Wayne Anderson
>Joel,
The iron is 2". The one that came with the plane was all used up, and may have been replaced. It is stamped: Coloun & Cadman, Cast Steel, Sheffield. I reused the cap iron.
The plane was in deplorable condition. It had been in that condition for a while. The sides of the rear infill were worn down and recessed, giving it a look like it had been sandblasted. I believe that's from handling after surface oxidation had occured.
The front infill condition can be seen in the photo. My guess is, the thing had either been dropped too many times, or someone used a mallet one too many times on the wood to adjust it...ok for a beech woodie, but not for a rosewood infill plane.
I removed the four pins and the pin for the lever cap, and cleaned out the shell, removing all the crud and loose rust. Then I coated the inside with a very light coat of Ballistol to preserve it before replacing the infill.
I know the front infill is maybe an eighth of an inch too high, but I didn't want to remove all the black grain. It matches the rear infill. ;^}
-wayne