Google hand plane restoration.
You have a long way to go, but it is doable.
Might wanna find a cap iron and iron that is in better condition. Those look pretty rough. The Bay has 'em all the time, and some are pretty reasonable. Same with the tote. The knob doesn't look too bad from the pic.
I have no idea as to why the cap iron is ground away like it is.
Bill

 

Next step is checking sole for flatness and condition of mouth area (no pic of that assuming its ok).
Squaring sides required if using as shooting plane.

Many times this is where the resto stops because if a machine shop is needed, have to weight cost.

Clean up mating surfaces of frog/check lever for slop.

If all that checks out address the blade.
If heavily pitted, I recommend an aftermarket either Hock or LV.
You may want to do that anyway the cap iron/blade combos are superior to stock Stanely.
If you want to re-jappan it, media blasting is a great way to prep.
If you use chemicals to strip or clean make SURE you've through removed before painting…..

 

happen to have one of those planes

Iron: Grinder to get rid of the "mushroom" on the end. Logo goes out, bevel is down. I'd try to grind a better, straighter edge, but a little curve at the ends isn't too bad. The non beveled flat should be just that, flat. One can polish it to a mirror shine..

Chipbreaker: try to mate it to the iron, without any gaps where the edges meet. One can back-bevel the CB a bit, to almost a knife edge where it meets the iron. Polish the curved part, shavings will flow better over it.

face of the frog. Needs to be just as flat as the iron. Sand or file to get it that way. Underneath. Remove any paint where the frog meets the base. Check to make sure the frog does not rock. Wire wheel the threads to clean them up. If there are washers on the frog bolts, clean them as well. Couple drops od light oil down into the holes where the bolts go.

Sole: Sharpie to draw a bunch of lines across the sole. Sand the sole until they are all gone. Sole should then be flat enough to work.
Sides: Can be shined up mirror bright. I'd check to see if they are 90 degrees to the sole. It is needed IF you are using the plane as a shooting board plane, otherwise..no. Wire wheels to clean the worse of the rust off the base. Ford Engine Black by Rustoleum to touch up any bare metal.

handles: Usually are either a Rosewood ( red & black stripes) or a stained hardwood ( dark brown) or painted black. depends on how old it is. The newer ones were painted, the older ones were fancier.

Brasso and wire wheels to shine the brass parts.

Re-install the frog: Have a thin ruler handy. Loosely install the frog. Use the ruler to make a coplanar surface along the frog and out the mouth. You want the iron to be supported the entire way. Chipbreaker to within a 1/64 of the corners of the edge of the iron. Lever cap with the lever snapped down, tighten the bolt that holds it in place, Do not torque it down. You want it tight, but you want to be able to adjust the depth of cut.

Lateral lever: has a way of being in the way. It needs to be it the slot in the iron, otherwise there will be a gap. run the wheel for depth adjust all the way forward, then back off until the plane just barely starts to make a shaving.

Anything else?

My Stanley #6c

 

Thanks rwe. That is very helpful. I don't know what a shooting plane is, I'm intending this to be used as a jointer.

The blade is pretty pitted at the top, but the bottom seems fine. That's why I'm torn between shining all of it up or leaving it a satin grey. And I believe you want a perfectly straight edge for jointing (that will be the use of this plane) so I need to remove the existing curved edge. But I believe the blade is usable.

The sole looks good aside from rusting near the heel of it. I am praying it's not pitted. It is corrugated so if there is putting in the corrugations I'm not going to stress over that. But the mouth looks good from what I can tell. At least, I didn't find any cracks or chips near it. I am thinking for the main casting to just dunk it in evaporust and then wax it. I will be lapping down the sides and sole but that is all I intend to touch. I don't plan on messing with the japanning.

But of course all that above is the reason I am considering this a step by step restore. I haven't decided how finely to sand everything. I don't want to overdo anything, but for example, I read somewhere that even if you don't bring the blade and cap iron to a mirror finish you should make it shine down near the bump so that it shaves better.

 

Thanks bandit. Sorry if some of my above comment mentions things you addressed in your response. I had actually typed that before you replied. I must've waited too long to hit post, because I didn't see your response before posting it.

I am hoping this "hand planes in the workshop" class I'm taking at the nearest Woodcraft is helpful. Their description says that it covers restoration so I may hold off on some of this work until the class. But I originally intended to at least have this in working condition before the class. The problem is all those sharpening stones are quite expensive if you want something good.

