Nice restoration work!Cleaning Brass and making it shine!
Many old planes and tools featured brass elements such as screw caps, adjustment wheels ext ext. In most cases you cant even tell that its brass because of how dirty it is. Most all of the old Stanley planes have brass nuts on the knob and tote and a brass adjustment wheel. There are other makes that featured brass nuts and wheels as well.
If there is one area of the cleaning/restoring process where you spend a little extra time and effort this is it. When polished and cleaned the brass elements stand out over everything else. Sure it has no effect on the use of the tool but it makes it look great when its sitting on the bench, wall or shelf.
In my opinion Brass is much easier to clean and polish then steel. I use nothing more then some brass polish, fine grit sand paper and some Q-tips. I personally do all of this work by hand. I like doing this kind of thing in my house at the kitchen table or even in the recliner as I am watching tv. As time consuming as this stuff can be its much more comfortable doing in the house while you are relaxed. If you want to speed it up a Dremmel tool with a buffing attachment works fantastic for this also.
In most cases I can get the brass cleaned without sanding it at all. If I do need to sand I just cut a small square of 2000 grit wet/dry paper and sand the brass with the polish on it. I use Q-tips to polish the small parts as they just work best for me. Apply the polish and clean with your pad or Q-tip. The trick to a great shine is to just keep repeating this process until your pad or q-tips no longer turn black when buffing.
I will show finished pictures of the planes at the end of the blog series. However here is a before and after of an old Disston hand saw that I restored. I used same process on the brass for the saw and it really stands out over everything else.
Thats all for todays blog. I am doing this blog in a series as it takes a bit of time to load all the pics and resize them. In my next blog of the series I will discuss re-painting and sanding/polishing the plane soles.
Thanks for reading!
Restoring Hand Planes.. My methods
5
Intro and first step of cleaning & rust removal
There are many good blogs, articles and web pages out there that give you all you need to know about restoring old hand planes. Most of what I learned I got from other peoples advice. Even though there are many resources out there for restoring planes I found myself learning new tips and tricks from each and every one of them. I decided to do a series of blogs on my methods for restoring planes. Most of what I discuss you may all ready know from reading other blogs and sites but hopefully I can offer some new tips and advice that you may be able to use.
NOTE: Of all the How to's that I have read I have learned that there are many different methods to doing this stuff. My blogs may not offer the best possible way to do it but rather just my method of doing things. If you have any of your own advice feel free to share it with me as I am always looking for new tips.
Choosing which planes to restore - Choosing what is worth restoring is all a personal preference. I have read sites and blogs where the writer says not to waist your time on certain planes. I say its your time and you can spend it how ever you want to spend it. The first plane I ever restored was a Shelton Jack Plane. When researching Shelton planes I found many comments saying they were junk and not to waist your time restoring them. I did it anyway and the Shelton IMO is just as well built and good as my Stanley Bailey planes. Had I not "waisted" my time on it then I would have missed out on a good plane and forked over more money to buy a Stanley. Don't get me wrong old Stanley planes are great to restore but there are other plane makes out there that have the same design as the Stanley Bailey planes that will work just as well as the Stanley's. Its not up to me or anyone else to tell you how to spend your free time so don't let anyone make you think something is not worth the time. Even if the plane is considered a junk plane, you will learn a lot restoring it and if your like me you will have a lot of fun and get a lot of enjoyment out of the whole process.
Step 1- Cleaning and Rust Removal - I personally look for the planes with the most rust. For one they are usually a lot cheaper on Ebay and I also like the challenge. I get such joy out of taking a hunk of rust and making it look new again. Don't be scared of Rust. I have never not been able to remove all rust from a tool.
The pictures that I post throughout this blog series will be from a number of different planes that I have restored.
