Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Cleaning up old planes
VTAndy
>Hi,
Is there a recommended resource on-line (or a good book) describing the methods for cleaning up antique metal planes? I'd rather avoid "damaging" it by cleaning it, but I'd also like to clean it up.
Any warnings?
-Andy
Re: Cleaning up old planes *LINK*
Jack Guzman from Maine
>We have one right here in Woodcentral's articles.---Jack
http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/articles.pl#handtools
Re: Cleaning up old planes *LINK*
Andy Lincoln,In Dearborn MI
>Andy,
I sure there are others on the web but the one below I have in my bookmarks and found it to be quite useful. As far as books go Mike Dunbar's book,Restoring,Tuning&Using Classic Woodworking Tools is handy ,Andy Rae's Choosing and Using Hand Tools is great reference as well as Garrett Hack's books,The Handplane Book,and Classic Hand Tools.WoodCentral also has an Articles and Review section which has some excellent reading as well as the book review section which will lead you even further into the subject.And don't forget the scheduled chats in the chat room.
BEWARE OF DUNBAR
Adam Cherubini, NJ
>Dunbar's "Restoring, Tuning and Using..." has greased more slippery slopes than can be counted. If you find a copy of that book and have access to a grinder with a wire brush wheel, that may well be the end or your social life.
Adam
Re: BEWARE OF DUNBAR
ThomD
>??
Do you mean one will find a new hobby or destroy one's credibility through tool torture?
I have somewhat had the contrary experience to what most seem to have had with old tools. I find the molding planes are in worthwhile shape, while the general planes look like they were stored in a manure pile after the previous owner toppled over with small pocks or something. A wire brush is too good for them. Maybe there is some way to beat the heating crisis with a scaled up version of a pellet stove one could feed planes into.
Whatcha got?
Scott Burr in cold Ben Lomond,CA
>Not all "old" metal planes are "valueable" so to speak. There's a difference between cleaning "antiques" and a restoring a user...
So, whacha ya got?
With all due respect- OT
Adam Cherubini
>the general planes look like they were stored in a manure pile after the previous owner toppled over with small pocks or something. A wire brush is too good for them.
You must have missed the chapter on dung removal! Its near the end of the book just after the chapter on using cat's blood as a honing lubricant!
Adam
(that was pretty funny stuff Thom)
matches my experience
bill tindall
>Old tools in good shape have never diffused to my neck of the woods either, especially planes. I suspect it is like most things collectable. After a bit most of anything worth owning is ensconced in collections.
Re: Whatcha got?
VTAndy
>A Stanley #7 Type 4.
A Stanley #5, corrugated, Type 19.
I know that the Type 19 isn't really that old. The Type 4 is from the 1870s or 1880s, right? The blades are, according to the descriptions of the engravings on Stanley blades, the right ones for their respective types. I haven't found the resources to look up the chipbreakers and lever cap designs.
I just don't want to do something stupid to them due to my own ignorance!
-Andy
Wadda ya mean...
Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA
>"I just don't want to do something stupid to them due to my own ignorance!"
Hell I do that all the time...;^)
I'd just give them a good cleaning. Soak the parts in simple green or an equlivent (not the wood, duh). Get the parts good and dry (q-tips work great in the screw holes). Give the parts a good coat of wax or your favorite rust preventive. Wood cleans up well with Murphys' oil soap.
'twas brylopad
Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA
>Or, for an even simpler approach, use an SOS (invented in San Francisco!) or Brillo pad and warm water. You need to dry the plane promptly and thoroughly after, and I recommend waxing it too, to keep rust from settling in right away, but you want to wax it anyhow.
This is for a plane you plan to use. If it's a true antique, ignore what I said.
Warning: if you live with someone who believes that kitchen sinks are for dishes rather than projects, DON'T do this in the house. It's messy.