Where do you guys get all your really high grit sandpapers? Anytime I look in stores I only see up to around 800 as a max.

 

Look for where they sell automotive touch up paint. I can get up to 3000 grit at walMart. They be those black,wet or dry papers.

I have one stone I use. A 600 grit India medium stone, found it at a yard sale….$1

Just picked two stones up over the weekend…$5 for the pair.

Might look up paul Sellers, and watch a couple of his videos on this subject.

 

Walmart

 

http://www.timetestedtools.com/how-to---bench-plane-restoration.html

 

Thanks Don, I think I've read that one. I have actually seen a lot of these restoration pages. Part of my question relates to what to do and what not to do. I want opinions on such things as should I sand that iron to remove all the pitting, or leave as is so you can somewhat faintly see the original 100 year old Stanley stamp…or as suggested go buy a new iron. My questions relate less to the physical process and more to the philosophical. For example, I know how to sand the iron, my question is how much. Likewise is it better to restore the existing or replace with likely better functioning? I know how to sand wood, my question is how far and what to treat with after. I know how to polish brass, my question is how polished should it be. rwe and bandit have provided some very helpful advice. I was hoping more for a discussion though. I am not looking for tutorials or blogs.

 

Level of restoration varies by individual. Some people like a shiny new look, so would polish up the brass til it gleams, refinish the wood with shellac or lacquer so it's glossy and sand all the iron and steel to an almost mirror polish. Others do just enough so the plane works well, and not a bit more, and there is a whole continuum in between.

Personally, I like to keep some of the patina and history and don't want to spend too much time on one plane, but also want one that is usable and looks decent. On one like yours, I'd probably try to clean up the original japanning and wax it. If the japanning is less than 60% or so, then I'd strip and refinish. I also don't like film finish on the wood, so if it can't be kept original, will sand off the original finish and use an oil finish and wax. For the iron, all I care about is the cutting end, so work out the pits and flatten the last couple inches toward the cutting edge. Pits up higher don't really affect anything. It's nice to still be able to see the original logo.

That's me. Others will take it much, much farther or do even less. I've seen some that they sanded the iron and steel up to a mirror polish. Those guys must have more time than me. It's your plane now and not a rare collectible. How do you want it to look?

BTW, if you can't find it at a hardware store, auto parts stores generally carry up to 1500 or 2000 grit sandpaper.

 

Im a minimalist rehabber myself. Get the rust off, tune and sharpen. Don't worry about pitting unless its at the cutting edge. If im going to clean up the knob and tote I use a card scraper and even a knife to get into the bends. From there I go rubbed on shellac but that's just my preference. BLO, Danish oil, tung oil will all work.

Find what makes you happy. If you want to spend weeks shining it up, go for it. If you want to spend a couple hours. go for it.

 

I think it's all been covered pretty well to this point. I'd just emphasize the need for a new chipbreaker whether you replace the iron or not. The angle ground on yours won't let you sit it close enough to the cutting edge to get rid of chatter and get an effective break. And for a router, you won't want any camber on the iron.

As for knobs and totes, I like to clean them down to the bare wood (think yours is rosewood). I use a card scraper on the tote to remove most of the finish and finish it off with sandpaper. For the tote, I mount it between nuts on a 1/4-20 rod and chuck it up in the drill press and use 120 sandpaper to remove the finish then 220 to finish it. Then I like a couple of coats of BLO. That's strictly personal preference though. You're not going to get improved performance, I just like the look and feel of it and it only takes a few minutes. For the busted tote, you can make a new one pretty easily with a bandsaw and a couple of rasps or replace it. Or if it doesn't hinder your grip, you can leave it like it is.

 

You only really need to worry about pitting on the back of the iron. Opposite the stamp. First 1/2"-1" or so. I do as much as possible so I don't ever have to do it again. Look up "ruler trick".

 

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Speaking of the sand paper…..When lapping the sole, how do you deal with the paper since they generally only come in 9×11 sheets? It seems using only one sheet could lead to an uneven lapping. Do you glue them next to each other? I found some rolls and belts that could be cut but they generally only go to around 400 grit and are quite expensive.

In response to the chipbreaker comments I keep seeing….what is the issue with the chipbreaker? Is it the fact that the front edge appears to not be perfectly parallel to the iron edge? It does need ground down some to make better contact with the blade, but generally, to me at least it seems pretty straight.