The first thing I do is take the plane apart. You may need to spray some WD-40 on the screws if they wont turn. Make sure all parts are there and nothing is broke. If anything is missing or broke you may not want to restore. Many parts can be bought on Ebay so if its just a screw or two its not a big deal. I take the planes apart next to my kitchen sink. Once apart I wash each part off with simple green. I don't take a lot of time washing them, just enough to get any chunks sawdust and dirt off. Once cleaned the rusted parts are ready to be soaked over night in Evapo-Rust
EVAPO-RUST Every woodworker should have a jug of Evapo-Rust in their shop. This stuff is amazing. Most woodworkers deal with rust on their tools. Saw blades, router bits, nuts, bolts, saws, ext ext. Soak it in this stuff over night and the rust will be gone. I have cleaned rust off of all of my tools with this stuff. Even a badly rusted plane or tool will come out pretty much rust free after a nights soaking. You can find this at auto parts shops and Harbor Freight sells it as well. I have seen it in two sizes. The larger jug is 20 dollars and the smaller is 10 dollars. For 20 dollars you get a lot more. It is kind of expensive but I came up with some ways to help make it last.
For the smaller screws and parts I just pour a small amount of Evapo-Rust in an empty glass jar. You only need enough to cover the parts.
For the larger parts of the plane I came up with a good way to soak them without using up all of the solution. What I do is put the larger plane parts in a plastic bag. A zip lock freezer bag will work best but any bag will do. If its not a heavy duty bag you may want to double or even triple up the bags. The sharp parts can poke through the plastic. Once in the bag bring you can pour in the Evapo-Rust. You will want to do this over the sink or an empty container in case you have a hole and some leaks out. Using a bag will allow you to completely cover the object without using much solution. Tie off the bag and let it soak over night. After soaking for a night (don't panic if you let it soak longer) you can remove the plane from the bag. Carefully take the parts out of the bag and into the sink or a container to be washed. The left over Evapo-Rust in the bag is not to throw away. You can use this again, and again and again. If you have it in a zip lock bag you can just zip it and leave it for next time. Another thing you can do is put the bag in a funnel with a few coffee filters and poke some holes in the bag. Filter the solution into another container. The filters will clear out any larger chunks and you can seal the rest in another container to use again down the road. You can also filter the solution that is in the jar with the smaller parts.
After your parts are removed from the Evapo-Rust you will want to wash them right away. The parts will still have loose rust and dirt on them, you don't want that to harden as it will take more time to get it off. I use a green abrasive pad and scrub them with soap and water in the sink. After a good scrubbing you will all ready see a huge improvement in the looks.
Once you are done washing you will want to dry them right away! Dry them off as good as you can and then some. I have found if you let them sit a day or so you will start to see some surface rust form again.
If you have not used the Evapo-Rust before you will be amazed at the difference it makes. If you choose you can go head and rust proof your plane or tool with some wax or spray, tune it and start using it after the cleaning and rust removal. I like to do a complete restore though and really make it shine. My next blog entry will discuss the finer detail steps with many more pics. Thats all for now. Hope these tips help someone.
Thanks for reading and watch for more.
There are many good blogs, articles and web pages out there that give you all you need to know about restoring old hand planes. Most of what I learned I got from other peoples advice. Even though there are many resources out there for restoring planes I found myself learning new tips and tricks from each and every one of them. I decided to do a series of blogs on my methods for restoring planes. Most of what I discuss you may all ready know from reading other blogs and sites but hopefully I can offer some new tips and advice that you may be able to use.
NOTE: Of all the How to's that I have read I have learned that there are many different methods to doing this stuff. My blogs may not offer the best possible way to do it but rather just my method of doing things. If you have any of your own advice feel free to share it with me as I am always looking for new tips.
