April 1, 20178 yr Popular Post I had an English made stanley #4 that I wasn't too fond of. Light blue japanning, kind of loose with the settings.. I had traded off the Sargent #3 Fulton for a Craftsman #4 that the owner wasn't able to fix up. It had those grooved sides, and the worst frog seat I have seen, somehow managed to get it to work.... So, today while out and about, I stopped in at a place, looking for Rusty & Krusty Tools.....Found a nice Stanley #4c on the shelf...checked the price tag...OUCH! $45?! Hmmm... Got to thinking while driving home ( not sure which is more dangerous, me driving, or me thinking..) Decided to pack up those two troublesome planes, and go back to do a little trading.... Set my two on the counter, went to the shelf..there was a second plane sitting there, right beside the Stanley....."Straight up trade? My two for these two? Deal?" Walked out of there with two decent planes.. So, here they are, before I started to clean up their act. Stanley #4c still with that $45 price tag....The one behind it is a Millers Falls No.9 About the same size. The stanley is still a made in England plane, but a lot older than the one I traded it for. Handles may be bakelite, but that is easy to change....That is a Model number and a "Made in England" cast behind the frog "Tropical Hardwood" for the handles....will do a bit of research to see what "Type" this is. Millers Falls is a smooth sole, the Stanley is "Groovy" Maybe after I get a table done, I can get these two fixed up? Straight up trade, 2 planes, for 2 planes, zero cash needed...not too bad a day?
April 1, 20178 yr Ya' did good...real good...beautiful tote & knob on that Miller-Falls plane...looking forward to seeing your refurb thread on these two.
April 2, 20178 yr Author After some "research" found some info about these two planes... Stanley had a Model number of G12-004. Made in England. It is a #4c type of plane. While the handles are a dark brown plastic, the bolts for them have a brass nut. Millers Falls No. 9 is a type 4...1955 era plane.. Has a smooth sole. and some very fancy handles. Worked on the Stanley today ( and some other woodworking..) Set this up at the bench. used 80 grit belt onboard. Had to go and get a cup of water.. The bench grinder was also needed, mainly for the wirewheel on it. Ran the sides of the base casting on the belt for a while...left side was bad. Right side took a lot longer to get it this far.. Best that I can do....not sure where this plane had sat for 6 decades, but it wasn't a nice place. The sole was also bad on the right side, had to beltsand it down... Look back towards the heel. There is still a little bit of rough back there. Sole is flat, though. Lever cap had a bad case of Rust Measels/acne......most of the nickle plating was shot. Wire wheeled it all off, which also removed the paint in the logo..not a problem.. It's a Scratch Repair Pen. it has a small paint brush under the cap. After the paint dries a day, I buff the letters free of paint, to show off the logo... Iron works ( and my hands were smelling like a Foundry..) The iron needed it's back flattened a bit, sat too long clamped up. Held the iron flat along the side of the beltsander That jig is aVeritas MK1 honing guide. Used it and the sander.. Held for the camera....When the beltsander is running, I have both hands on the guide, with a couple fingertips near the iron's edge. When the fingertips say they are too warm, I dunk the iron in that cup of water. I go until I have a nice bevel. Then the sander is a benchtop, as I will set oilstones and wet-or-dry sandpaper ON the belt. That way, they don't slide around. Got up to 2000 grit, both the 25 degree bevel and the back. I was going to use the strop...forgot, oops. Once the woodworking for the day was done, I set up a pine 2x4 in the vise for a test drive....took a few tries to get the settings just right. I can read a paper through those shavings sitting there. It willjust have to do, for now. Maybe tomorrow, I can rehab the Millers Falls.....maybe? Stay tuned....
April 2, 20178 yr I knew you wouldn't be able to stand it having those neglected planes down there needing cleaned, sharpened & tuned... 1 hour ago, steven newman said: I can read a paper through those shavings sitting there. With or without bi-focals? 1 hour ago, steven newman said: Maybe tomorrow, I can rehab the Millers Falls.....maybe? Stay tuned.. Maybe??? Ha, no maybe about it...you'll have to have your plane fix tomorrow, otherwise it will be Tuesday because that "M" word is after tomorrow We both know what happens on that day BTW...yet another nice refurb job and another one rescued from extinction.
