Milled a Bailey *PICS*
WoodburnBob
>Back in Badger Pond days I became obsessed with the idea of getting a plane sole flat. I think I went through everything: abrasive on thick glass, MDF, jointer table, granite surface plate. You name it. Then I taught myself scrapping. I spotted and scraped for hours on end (the blue hand days). A revery, nearly like religous rapture. But this was slow business, so I switched to using various hand held grinders.
I read that some folks just took planes that were way out to a machinist. What indignity, what humiliation, I thought. If they could do it, why not me. So I watched ebay until a local mill came up and sniped it, then dismantled it to get it into the basement. Untold man hours. Each night I poored over machining books and haunted the machinist forums for tips. Eventually I put the mill back together and fiddled and farted until I got it running. Way, way down the line...this morning in fact...I finally put the mill to the test and flattened a plane sole. So I intend to inflict you with photos of the product of my ridiculous adventure.
The mill: a Tom Senior M! horizontal mill that I put a Rusnok vertical head on (but still haven't powered). I'm using the horizontal spindle today for this demonstration.
Here you see the helpless victim clamped down to the table already haven taken a pass alongside the cutter. My intention was to put a reference flat on this side of the plane.
Next, I've put the milled flat side down and use a dial indicator to align things.
Here's what you've been waiting for: the cutter softly chugging along in its first pass down the plane sole. This is an action shot and I'm surprised the camera I have could stop the action. Those really are cast iron chips in the air.
I'll spare you the details of each of four 0.002 inch passes and just show where I quit. This does reflect the pattern of how "out" the sole was. I don't care enough about that front 1/2 inch or so to sacrifice any more sole thickness.
And finally, for those of you who are wondering if this moron actually has in mind using the plane for its intended purpose, I submit the final image. Incidentally, the star of this show is a hapless wartime #3, perhaps type 17. Notice the steel adjuster. I'm guessing my past two years effort and expenditures probably increased its value from perhaps $15 to the mid-teens. But, you say, think of the joy of final mastery.