Choosing which planes to restore - Choosing what is worth restoring is all a personal preference. I have read sites and blogs where the writer says not to waist your time on certain planes. I say its your time and you can spend it how ever you want to spend it. The first plane I ever restored was a Shelton Jack Plane. When researching Shelton planes I found many comments saying they were junk and not to waist your time restoring them. I did it anyway and the Shelton IMO is just as well built and good as my Stanley Bailey planes. Had I not "waisted" my time on it then I would have missed out on a good plane and forked over more money to buy a Stanley. Don't get me wrong old Stanley planes are great to restore but there are other plane makes out there that have the same design as the Stanley Bailey planes that will work just as well as the Stanley's. Its not up to me or anyone else to tell you how to spend your free time so don't let anyone make you think something is not worth the time. Even if the plane is considered a junk plane, you will learn a lot restoring it and if your like me you will have a lot of fun and get a lot of enjoyment out of the whole process.
Step 1- Cleaning and Rust Removal - I personally look for the planes with the most rust. For one they are usually a lot cheaper on Ebay and I also like the challenge. I get such joy out of taking a hunk of rust and making it look new again. Don't be scared of Rust. I have never not been able to remove all rust from a tool.
The pictures that I post throughout this blog series will be from a number of different planes that I have restored.
The first thing I do is take the plane apart. You may need to spray some WD-40 on the screws if they wont turn. Make sure all parts are there and nothing is broke. If anything is missing or broke you may not want to restore. Many parts can be bought on Ebay so if its just a screw or two its not a big deal. I take the planes apart next to my kitchen sink. Once apart I wash each part off with simple green. I don't take a lot of time washing them, just enough to get any chunks sawdust and dirt off. Once cleaned the rusted parts are ready to be soaked over night in Evapo-Rust
EVAPO-RUST Every woodworker should have a jug of Evapo-Rust in their shop. This stuff is amazing. Most woodworkers deal with rust on their tools. Saw blades, router bits, nuts, bolts, saws, ext ext. Soak it in this stuff over night and the rust will be gone. I have cleaned rust off of all of my tools with this stuff. Even a badly rusted plane or tool will come out pretty much rust free after a nights soaking. You can find this at auto parts shops and Harbor Freight sells it as well. I have seen it in two sizes. The larger jug is 20 dollars and the smaller is 10 dollars. For 20 dollars you get a lot more. It is kind of expensive but I came up with some ways to help make it last.
For the smaller screws and parts I just pour a small amount of Evapo-Rust in an empty glass jar. You only need enough to cover the parts.
For the larger parts of the plane I came up with a good way to soak them without using up all of the solution. What I do is put the larger plane parts in a plastic bag. A zip lock freezer bag will work best but any bag will do. If its not a heavy duty bag you may want to double or even triple up the bags. The sharp parts can poke through the plastic. Once in the bag bring you can pour in the Evapo-Rust. You will want to do this over the sink or an empty container in case you have a hole and some leaks out. Using a bag will allow you to completely cover the object without using much solution. Tie off the bag and let it soak over night. After soaking for a night (don't panic if you let it soak longer) you can remove the plane from the bag. Carefully take the parts out of the bag and into the sink or a container to be washed. The left over Evapo-Rust in the bag is not to throw away. You can use this again, and again and again. If you have it in a zip lock bag you can just zip it and leave it for next time. Another thing you can do is put the bag in a funnel with a few coffee filters and poke some holes in the bag. Filter the solution into another container. The filters will clear out any larger chunks and you can seal the rest in another container to use again down the road. You can also filter the solution that is in the jar with the smaller parts.
After your parts are removed from the Evapo-Rust you will want to wash them right away. The parts will still have loose rust and dirt on them, you don't want that to harden as it will take more time to get it off. I use a green abrasive pad and scrub them with soap and water in the sink. After a good scrubbing you will all ready see a huge improvement in the looks.
Once you are done washing you will want to dry them right away! Dry them off as good as you can and then some. I have found if you let them sit a day or so you will start to see some surface rust form again.
If you have not used the Evapo-Rust before you will be amazed at the difference it makes. If you choose you can go head and rust proof your plane or tool with some wax or spray, tune it and start using it after the cleaning and rust removal. I like to do a complete restore though and really make it shine. My next blog entry will discuss the finer detail steps with many more pics. Thats all for now. Hope these tips help someone.
Thanks for reading and watch for more.
