How to Refurbish a Hand Plane

[schnewj]

I thought that I would do a general tutorial on how to refurbish a hand plane. However, before I start, I would like to thank @HandyDan for providing me with this outstanding Stanley Bailey #5-1/2, Type 11 hand plane. Dan recognized that I didn’t possess a #5-1/2 and graciously offered it to me. So, I thought that as long as I was going to clean the plane up TO USE, that, I would take you folks through my process(es), step by step.

Before I start, I understand that some of you are probably familiar with how to do this, but there are others who are not and may like to clean up grandpa’s plane or that garage sale find, but don’t know where to start. I want to see input and alternate methods from the members as I go through this process. I will show how I do this, but it is not the only way to get to the end result. Let’s make this informative for everyone and share ideas.

 

Most of this will be graphic in nature with very little text. I will provide information and clarifications as needed. However, if I don’t cover something in an adequate manner, please ask. I have several core philosophies; the standard …a picture is worth a thousand words, the story is no good without pictures, and there are NO stupid questions.

I will break this up into stages. First, I don’t know how much continuous time I will have to complete the project, and it allows for discussions and Q & A between stages.

So, I’m going to start out with a general overview of the plane itself. Understand that, this plane is a type 11. This dates it to 1910-1918, so it is about 100 years old. Whoever had and used this plane took very good care of it. There is evidence that the plane iron was properly flattened on the back side, nothing was rusted solid, the wood was dinged but nothing was broken. However, the plane was in a “crusty” condition.

(Side note: I apologize for the quality of the photos. They are taken with my iPhone SE as I go through the process. They are not the best quality...sorry.)

Here is what the plane looks like before anything is done to it:

 

The next few pictures are of the individual subsystems as the plane was disassembled.

 

 

 

Why so many pictures, you ask? Well when it is all done you will be able to go back and compare the before and after results.

 

How to Refurbish a Hand Plane, Stage II

 

Now that it is disassembled it is time to eliminate as much rust as possible. There are many ways to do this but here is what I did.

 

First step is a good wire brushing of all the parts to remove as much loose scale and dirt as possible. I used a wire wheel on a bench grinder to de-rust the hardware, and the components. Since the sole is a corrugated one, I used a softer, drill mounted wire wheel to get into the grooves.

 

Now comes the messy part. All of the major components will go into an electrolysis conversion bath. There is lots of information on how to do this so I won’t go into details. However, here is my set-up and process.

 

 

Here is the key component. You don’t need an awful lot of the Washing Soda added to the water to get good results.

 

This shows how the cap iron, plane iron, frog, and lever cap are suspended.

 

 

Here is the nastiness that is the result of the process. All of that red scummy foam is the rust lifted off of the metal components.

 

The next thing was the body of the plane. Unfortunately, I did not get a photo of it in the bath. The #5’s don’t fit completely into the water, so there is about four inches that sticks above the water. I just do one side and then flip the body around and do the other half.

 

After the parts come out of the bath, they are washed with clear water, and then dried. If I don’t have a chance to get to the parts right away I treat them with Boeshield T-9 to keep the surface rust from starting.

When I finally get to the parts, they are wiped down with Mineral Spirits. They are then buffed on a pleated wheel with white rouge. I follow up with a loose linen wheel and the same white rouge. This usually gets the last of the crud off of the surface and puts a decent polish to the metal.

Not everyone has a buffing wheel set-up, but, again, there are several ways to “skin the cat”. You can use something similar in a hand held drill or resort to elbow grease and handwork. The main issue here is to get rid of the deep down rust in any pits in the metal.

Here are the parts de-rusted, buffed and ready to go.

 

Once I am satisfied with the degree of polish, the part gets a good coat of Johnson’s Paste Wax.

 

While I am buffing out the metal parts I, also, buff out the brass on the same buffing wheels. Remember those black handle nuts and the adjustment wheel. Well this is what they now look like.

(Disclosure for the adjustment wheel a Dremel Tool is our friend. Wire wheels and little, tiny, itsy bitsy buffs and felt bobs)

Once the brass is polished out you can either coat them with the Johnson’s Past Wax, or for a more permanent shine you can seal them with spray lacquer.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 20, 2016 by schnewj

[steven newman]

Not a big fan of chemicals in the shop.   I use mainly wire wheels in the drill press for most of the work of cleaning stuff up.   I have an assortment of different types and sizes of brass wire wheels and cups.  There is a Dremel IF needed.   I usually set the woodworks far away while doing the metal cleaning.    Tip 1:   Use a pair of visegrips pliers to hold parts being wire wheeled....easier to hold onto the part, saves fingers from the wheels and the heat, and save digging around on the floor after a bolt has gone airbourne....BTDT.   Make sure the teeth on the visegrips' jaws are in good shape.  burrs there will mar the surface you are trying to clean.

