>In a tragic attempt to take its own life, my favorite jack plane leapt from my bench last night. Its handle split right in two; there does not seem to be any damage to the plane body from a cursory examination. I have not yet taken it apart to look at the insides. I have a piece of hard maple that is the right size -- will this work well for a replacement handle? What should the grain orientation be in the handle? Also, what should I look for when I take the plane apart, to check for damage?
Sorry to hear about your #5's near-death experience. I'm not going to answer your question directly (because I don't know the answers) but I am going to offer two other things for your consideration:
(1) Buy a new one from Joel at www.toolsforworkingwood.com. Look under his "planes" category. They are only $18 and with shipping it probably comes to about $20. I think Paul Bordonaro may make Joel's handles for him. If so, I've seen Paul's work and have a couple of his #71 knobs and he does good, quality work, and
(2) check out George Langford's site. See http://www.amenex.com/georgesbasement/fixatote.htm
George has an explanation of how to repair a tote. This weekend I just picked up a nice #5, type 11 for $10. The only thing wrong with it is a broken tote. So, I've just been on George's site to get some ideas on how to fix it.
If you try to make one yourself - best of luck, and if you pursue any of these ideas, also, best of luck.
>Rascal...How did you find a #5 on the weekend you had to miss PATINA??? That is good luck. Where did you find it? I may have to start following you around instead of tailing Todd H.;-)JR
>It sounds as if you might get off fairly easily on this one as the tote may have absorbed enough impact to save thr rest of the plane. Just use a good magnifying glass under strong light and check everywhere for hairline cracks. The most vulnerable spot is usually the cheeks around the mouth and the area where the frog mounts. Also check around the perimeter of the sole for chips that might need to get filed smooth. Maple should work fine. Orient it the same way as the original & I'd drill the hole first.
Was up in Maryland near the Delware border (in Todd's backyard) for my church's men's retreat. We had a couple hours of free time Saturday afternoon and while most of the guys watched the NCAA basketball tournament, I headed out to an antique store I had noticed on the way in on Friday night. Not to many tools, but there is was - a #5. I needed a #5 ('cause I didn't have one), but I considered myself quite fortunate that it was a type 11 for only $10 (even if it did have a broken tote). I knew from the three patent marks that it was either a type 11 or type 12, but there was no SW on the blade (so I was a bit confused). Wasn't til I got home that I found out for sure it was a type 11. So, while Todd was up in my backyard (hopefully scoring some nice tools) I was in his backyard and scored a nice/needed tool for a reasonable price.
Also thanks again for keeping your eyes out for me at PATINA for that 3/16" groove #45 cutter. That'll match my 3/16" tongue cutter perfectly and I'll be in T&G business!!! Way cool!!
>I've sucessfully reglued several split totes with regular carpenter's yellow glue. The best clamp, as non-Neander as it may seem, is one of those Quick-grip bar clamps, the kind with the plastic jaws that tighten with a trigger - the large, soft jaws allow you to exert clamping pressure on the tote, even though the two ends aren't in line with each other.
Making is, of course, a fun new project; but only you can decide its priority.
>Geez c'mon Bill, you're spoiling all the fun... (g) Thanks -- I hadn't actually thought of the obvious solution of gluing it. I reckon I will try that out first.
I glued the tote together and it looks fine -- the only other damage sustained by the plane is that the rod holding the tote to the body is bent. Is this easy to find a replacement for? Or should I try to hammer it back straight?
>If the rod is bent up in the middle,away from the threads, then straighten it. If it is bent in the threads or right at the root of the threaded portion the rod may break when you try to straighten it. However It don't work now right? Go ahead and try because if the rod isn't hardened it may not break anyway.JR
>My father used to say, as he hammered nails straight again, "You should never do this." I don't, much, but I'd do it in a shot if it was my last nail and I was on the top of the scaffold.
As Joe suggests, you've got nothing to lose by trying. Set it on a block of wood, roll until the bend is up, and tap with a hammer.
If it fails, both Stanley (www.stanleyworks.com, though the parts section is hard to find - I'll try to post another message tonight from home, where I've got the proper web address saved) and Woodcraft (www.woodcraft.com, AND one of the Wood Central sponsors, link to be found at the Marketplace off the main Wood Central page) list parts for Stanley planes, which might fit yours even if it's not a Stanley.
>Thanks Joe and Bill, the rod was bent in the middle, and it was bent too much to go into the hole in the tote. I hammered it until it was (pretty close to) straight and everything is back together now -- the plane is working like a champ! BTW, does anyone have a good method of tightening the screw that is at the bottom of the tote? there isn't really room to fit even my shortest screwdriver in there. I suppose a pliers would probably work, with a fair amount of chewing up the circumference of the screw head. Tonight I did it by threading the end of a very thin file into the slot of the screw and using it as a lever -- this worked ok but is a big hassle. Any other ideas?
>Moderately diligent rust hunting will turn up right angle screwdrivers, which come in various forms and are usually slightly more expensive than dirt. You want one Phillips and a couple of slotted sizes.
Better, probably, is to see whether your local hardware store carries the black fabricated-steel (as opposed to pretty drop-forged) ratchets that are 1/4" drive on one side and 1/4" hex (like for screwgun bits) on the other. These are so cheap I bought them as stocking stuffers for my sons and my brother one year, and amazingly sturdy. With these, you can drive slotted, Phillips, square/Robertson, Torx, or whatever bits, most of them very inexpensive at your hardware store; plus small sockets in standard and metric.
>I've just removed the frog to allow easy access to this screw. You don't need to remove the tote very often (hopefully!), so I don't find it much of an incovenience to remove the frog in this rare case.
>One more thing as long as we're talking about totes and screws -- I find that the screw on the top of the tote has an annoying tendency to loosen up while I am using my planes -- I believe this is true for just about every metal bench plane I own. Anyone else notice this happening? Is this a case where I should use some loctite on the threads?
>My guess is locktite will not fix your problem. It will bind up the nut onto the threds but the problem may reside in the handle moving and crushing slightly. Then you have a loose tote but a jammed up nut. Not good. You could mark the slot with a small mark on the tote to see if the knob actually loostens to diagnose the problem. I saw a fix for this problem at Georges Basment web site. No url here at work but I can post later when I get home. Fix requires some special washers that preload the assembly. JR
>I used to have the problem of the tote's top screw loosening. I took the rod out and ground about 1/16" off of the threads at each end to shorten the rod. I have the suspicion that the rosewood used for the totes in many planes wasn't completely dry and shrunk over the years. After shortening the rod, reinstalling everything, and tightening things up I've never had another problem. Just go gently in grinding the ends of the rod. You don't want to overheat it or destroy the threads.