21 - 40 of 353 Posts
Dan instead of using the expencive Brass polish and all that albow greaseCleaning Brass and making it shine!
Many old planes and tools featured brass elements such as screw caps, adjustment wheels ext ext. In most cases you cant even tell that its brass because of how dirty it is. Most all of the old Stanley planes have brass nuts on the knob and tote and a brass adjustment wheel. There are other makes that featured brass nuts and wheels as well.
If there is one area of the cleaning/restoring process where you spend a little extra time and effort this is it. When polished and cleaned the brass elements stand out over everything else. Sure it has no effect on the use of the tool but it makes it look great when its sitting on the bench, wall or shelf.
In my opinion Brass is much easier to clean and polish then steel. I use nothing more then some brass polish, fine grit sand paper and some Q-tips. I personally do all of this work by hand. I like doing this kind of thing in my house at the kitchen table or even in the recliner as I am watching tv. As time consuming as this stuff can be its much more comfortable doing in the house while you are relaxed. If you want to speed it up a Dremmel tool with a buffing attachment works fantastic for this also.
In most cases I can get the brass cleaned without sanding it at all. If I do need to sand I just cut a small square of 2000 grit wet/dry paper and sand the brass with the polish on it. I use Q-tips to polish the small parts as they just work best for me. Apply the polish and clean with your pad or Q-tip. The trick to a great shine is to just keep repeating this process until your pad or q-tips no longer turn black when buffing.
I will show finished pictures of the planes at the end of the blog series. However here is a before and after of an old Disston hand saw that I restored. I used same process on the brass for the saw and it really stands out over everything else.
Thats all for todays blog. I am doing this blog in a series as it takes a bit of time to load all the pics and resize them. In my next blog of the series I will discuss re-painting and sanding/polishing the plane soles.
Thanks for reading!
then let the chemi rule and try some of theese recipies
1.
1 teaspoon citrus acid
1 spoon dishwash soape liquide
1 Liter boiling water
put the brass in 2-4minuts and you shuold have clean brass
pure some clean water over the items after cleaning to stop the acid
2.
cover the item with a layer of yughurt , wrap them in some plastic kitchenfilm 2-3 hours
and wash them normaly and you shuold have clean brass
3.
cover the item with Ketchup ½ - 1 hour
and wash them normaly and you shuold have clean brass
one question ?
what do you use to polish that saw with after the evapro-rustremover
take care
Dennis
Dennis- Thanks for the recipes I will try them. I am interested to see how they work.Cleaning Brass and making it shine!
Many old planes and tools featured brass elements such as screw caps, adjustment wheels ext ext. In most cases you cant even tell that its brass because of how dirty it is. Most all of the old Stanley planes have brass nuts on the knob and tote and a brass adjustment wheel. There are other makes that featured brass nuts and wheels as well.
If there is one area of the cleaning/restoring process where you spend a little extra time and effort this is it. When polished and cleaned the brass elements stand out over everything else. Sure it has no effect on the use of the tool but it makes it look great when its sitting on the bench, wall or shelf.
In my opinion Brass is much easier to clean and polish then steel. I use nothing more then some brass polish, fine grit sand paper and some Q-tips. I personally do all of this work by hand. I like doing this kind of thing in my house at the kitchen table or even in the recliner as I am watching tv. As time consuming as this stuff can be its much more comfortable doing in the house while you are relaxed. If you want to speed it up a Dremmel tool with a buffing attachment works fantastic for this also.
In most cases I can get the brass cleaned without sanding it at all. If I do need to sand I just cut a small square of 2000 grit wet/dry paper and sand the brass with the polish on it. I use Q-tips to polish the small parts as they just work best for me. Apply the polish and clean with your pad or Q-tip. The trick to a great shine is to just keep repeating this process until your pad or q-tips no longer turn black when buffing.
I will show finished pictures of the planes at the end of the blog series. However here is a before and after of an old Disston hand saw that I restored. I used same process on the brass for the saw and it really stands out over everything else.
