Last spring, I picked an old #3 sized plane at a garage sale.....they had just brought it up out of a damp cellar......yellow, fuzzy mold on the wood parts, everything else was a rusty mess.    Spent a dollar for it, thinking I could at least get a few parts out of it.....

Yeah.....anyway, got things cleaned up.  Wood parts on the plane went into the trash can,  they were "punky" and gummmy.    Got it almost cleaned up, and found some other handles..

And set it aside for awhile......Kept thinking about the rear handle....this one wasn't setting right, bolt didn't match the top of the handle....Hmmm..

Well, today, I swapped out handles, but left the bolts alone...almost.   OEM bolt was bent in a few wrong directions.  Finally just clamped just the base into the end vise, cranked the non-brass shaft in as far as it would go......was still too long for the "new" handle.    A little time on the grinder to remove a couple turns of threads, campfer the end and attach the shaft to the base, again.   I'd check where the end was coming through, and how the bottom of the handle was sitting....cuss a bit, pull handle back off, handle to adjust the shaft's "attitude"  a bit, try again......gecloser, but didn't want to rush and break something...

 

Finally got the new handle to sit flat on the base, with the bolt centered at the top.....and still too long.....grrrr, grinder to remove a bit off the top.   Check the brass nut to make sure it threads back on....ok, close enough...

Bolt sets better, handle sits flat on the base, and doesn't  wobble around.  Front knob was loose ( again..) and tightened that up, too....gave the plane a few try-outs  and....

something was quite right.     Things were sitting a bit crooked in the cutting room.    Finally, I just reset the frog.   Took a couple tries to get that the way it was supposed to be.  Looked at the iron-chipbreaker....

Big curve going on, not letting the iron sit flat on the frog's face....Took the two apart...ah, chipbreaker was at fault, iron went right back to straight.   Re-ground the curved part of the chipbreaker.....still not right..

 

OK, we getting serious here.....laid the offending part on the bench, hammer to knock the curved area down a bit.   Tried it out, bolt that holds the two together worked the way it was supposed to.   Test fit...lateral lever fits better....didn't need a hammer to adjust for tilt.    Tried the assembled plane on some white oak scrap..

Not perfect, but it is close enough.   Next time, I'll have the sharpening gear IN the shop, and I can close up a gap in the chipbreaker, as well.    Since I was working on a #3 sized plane, might as well check out the one Sears replaced the Fulton with...

Made by Millers Falls as a No. 8, sold at Sears as a No.3C.    ( smooth sole?)   Looks like it will need a bit of time on the stones, as well.     Label on handle says "Craftsman  Tools"   and has a fancy lever cap

Gold coloured even. 

Have a Millers Falls No.8  and a Stanley/ Wards Master Quality #3 to also check out.    The Fulton?   Was made by Sargent.

 

Anyone want a rusty brace/drill?    The ratchet  doesn't, the top knob is still frozen in place.    The rust is gone from the outside.....the sweep handle is punky soft.    I think it is an 8" sweep.

Cleaned up.....chuck works fine, ratchet doesn't.     Parts drill...

That cleaned up very nicely!!

Edited December 14, 20169 yr by Chips N Dust

Good job, as usual. You da man!

Ok, went back to the shop today,  as the Fulton had a few "issues"  to repair..

 

Edge on the iron was given a few swipes on the strop....

 

Chipbreaker?    Was bent in three different directions at once.....Curved in the middle the wrong way ( hammer and a punch to fix)  edge was curved into a smile shape.   Took a long time to remove the smile....Also curved in the wrong direction where it sat on the iron....

 

Finally, got the dang thing to sit flat to the iron.    I also flattened the back of the iron.  Had a low spot in the middle.   Got all the issues as fixed as I was going to get them, put things back together.   Took a few  whacks with a hammer to get things set up evenly....got a pine scrap out for a test drive..

Has a bit of camber out at the corners.  

Might do ok for a #3 sized plane...that rough side of the scrap needed to be "prepped"  for the test, so..

I used the 5-1/2 to level things down a bit.   The bigger plane in front?    A Stanley No.6c, Type 10.......was a bit TOO long for the job...

While I had the sharpening toys out. I also reground the edge on the Craftsman No.3C  as it was looking like this...~.....bevel was rounded as well.   Been awhile since it had been sharpened.  Lot of use ( abuse?) on it. 

 

Camera issues ( again..Grrrrr) but the bevel is a single flat shiny bevel.  back was worked on as well.   30 tripps along the strop to finish it up.  As soon as the camera decides to work again, I'll take a couple more pictures....Fulton needs a finish on the handles?    Yes?  No?  

I "plane" get 'smarter' every time you post one of your plane refurb threads...Thanks! BTW, like the Stanley Handyman's a lot too!

23 hours ago, Grandpadave52 said:

I "plane" get 'smarter' every time you post one of your plane refurb threads...Thanks! BTW, like the Stanley Handyman's a lot too!

 

Having had this very plane in my hands last Saturday, I can tell you that Steven is the man!