If I need to replace it can I use a new chipbreaker with this existing blade or do I need a new blade to match the chipbreaker?

And yes I have the rosewood pieces. I did in fact just order a "new" set of vintage tote and knob off ebay that isn't broken. What would Stanley originally have done with these pieces?

 

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Speaking of the sand paper…..When lapping the sole, how do you deal with the paper since they generally only come in 9×11 sheets? It seems using only one sheet could lead to an uneven lapping. Do you glue them next to each other? I found some rolls and belts that could be cut but they generally only go to around 400 grit and are quite expensive.

- Jeffjr02

First, does the sole really need flattening? Unless it's way out and affects how the plane performs, the only sanding I do on a sole any more is to remove rust. As long as the key areas are pretty much co-planar, you are good to go. Those areas are the toe, heel and right in front of the mouth. If the sole is a bit concave between those areas, it's not an issue. If it is convex, it's a huge issue.

If the sole really does need work, I use sanding rolls. You could also use a belt sander belt cut apart. Either way, you definitely do not need to go above 400, unless you are going for mirror finish. I usually only take plane bodies up to 220 and call it good.

 

Well, the rear half is all rust. I'm just assuming once the rust is removed it will need flattening. I am hoping it's not pitted since its the corrugated bottom.

 

In response to the chipbreaker comments I keep seeing….what is the issue with the chipbreaker? Is it the fact that the front edge appears to not be perfectly parallel to the iron edge? It does need ground down some to make better contact with the blade, but generally, to me at least it seems pretty straight.

If I need to replace it can I use a new chipbreaker with this existing blade or do I need a new blade to match the chipbreaker?

- Jeffjr02

Maybe it's just the picture but the in the first pic in your original post, it looks like the chipbreaker's been ground off 5-10 degrees. If you can grind it back parallel to the iron's cutting edge, then that's all that's needed.

You don't have to replace the breaker if you replace the iron. A new iron will work with your breaker. Whether you get a new iron, new chipbreaker, new both, or neither, I strongly advise that you lap the edge of the chipbreaker that mates with the iron and make sure they make near-perfect contact (can't see light between them). I also like to polish the top edge on the chipbreaker so there's nowhere for shavings to "catch" and clog up the throat. If your chipbreaker doesn't make good contact with the iron or if it's not parallel to the cutting edge, you'll get more flex in the iron in that area which means you won't be getting a good uniform chip and flat cuts. The chipbreaker's not just for breaking the shavings but more importantly (IMHO) a "stiffener" for the iron to prevent flexing and chatter.

FWIW, aside from learning to properly hone irons, understanding and properly tuning the chipbreaker has done more to improve my plane setups and give me better results than anything else.

As far as flattening goes, Jeffjr02 is right about the areas that need to be planar. For me personally, I always flatten them completely because I'm a little OCD about such things. However, I have also spent HOURS doing it so it's not a painless process. After you've gotten the sole rust-free, draw some diagonal lines across the width with a sharpie and give it 4 or 5 laps on 220 or 400 paper. If the sharpie's completely gone, that sucker's flat. If it's gone in all the areas Jeffjr pointed out, it's flat enough. Keep lapping until sharpie's gone from those areas (or everywhere if you wish) then work up in grit to polish it to whatever you like. I like to go to 1000 or 1200. And don't be afraid to drop back to 120 or even 60 if you have to remove a lot of material.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

 

Ok…happen to have rehabbed almost the same #6c as you have. Took about a day, and things looked a lot better.

Mine has just two patent dates behind the frog. Rosewood handles.

The two main tools I use? Large flat areas…...I have a 3×21" beltsander. I clamp it upside down in the vise. I can then sand things clean and flat. Like the soles, the sides of the base. I can lay the iron on the moving belt to flatten the back. I can hold the chipbreaker out on the side of the sander, to produce a knife edge.

#2 is a drill press with an assortment of wire wheels. I can also set the table to barely allow a base casting under a wheel. Then run the top speed on the wheel while pushing the casting through on it's sides. I can also use smaller cup wheels, and clean the insides of the castings.

I take a square to the iron's edge. many times, there is either a wave profile ~ or a reverse camber ( higher on the corners than the middle) A shaprie line across with the square, then grind to the line…slowly.

handles? wire wheels to just remove the old varnish, paint splatters and other crud. Light sand, and add a coat of BLO. Come back and wipe that down.