 

Tip2:   I leave the brass "nuts" on the shafts, when I polish them up with LIGHT pressure against the wire wheel.   The wheel works wonders clearing Krusty threads, too.   Clean one end, switch to the other by  screwing the brass nut on the clean end.  Does not matter which end goes where, all the same threads. 

Tip3:  There are "toothbrushes" out there with brass wire for the brush.   wood handles.   You can "scrub" down through the crusty stuff with ease, and NOT damage any good items down there. 

 

Tip 4:   Before any paint gets applied, I will fill all threaded holes with 3in1 oil.   Keeps the paint out, and easier than masking tape to use.   Plus, to clean the oil out, just screw in the bolt that goes there.   Keeps the threads from rusting up, too.

Looking good, so far!

 

(BTW, in the first picture of how to set up a plane, the one in the background is a Stanley #5-1/2, T-17....)

[Stick486]

most excellent Schnooge.....

[Grandpadave52]

You had me at refurb Schnooge!  Looking forward to the next chapter. BTW, pics were fine IMHO. Thanks for taking the time to take us along.

[schnewj]

58 minutes ago, steven newman said:

Not a big fan of chemicals in the shop.   I use mainly wire wheels in the drill press for most of the work of cleaning stuff up.   I have an assortment of different types and sizes of brass wire wheels and cups.  There is a Dremel IF needed.   I usually set the woodworks far away while doing the metal cleaning.    Tip 1:   Use a pair of visegrips pliers to hold parts being wire wheeled....easier to hold onto the part, saves fingers from the wheels and the heat, and save digging around on the floor after a bolt has gone airbourne....BTDT.   Make sure the teeth on the visegrips' jaws are in good shape.  burrs there will mar the surface you are trying to clean.

Ditto on the vice grips. I use some miniature ones.

 

As for the chemicals the electrolysis bath is nothing more than laundry detergent. Mineral Spirits are a staple for me. It cleans, degreases, and removes the glue residue from my scroll saw patterns. Doesn't hurt the wood.

58 minutes ago, steven newman said:

 

Tip2:   I leave the brass "nuts" on the shafts, when I polish them up with LIGHT pressure against the wire wheel.   The wheel works wonders clearing Krusty threads, too.   Clean one end, switch to the other by  screwing the brass nut on the clean end.  Does not matter which end goes where, all the same threads. 

Tip3:  There are "toothbrushes" out there with brass wire for the brush.   wood handles.   You can "scrub" down through the crusty stuff with ease, and NOT damage any good items down there. 

Ditto, again! You just have to pay attention when you buff them on the shafts. The buff will spin the nuts loose and they WILL go flying.

58 minutes ago, steven newman said:

 

Tip 4:   Before any paint gets applied, I will fill all threaded holes with 3in1 oil.   Keeps the paint out, and easier than masking tape to use.   Plus, to clean the oil out, just screw in the bolt that goes there.   Keeps the threads from rusting up, too.

Looking good, so far!

 

(BTW, in the first picture of how to set up a plane, the one in the background is a Stanley #5-1/2, T-17....)

I prefer to plug the holes with rolled up paper towel. I don't want to risk the oil contaminating the surface before it gets painted. The 3 in 1 goes on during final assembly.

[Nickp]

The step by step techniques are appreciated...thanks for sharing...nice tutorial...

 

Looking forward to final product...

[HandyDan]

Nice Bill.  I am really enjoying the tutorial.  I have read about the electrolysis bath but never actually heard first hand of anyone using it.  Very cool.  I look forward to the next sequence.

[schnewj]

1 hour ago, HandyDan said:

Nice Bill.  I am really enjoying the tutorial.  I have read about the electrolysis bath but never actually heard first hand of anyone using it.  Very cool.  I look forward to the next sequence.

 

I appreciate that. I think, that, you will like the end result and hopefully, some of the members will learn some things along the way.

[Texaswally]

Great post. Only one comment: the Green? text on the some of the pictures is very difficult to read.

[schnewj]

17 minutes ago, Texaswally said:

Great post. Only one comment: the Green? text on the some of the pictures is very difficult to read.

I'm working on that. I am using Irfanview to edit the pictures for text. It has been a couple of years since I used it for my investigation photos. I CAN NOT get white text for some reason...any color but white. So, I defaulted to green. If I can't figure out how to get the white text then I will try a different color for a contrast on the dark backgrounds.

[steven newman]

Just for example of a Stanley No. 5-1/2....

The Type 17s had painted handles.  I hate painted handles, so I removed what was left.   much easier to use than the No.6c, T-10  I have....

[Gerald]

Good post . I like your take on the brass parts. I have always used Apple Cider Vinegar for rust removal . You can let it soak for 6 to 8 hours, but have to be careful as if left too long will cause pitting. The metal comes out bright and like new appearance and of course all protection from rust will be gone, but the paint will remain.

[schnewj]

OK, I guess it's time to move on...

 

So, here we go........

How to Refurbish a Hand Plane, Stage III (Screw Heads)

 

There is another chore that doesn’t necessarily have to be done. However, I do this as a matter of course with every refurbishment.

