How to Refurbish a Hand Plane

[schnewj]

55 minutes ago, steven newman said:

There is a problem with refinishing them old Rosewood handles.....oh, you can strip off the old finish alright, but, as so as you put on a new finish...the wood will turn BLACK.   Like a lump of coal black.

 

Hmmm! What are you using? I have taken them down applied BLO and then sealed them with Shellac and never had them do that. On some of the later types with the crud wood I have stripped, fixed, and applied Minwax Red Mahogany stain and sealed it with Shellac. Looks just like Rosewood if you squint at it sideways a little.

[schnewj]

1 hour ago, Stick486 said:

boil the dents clean w/ peroxide.... 1st..

remove finish... if you want..

if you do.. reboil...

cover/wrap w/ a clean dyeless wetted cloth...

dry iron out the worst of the dents... don't over cook...

thoroughly dry items and let set to stabilize...

clean item...

refinish... if you removed the finish..

 

FWIW... that split in the knob is going to be an issue.. so be careful...

 

I  saw that in the picture. However, there is no crack in the knob.

[steven newman]

On the 035 I just rehabbed....BLO turned it's front ( the original wood one)  darker than the Walnut rear handle.    Seems to happen a lot on the older front knobs..

[schnewj]

COME ON GUYS!

 

Nobody has any suggestions on how to handle the refinishing of the tote and knob beside Stick. There has to be other expertise out there. I'm looking for something new to try. Don't be shy, let those fingers fly (or peck) over that key board and get me some alternative finishing methods. Any and all are welcome.

 

 

[steven newman]

IF you do strip the old finish off..use a mix of..BLO & Wax,  usually Beeswax melted into the BLO.   Apply with a rag.  Or, soak the handles inside a plastic baggie with the BLO Wax.  

 

Luckily, this isn't a Millers Falls plane.....

Edited September 22, 2016 by steven newman

[HandyDan]

2 hours ago, schnewj said:

COME ON GUYS!

 

Nobody has any suggestions on how to handle the refinishing of the tote and knob beside Stick. There has to be other expertise out there. I'm looking for something new to try. Don't be shy, let those fingers fly (or peck) over that key board and get me some alternative finishing methods. Any and all are welcome.

 

 

HandyDan did at the bottom of page two.  Just saying. 

[Stick486]

3 hours ago, schnewj said:

COME ON GUYS!

 

Nobody has any suggestions on how to handle the refinishing of the tote and knob beside Stick. There has to be other expertise out there. I'm looking for something new to try. Don't be shy, let those fingers fly (or peck) over that key board and get me some alternative finishing methods. Any and all are welcome.

 

 

talk to @kmealy...

[Grandpadave52]

22 hours ago, schnewj said:

Time for you guys to get involved…what would you like to see me do with them? I can scrub the dirt off, steam out the dents and just leave them as they are.  w/ that if you want to spend the time On the other hand I can strip them with a card scraper and a light sanding and refinish them.Not my approach unless the finish is 'gone' Do I want to lose the 100 year old patina for a new finish NO  or try and save what is there? Grant them a pardon

 

Give me some ideas, means and methods. If I get a consensus then I’ll do what the majority recommends.

When I can salvage the original finish/patina (my preference), scrub clean with either warm water or some mineral spirits in x-tra fine (=0000 steel) synthetic wool, then apply two coats Johnson Paste Wax. May not be the right way, but works for me...if I have to refinish, 50-50 +/- BLO/Satin poly, rubbed out then JPW.

[schnewj]

Well, time to move on and finish this project.

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

Here is a comparison shot of the painted and cured #5-1/2 next to a NIB #7. Can you tell a difference in the colors? I sure can’t.

 

 

 

How to Refurbish a Hand Plane, Stage VI (Flattening)

 

Now that we have the paint on and WELL cured (I wait 2-3 days) we need to turn our attention to the sole and sides of the body.

We need to make sure that the sides and the sole are as flat and square as possible. Originally, the metal was finished to around a 120 grit finish from the factory. I generally go a little more polished then that. On a smooth soled plane I generally finished to a 600 grit with wet or dry paper and some sort of lubricant. You can use, water, Mineral Spirits, Simple Green, whatever you want. You just need to run through the progression of grits until you achieve the finish that you want. However, for this plane I am just going to finish it back to the factory finish.

The object here is to square and flatten the surfaces. Truth be told there is a lot of hype about getting the sole flat. Good luck with that. It never was from the factory and they work just fine. The main issue is at the throat opening, the toe (front) and heel (rear). Both of the sides (front and back side of the throat opening) need to be as flat as possible (and wait for it…ready…coplanar) front to back. This is where all of the magic eventually happens. The rest of the sole should be in the ballpark, but doesn’t need to be perfect.

Here is where I’ll probably get criticized. There are a couple schools of thought here on flattening. One school says that, the plane should be assembled and the plane flattened. I say, that, it doesn’t make a difference. I have never found a significant (or insignificant) difference in doing the flattening assembled or as just the stripped body. The stresses are basically minute. If a body is that twisted that you have to have it assembled to keep it straight, you had better be looking for another plane.