Bolts get the wire wheels treatment. I use it to clean all the threads. I also keep a pair of visegrips handy, have had one too many bolt go flying off into the sunset…

I prefer bare metal to be shiny. Whether steel, cast iron or brass. If a surface used to be black( or Red, Blue, Brown, or white) and it is just bare soon to be rusty again, metal…it will get a touch-up of paint. More to keep the rust from coming back.

bare metal will get a wipe down of 3in1 oil on a rag. Then the sole get a wipe down with a candle's wax.
Just completed a Stanley #5c a few days ago..

This is how it looked right out of the mailing box..

Couple of hours later….

There is a 1" x 30" beltsander down in the shop….it also helps with the iron and chipbreaker.

 

So that lower picture is what it looks like with the boiled linseed oil? I actually ran out to Lowe's last night and got some. I'm going to try it on a maul and hatchet handle I have. Everyone says to use the BLO. Why exactly is that? Is the finish easier on the hands or something? Why not just stain and wax? Just curious. Could I use the BLO without going all the way down to the bare wood? I sort of like the original brownish red color.

When cleaning up these metal parts prior to lubrication and or finishing, what is the chemical to use? I have read turpentine, acetone, degreaser, dawn, etc. Can any of these be used prior to painting/waxing a piece? Or does one work better than the other? I also have Valvoline Brake Parts cleaner which claims to be chloride free and on the back just says Acetone, Methyl alcohol, xylene, benzyl ethylene, and carbon dioxide. Would that even be safe? It's much more expensive but much easier to apply via the spray can.

 

I've used BLO, now I use natural Danish oil. BLO is a very traditional oil finish and can give grain on darker woods a nice pop. On lighter woods, you will notice a distinct yellowish tone. The reason I don't use BLO any more is that it takes quite a while to polymerize, so the wood may be leaking oil for some time. Danish oil gives the same level of protection without as much yellow and dries a lot faster. It also is much easier to dispose of rags.

If you use BLO, do NOT wad up the rag you applied it with and throw it in the trash-the rag can spontaneously combust. You'll need to either toss it in a bucket of water for a day or so or lay the rag out flat on a non-flammable surface until the BLO has dried.

I usually don't stain because it just sits on the surface, so any nick or scratch will just go through and you have to touch up. It's far easier to touch up an oil finish. That said, if the plane had generic hardwood handles or I want to slightly alter the color for some reason, I've used stain.

Clean and degrease the metal with whatever you are comfortable with. I use diluted Simple Green because it's always in the shop (it also gets used with my diamond sharpening plates) and is easy on hands and lungs. I've also used other, more powerful cleaners when necessary.

With plane restoration questions, there are multiple "right" answers. I work one way, someone else does them differently. As long as the tool works like its supposed to when you are done, it's all good.

 

One question I forgot to ask in my last posting was about the Johnson Paste Wax.

I've done three parts with it now, and after leaving it dry for around an hour whenever I go to wipe it off it still feels oily. Is this normal? I thought the wax was supposed to dry like car wax and wipe off clean. Should parts still feel oily after being wiped down?

 

Well, I took the hand plane class at Woodcraft. It was a great experience. I got this baby all sharpened and cleaned. And I made my first shavings ever. I will post a pic of the cleaned up plane tomorrow. I think I may do some more work on the body, I need to lap the sole still. But I must've gotten bitten by the bug because I just bought two more today.

These two were part of a lot of tools I got from craigslist for $35. Part of the reason I bought them was because the screw to attach the iron cap to the iron for my Bailey grew legs this past week

Anyways, anyone know anything about the Handymans? And how do I identify the smaller one? It literally has no markings anywhere.

 

The small one is a defiance, http://www.timetestedtools.com/stanley-defiance.html

Handyman can be made to work, but some of them take a lot of work. I've all but given up on the species.

 

Don, could they at least be sold off for more than I paid? I intend to clean them up. The Handyman iron and cap are in the evaporust tub right now. When you say they can be made to work what do you mean? Do they just not hold the blade where you set it?

And thanks for that ID on the other one. How the heck can you tell without markings? It seems so cheap and generic. Is that hand screw tightening mechanism the dead giveaway?

 

If you turn the handyman into a jack, it'll be fine. They tend to not be very well manufactured. The sole may be off, the frog may not seat right, etc.

Making much of a profit will be tough IMHO. I find the Hanymans very hard to resell. At $12 shipping you're already at what they are worth.

They are good to practice on.