Inevitably, over the course of the plane’s life, the screw heads are going to get mauled by poor fitting screwdrivers. This is an example of a damaged slot.

 

The process here is to GENTLY move the deformed metal back into the original slot. I use a very small ball peen hammer and LIGHTLY tap the metal back towards the slot with both the ball and flat end. I work the edges of the slot until the raised metal is pushed down and into the slot itself.

When I am satisfied that I have gotten as much of the metal back to where it should be, I recut the slot with a needle file. This requires a gentle touch. You don’t want to enlarge the slot any more than you have to. You only want to square up the sides and make them parallel to each other. Once the slot is done, I use the same needle file to dress and re-contour the screw head as best as possible, to eliminate any raised remaining metal.

 

The screw then gets polished on the buffing wheels and coated with the paste wax.

 

Edited September 20, 2016 by schnewj

[schnewj]

Since there are no comments or inputs, let's move on

How to Refurbish a Hand Plane, Stage IV (Painting)

Well, we now get to turn our attention to the body of the plane itself. This is where most of the work is.

Since the original Japanning is toast, it is best to just finish stripping it off of the plane body. There are several ways to accomplish this task. I have wire brushed it off, used Lacquer thinner, and on a couple sandblasted it off. I doesn’t matter how you do it only that it is removed. If you don’t get it off then the applied coating will look terrible. Not only that, but you may still have some rust hiding underneath.

Once it is removed we need to put something back in its place to protect the casting from our old friend Mr. Rust. There are several things that you can do. You can put Japanning back on. It is basically a bituminous concoction that paints on and takes forever to dry hard. It is expensive and messy and still available. However, I just spray paint the body. There are two things that I have used. One is a VHT black engine paint in a rattle can. It is pretty close to the color of the original Japanning and will dry tough and very durable. Not being a purist I, also, use Rustoelum, Industrial Gloss Black spray paint (#7579). It doesn’t quite match the original black color but who cares, it is very, very close!

The Rustoleum dries hard and is pretty much bullet proof. It really levels out well. Just follow your normal paint preps and apply in several very light coats until covered.

We’ll leave this for now and move onto the plane iron while the paint dries. Unless you guys want to watch it, in which case I’ll post hourly photos. What, no takers? OK I offered, but I guess we’ll move on.

How to Refurbish a Hand Plane, Stage V (Sharpening)

While the neighbor’s cat is watching the paint dry I’ll touch on sharpening the plane iron. I’m not going to get into a long drawn out argu, er, um, discussion on the best thing to use or method to sharpen. I have used just about every method there is. I will say that, they all have their pluses and minuses. I doesn’t matter how you get there, water/oil stones, scary sharp, Worksharp, Tomek, or Voodoo the end result is what matters. There are a few things that must get done to make the journey successful.

The iron has to be flattened on the back, just like you flatten a chisel. Next, the correct angle of the bevel has to be maintained. For general purposes I use 25° +/- whatever. The next thing is that the edge has to be square to the sides. Do these three things and the rest are just enhancements.

For my exercise I’m using my Worksharp 3000. The blade for the #5-1/2 is too wide to use this as it is normally intended, but follow along.

My handy dandy Worksharp stand allows me to use the top of the platen for wider blades. Yes, folks, that is a Veritas MK II honing guide, If you don't use one of these to sharpen your chisels and plane irons, then you're missing out...but I digress. This machine is basically the scary sharp method of sharpening without all of the elbow grease. OK, I admit I’m lazy. I just didn’t want to spend hours over water stones or sandpaper to get this into shape. I hate the mess that goes with it anyway!

The back was flattened already, so, not much to do there. There was one little glitch, however, there was a minute nick in the edge of the iron. Looks like someone hit a nail sometime in the past. In addition, the edge wasn’t square.

 

Well after a few minutes and several progressive grits the blade was square, sharp, polished and ready to go. If I had used my water stones, I would probably still be at it. Instead, here I am telling you all about it.

I put a slight camber on the edges so the blade won’t dig in when it gets used, but that is a discussion for another day.

So, these components are done and ready to go!

[HandyDan]

I am enjoying every bit of this.  Can we see the finished edge?

[Stick486]

way to go Schnooge...

[Nickp]

This is WAY BETTER than watching a good movie...thanks...on the edge of my seat waiting for end result...

[schnewj]

57 minutes ago, HandyDan said:

I am enjoying every bit of this.  Can we see the finished edge?

Oh, alright, alright, I'll see what I can do! Geeez!

[HandyDan]

2 minutes ago, schnewj said:

Oh, alright, alright, I'll see what I can do! Geeez!

 

7 minutes ago, Nickp said:

This is WAY BETTER than watching a good movie...thanks...on the edge of my seat waiting for end result...

Yeah! Like an Alfred Hitchcock movie leaving us wonder at the end what the sharp edge looks like. Then he gets testy when I mention it.  Sheeeeesh!

[steven newman]

Will this do, for now?