Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Record plane question
Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA
>Hi All, I have a newer T5 that is very clean except the front knob has its finish flaking/cracking off.
The shooting handle and tote are pristine.
All the wood is stained then the top coated. Does anyone know what the Record plane company used? It looks a lot like gloss poly, but I'm not sure.
I've removed all the chipped finish and I'm ready to refinish it. I would like to use what they used.
Thanks!
Re: Record plane question
Christopher Fitch @ Memphis
>From what I remember, it's a lacquer...
I have a few older record planes with wood handles (3 of them) and all suffered from a similar problem to varying degrees.
Easiest way that worked for me was to use lacquer thinner to remove enough of the old finish to smooth it out. I had to sand one handle a bit since the wood under the finish had alot of water damage. Then I stuck the eraser end of a pencil in the screw hole from the bottom. Then I dipped the handle in some Deft brushing lacquer to coat it and hung it up to dry. You can repeat if you want a few coats. It varied for me based on the shape of the handle.
You can get fancy by rubbing/buffing the handle a bit after it dries. I did that on my 405 handle and it looks and feels super!
Re: Record plane question
John Horobin
>Its the post war planes that really suffer from the cracked lacquer problem, especially those from the late 1950's and 1960's. The prewar rosewood finish seems to be better. Best to clean off, stain and oil or wax I think.
John
No problem...
Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA
>This stuff just pops righ off. It took about 5 min to remove all of it.
Yes, It's one from the 60's
Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA
>Just like me:). It's strange only the front knob has this problem. Look like there was some contamination or the stained wood was wet when they applied the lacquer.
Re: Yes, It's one from the 60's
John Horobin
>Yes, the cost cutting had just set in then with Record planes (well actually the mid 1950's onwards - quite a bit later than with Stanley).
I've even got one or two boxed unused planes from this period where the cracking and flaking is bad - probably due to the wood changing with humidity I think.
John
Re: Record plane question
paul womack
>I would like to use what they used.
I wouldn't - it's prone to flaking and cracking :-)
BugBear (who strips, sands, stains and danish-oils)
Ahhh... Better late than never!
Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA
>Thanks Paul.