August 4, 201511 yr comment_61756 This spring, I found this old bugger at a local antique shop in town. It is an Early round side Bedrock 607. My mistake was not inspecting it as closely as I usually do before taking it home. I guess the excitement of finding a Bedrock took over. When I got it home and disassembled the plane, I found a broken frog. I was disappointed of course, but all of the pieces were there. Thinking back, I knew that I had some rudimentary instruction on how to braze cast iron in high school shop some 20 years ago. I hadnt tried this in a long time but decided that I was out nothing to give it a shot. Although not perfect, I believe that this one will be saved! I was able to get the frog pieces to fuse together pretty well. I filed the broken edges where they meet and brazed them back together, then used a mill cutter in my drill press and my x y vise to carefully remove the excess brass from the castings. I filled the voids with JB quik weld and lapped the frog flat on a marble tile with sand paperto clean up the repair a bit. After mask and paint, I carefully peened the lateral lever back into place, and replaced the yolk and pin. This was the nerve wracking part as it is easy to re-break the thin castings. The pictures show the results before and after. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of the frog in its broken state. Edited November 21, 20178 yr by Ron Dudelston tags added Report
August 4, 201511 yr comment_61758 That was a great save! Nice find too Bundoman, not often you come across a Bedrock period anymore, well you do but they are not as common as others. The most important thing is that it's a user now. Back to work with it! Report
August 4, 201511 yr comment_61766 Nice save on what most would have given up on. I know I would have given up on it, cuz I don't know how to braze, weld, pound or dink with metal, period! The poor thing would have been used as parts if I had it, I love seeing someone put the time and effort into an old tool to make it work. Report
August 4, 201511 yr comment_61776 Man that is one cool restoration. thanks for all of the pictures, I love it. Report
August 4, 201511 yr comment_61782 I know I would have given up on it, cuz I don't know how to braze, weld, pound or dink with metal, period! The poor thing would have been used as parts if I had it, I love seeing someone put the time and effort into an old tool to make it work. John, Now that I've got my torch back running, I've got a few things to repair. One's this. Report
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.