension. want Install to inspect the the sole must be �lat and blade, chip breaker and lever Smoothnesssmooth. Its �latness contributes ensures to cap, but retract the blade into (Compare the “Before” and anthat easy it will gliding create operation �lat surfaces. and the body. Next, use a permanent primarily“After,” below). on the It’s toe suf�icient and heel to prevents any deep scratches marker to draw reference lines areas�latten and most the of section the sole, in focusingfront from marring a workpiece. across the sole. Rub the plane back and forth across a strip but it’s typically the most time- Grit Guidance consumingFlattening step a sole in the isn’t plane- dif�icult, then check your progress. If a sole doesn’t yield to 220 tuning process. You’ll need a few Thisof 220-grit is your paper starting a few point. times grit aft er some concerted packs of sandpaper in successively Put on your favorite CD, and work, downshift to coarser paper. When the sole exhibits sanding consistent, I prefer a consistent scratch patt ern, reference�iner grits surface ranging on from which 80 to runningstart �lattening. the plane To over keep the the move up to the next fi nest 3 work.400. You’ll Here, also I used need a piece a dead-�lat of 4"- sandpaper in one direction, then grit and conti nue the process ⁄ the other, as shown in Photos B through subsequently fi ner 1"-thick MDF, but you can work on and C, below. In a perfect grits, fi nishing up athick tablesaw �loat glassor jointer on top table of a instead. piece of world, the entire sole should be at 400 grit. Before Needs work B Aft er With the blade retracted, scrub the C sole, applying the same pressure as Rotati ng the plane ensures that the Aft er 2+ you would use to plane a board. sanding is even across the sole. hours of Acceptable dip lapping 28 woodcraftmagazine.com Feb/Mar 2011 D E Use an accurate square to gauge how much material For bett er visibility when fi ling, apply tape adjacent to remove to correct imperfecti ons in a mouth, to your gauge line. Tape the underside of the or to widen it to accept a replacement blade. fi le to protect the back edge of the mouth. of the mouth. The latter is a vise without squeezing against particularly important, because Level 2 the tall sides. Using an accurate its job is to hold down the wood File the mouth square and a scratch awl, gauge If the front edge of the mouth the blade tries to lift them.