April 2, 20178 yr Author Got the Millers Falls No. 9 rehabbed today....same steps as above.....sole was a bit wonky, though. Managed to get it flat enough to use. I think this will do.. Without the shaving in the way All cleaned up....seems I have an older version of this one.. Older one has Rosewood for handles. As for Shop Cat.. Mr. Attitude has made an appearance.... Got the sides, and the sole cleaned on the plane, worked on the cambered iron to get the back flattened. Then the chipbreaker needed to match. Cambered iron? Hmm,the one in my Millers Falls No. 14 has no camber, irons are the same age, made a "trade" again. jack plane has the cambered iron, and smoothie has no camber..works for me.. Oh, BTW, I also got a wee bit more woodworking done today..... . All the mortises are chopped and fitted, doing a dry fit, to see how to clamp this "thing" up....need to buy a new bottle of glue.....
April 4, 20178 yr On 4/2/2017 at 3:30 PM, steven newman said: As for Shop Cat.. Mr. Attitude has made an appearance.... Thank goodness...beginning to think he might have been part of the "swap"...Guess he just needed a little shop time himself... The tote & knob on the "new" Miller-Falls is absolutely beautiful...nice job on the rehab, but that tote & knob just sets this plane above all others. Do you suppose it was some "special edition" plane they produced or maybe a specially produced plane for display or a specific customer...I've never seen one such as this so it's got me really intrigued in case you can't tell.
April 4, 20178 yr Author I guess all the type 4s were like that....Tropical Hardwood, that Millers Falls coated with a thick varnish.....something called Gancalo?
April 4, 20178 yr 2 minutes ago, steven newman said: I guess all the type 4s were like that....Tropical Hardwood, that Millers Falls coated with a thick varnish.....something called Gancalo? Huh...guess I've haven't seen too many Millers-Falls bench or jack planes in the "wild" around here. There are lots of Stanley / Bailey, Dunlap, Craftsman and even Montgomery Ward...I'll keep a watch going forward though...the knob & tote are a give away for sure. I do have my little 56B low angle block plane though...just out of rehab...I'll try to get some pictures up this week...it's a keeper...
April 4, 20178 yr Here is the facts on GONCALCO ALVES :http://www.wood-database.com/goncalo-alves/ Edited April 4, 20178 yr by Gerald
April 4, 20178 yr Author More pictures of the Rehabbed planes? This is after the "STANLEY" was cleaned up from the red paint... Japanning is black, BTW...Sole? About as good as I can get it.. And...you've all seen the rehabbed Millers Falls.
April 4, 20178 yr 4 hours ago, Gerald said: Here is the facts on GONCALCO ALVES :http://www.wood-database.com/goncalo-alves/ Iove to make things from Tiger wood, it machines so nice and the finish really brings out the mellow brown grain with the dark stripes. The wood Steven has on the MF doesn't look like any tiger wood I have seen, too red. Herb Edited April 4, 20178 yr by Dadio
April 4, 20178 yr Author That is because of the THICK varnish Millers Falls slathered on these handles. Have had a few come through the shop like this one.. This is one from a few years back, came in it's original box, BTW........Some dummy sold it for something else on Fleabay..... Millers Falls Home Page describes the "Types" that were made.....after a short return after WW2, of "Rosewood" they switched to this stuff, as Cocobolo was getting a bit hard to buy.
April 4, 20178 yr They must have used a tinted varnish is my guess. Makes a beautiful tote is all I can say. Herb
April 4, 20178 yr Back in the hey days of hand planes, there was a lot of competition in manufacturing them. So a beautiful tote might swing a sale. A lot of that was done in hand saws too. Herb Edited April 4, 20178 yr by Dadio
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