On this job I did assemble the plane. This was only to give me a better hand purchase as the sole needed some work. So, let’s see some photos and allow them to tell the story.

 

This is my weapon of choice to reach an acceptable level of “flatness”.

This is how we’ll get there.

This is after a couple of swipes, well in reality MANY swipes on the sandpaper.

 

The toe wasn’t too bad, but the area between the toe and the throat was ‘not so good’. The heel was baaaad!

DONE!

This is the final result.

Once the sole is “flat” it is time to clean up the two sides. They were both pretty flat. Not absolutely perfect but acceptable. I just cleaned the sides up with the 120 grit, and called it good. Clean it up and you’re done. Well, almost!

Guess what happens next. Yup, PASTE WAX!

How to Refurbish a Hand Plane, Stage V (I’VE GOT WOOD) Revisited

 

Well since I didn’t get a lot of input on finishing the wood. Here is what I decided to do. I took Stick’s idea and cleaned it with household peroxide. This is only in the 3-5% range (I believe). In a subsequent discussion he suggested a beauty supply house for a higher percentage of hair bleach peroxide.

I took the household peroxide and a maroon 3M Scotch Brite pad and gently scrubbed the wood. All of the old dirt loosened right up and wiped away. This allowed the grain to show through the dark nastiness that was there.

When the grain revealed itself I couldn’t bring myself to steam out the dents and nicks. The old girl deserves to retain some of her character after a 100 years of use. Trust me the photos DON’T do them justice.

Once they were cleaned they got treated to a buff wheel and Bees wax. I am more than pleased with the results. Bottom line, all I did was provided them both a good cleaning.

How to Refurbish a Hand Plane, Stage Done

 

Well what does it look like?

 

 

Here she is……………………………………….

           Before                                      

 After (this is a really bad photo, sorry)

 

  Before

After

 

 

 

 

Well! How does she work? OK, OK, hold your horses………..

 

 

I think we can do better than those thick nasty shavings.

 

 

How about this?

 

Not bad for a 100 year old plane and a little work. I’m still not totally happy with the plane iron. It still needs some tweaking.

Well, I hope everyone enjoyed the journey as much as I enjoyed doing it. I now have a very usable plane that will give me years of enjoyment. It will probably be around in another 100 years to hopefully provide pleasure to someone else that will appreciate her.

 

One final special thanks to a couple of folks. First, I would like to thank HandyDan for allowing me the opportunity to use this beautiful plane. The other person is Stick486 who always seems to be providing me with some tidbit of learning. That tip on the peroxide was great. Thanks to both of you for everything.

 

Bill

Edited September 23, 2016 by schnewj

[Stick486]

dude...

1st rate...

[Grandpadave52]

39 minutes ago, schnewj said:

I took the household peroxide and a maroon 3M Scotch Brite pad and gently scrubbed the wood. All of the old dirt loosened right up and wiped away. This allowed the grain to show through the dark nastiness that was there.

When the grain revealed itself I couldn’t bring myself to steam out the dents and nicks. The old girl deserves to retain some of her character after a 100 years of use. Trust me the photos DON’T do them justice. History preserved!

Once they were cleaned they got treated to a buff wheel and Bees wax. I am more than pleased with the results. Bottom line, all I did was provided them both a good cleaning.

I'll give the peroxide a go on the 220 block planes knobs too. Using peroxide as a cleaning agent makes sense plus added benefit of keeping wounds clean! 

They looked good in the pics...I'm happy you went that path if you are?

The plane looks fantastic! Well done! Should I expect to get it UPS or Fed Ex?

Enjoyed the tutorial and seeing how others "get up the tree." PIcked up some good pointers along the way. THANKS for providing the pictorial journey and the story.

[Nickp]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it till it is...

 

 

[Nickp]

Outstanding...enviable...

[HandyDan]

Wonderful rehab Bill.  That plane looks like it has been used and well cared for all its life.  I am thrilled seeing it in all its glory and happy it ended up in your hands.  So cool! 

[John Moody]

I purchased a tumbler like you use to clean brass for reloading. I put the brass parts and small pieces in the tumbler and let them go for a while. They will be perfectly clean and some what polished. 

 

 

[schnewj]

I have done that, also. Those little brass nuts just seem to get lost in that big Dillon case cleaner and I have to listen to it while I'm working. Although, with walnut hulls it might put a nice shine on the cap iron, frog, and lever cap. I haven't tried that, YET!

 

Thanks for the suggestion, John.

[Bundoman]

I was pleased to learn about peroxide for cleaning wooden parts.  I have been less than pleased with the BLO darkening the grain on some of my planes.  I will definitely be trying this.  Great looking 5 1/2

[Gerald]

On 9/22/2016 at 10:17 AM, schnewj said:

COME ON GUYS!

 

Nobody has any suggestions on how to handle the refinishing of the tote and knob beside Stick. There has to be other expertise out there. I'm looking for something new to try. Don't be shy, let those fingers fly (or peck) over that key board and get me some alternative finishing methods. Any and all are welcome.

 

 

I have not refinished any of the wood on my planes, but a thought I had is to try Watco. It is not a heavy finish and will leave the "feel" of the wood.