Ok, that old Fulton plane.   For some reason I needed the lateral lever to go way more to one side than it was designed to go.    Got out the square, a tub of water, and went to town on the crooked bevel.   Finally got it square to the side.  Angle was @ 35 degrees......I can make do with that, on the squirrelly grain woods.   While I was at it, I also worked on the chip breaker....

 

When you need a hammer to straighten out a chipbreaker, things are in bad shape.    Hammer a bit, grinder a bit ( used the side of the wheel) and a sander or two.   Then a few oil stones, too. 

 

Took a while, then I was able to reassemble the plane for a test drive on some White Oak...

For some reason, white oak shavings almost always look like this.  As for the test track..

When Oak shines back at you, plane just might be sharp enough.   On another site, someone was worried that his Sargent frog did not sit right on the base casting at the mouth opening.   Claimed there was a 1/16" gap under the frog.     really?  

Here is the gap on mine.   Same frog style as the other plane's.    This isn't really an issue IF the frog sits securely on the frog's seats.   One:  I try to keep the face of the frog and that little ramp at the back of the mouth coplanar.    sargent didn't make a very large ramp.   But, IF the iron sits flat on both the frog's face and that little ramp, no vibration (chatter) will happen.

Two:   The edge of the iron will be cutting wood long before the back of the mouth opening gets there.   With the iron flat on the ramp and the frog......any gap behind it is covered up.

 

All I did to the frog was clean and "lap" the face flat.    I also cleaned the underside of the frog..

Since some come through the shop with either a thick coating of paint-like goop, or rust...or both.    I lap the seat.  I also polished the leading edges of the lever cap, as this one was a bit rougher than need be.  Not much, just where it sits on the chipbreaker is all.   I also "sharpened"  it's edge, to allow shavings a smooth path to leave the plane on.

 

As for where the frog sits in the plane..

When it first got here, I took a cup wire brush, and buzzed those three rails smooth and level with each other.    They were a bit rusty, and the paint was lumpy.    Nowadays, these will get a wipe down with 3uin1 oil.  I dribble some into the threaded holes, as well.    keeps the rust bunnies at bay.    The reason the frog is almost all the way back, is the frog and the mouth needed to be coplanar.   I didn't want the iron to be hanging out in mid-air.

 

Everyone confused yet?   IF this had been a Sargent branded plane, and not a Fulton sold at sears......there would have been a 408 stamped to the underside of the frog.   There would also have been a raised "boss" with SARGENT on it, along with a logo on the lever cap.   I like my simpler one, better..

58 minutes ago, steven newman said:

(1)Nowadays, these will get a wipe down with 3uin1 oil. (2) I dribble some into the threaded holes, as well.    keeps the rust bunnies at bay. 

(1) I've been using a wipe of petroleum Jelly on each...dab on Q-tip and wipe down...seems to work well too; I've also used light wipe of genuine old fashion white lithium grease.

(2) No doubt you've been doing these longer than me in these applications, just a word of caution, don't fill the holes with oil or wipe out with Q-tip...oil laying in the bottom can cause a hydraulic lock when you insert the screws...these are thin wall, old cast thread bores so the risk is there to cause a fracture. VOE from other similar applications.

 

Your knowledge and use of hand-planes is mesmerizing. Enjoy every new thread you post...who needs magazines with the wealth of knowledge and information one can get here for free. Thanks.

Took a few swipes on the oak, this time going WITH the grain..

Flipped the board over and found a big knot.   Planed around it.  The one time I tried to go across it ...had a bit of tear out.  OK, try a pine board instead.....the one I found, still had saw marks all over it...Clamped to the bench, and removed MOST of them...

Not too hateful?   Wound up doing all four sides..

Strange looking grain.   I think I'll keep an eye on this plane, since I have quite a bit of resaw pine coming up.   Might try to see how long that 35 degree bevel holds up.

Might even prove worth the dollar bill I bought it with....

 

In the words of John Cameron Swayze, "Takes a licking and keeps on ticking." well planing...you know what I mean Nice shavings...should keep the shop cat cozy.

Not sure about the last plane I acquired from Mr Newman though....

 

She seems a bit uppity...she has an affinity for curly maple, QSWO, Beech, and Hickory...

She will Cut you if you are not careful, and show not a bit of remorse...

She has separation anxiety, as she follows me around the shop....

Refuses to clean up after herself, leaves shavings everywhere....

...does not tolerate competition, my coffee cup is getting jealous of the amount of time she spends in my hand...

...Is overly secretive, will not leave tear out to show she has been there....

...Does not respect her betters, my Lie Nielsen #4 is sitting on the shelf while she works away....

...is unfriendly, will not chatter a bit....

...gets her nose into every project....

...a little bit too proud of her Rosewood handles...

...is stoned frequently...on expensive stones...

 

But in the end she is a sweetheart...all of this tongue in cheek of course to say....if anyone on the planet can tune a plane, Steven can....

11 hours ago, Grandpadave52 said:

 Nice shavings...should keep the shop cat cozy.

I know where you can get your own, @Grandpadave52. Free.... you pay the shipping!

John