Thats all for todays blog. I am doing this blog in a series as it takes a bit of time to load all the pics and resize them. In my next blog of the series I will discuss re-painting and sanding/polishing the plane soles.
Thanks for reading!
I polished the saw with a metal polish that I got in the automotive dept of a store. I cant remember the name right now but it was just one of the many metal/steel polishes that they had on the shelf. I got one in the mid price range. I just rubbed it in and then buffed it by hand with a clean buff pad. I repeated that process a number of times until I had a good shine.
thank´s Dan I will look in those kind of thores here in Denmark and see whats possiple to get :-OCleaning Brass and making it shine!
Many old planes and tools featured brass elements such as screw caps, adjustment wheels ext ext. In most cases you cant even tell that its brass because of how dirty it is. Most all of the old Stanley planes have brass nuts on the knob and tote and a brass adjustment wheel. There are other makes that featured brass nuts and wheels as well.
If there is one area of the cleaning/restoring process where you spend a little extra time and effort this is it. When polished and cleaned the brass elements stand out over everything else. Sure it has no effect on the use of the tool but it makes it look great when its sitting on the bench, wall or shelf.
In my opinion Brass is much easier to clean and polish then steel. I use nothing more then some brass polish, fine grit sand paper and some Q-tips. I personally do all of this work by hand. I like doing this kind of thing in my house at the kitchen table or even in the recliner as I am watching tv. As time consuming as this stuff can be its much more comfortable doing in the house while you are relaxed. If you want to speed it up a Dremmel tool with a buffing attachment works fantastic for this also.
In most cases I can get the brass cleaned without sanding it at all. If I do need to sand I just cut a small square of 2000 grit wet/dry paper and sand the brass with the polish on it. I use Q-tips to polish the small parts as they just work best for me. Apply the polish and clean with your pad or Q-tip. The trick to a great shine is to just keep repeating this process until your pad or q-tips no longer turn black when buffing.
I will show finished pictures of the planes at the end of the blog series. However here is a before and after of an old Disston hand saw that I restored. I used same process on the brass for the saw and it really stands out over everything else.
Thats all for todays blog. I am doing this blog in a series as it takes a bit of time to load all the pics and resize them. In my next blog of the series I will discuss re-painting and sanding/polishing the plane soles.
Thanks for reading!
the recipies I havn´t tryed them myself yet but have heard about them many many times over
the years from housewife´s ….LOL
except for the citrus acid threatment that was from this site , its a great site for galoot´s …lol
http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/jThompson/howTo/rust_CitricAcid/rust_CitricAcid1.asp
take care
Dennis
sorry Dan the link I gave you was for rust on iron and that reciepee is a little differentCleaning Brass and making it shine!
Many old planes and tools featured brass elements such as screw caps, adjustment wheels ext ext. In most cases you cant even tell that its brass because of how dirty it is. Most all of the old Stanley planes have brass nuts on the knob and tote and a brass adjustment wheel. There are other makes that featured brass nuts and wheels as well.
If there is one area of the cleaning/restoring process where you spend a little extra time and effort this is it. When polished and cleaned the brass elements stand out over everything else. Sure it has no effect on the use of the tool but it makes it look great when its sitting on the bench, wall or shelf.
In my opinion Brass is much easier to clean and polish then steel. I use nothing more then some brass polish, fine grit sand paper and some Q-tips. I personally do all of this work by hand. I like doing this kind of thing in my house at the kitchen table or even in the recliner as I am watching tv. As time consuming as this stuff can be its much more comfortable doing in the house while you are relaxed. If you want to speed it up a Dremmel tool with a buffing attachment works fantastic for this also.
In most cases I can get the brass cleaned without sanding it at all. If I do need to sand I just cut a small square of 2000 grit wet/dry paper and sand the brass with the polish on it. I use Q-tips to polish the small parts as they just work best for me. Apply the polish and clean with your pad or Q-tip. The trick to a great shine is to just keep repeating this process until your pad or q-tips no longer turn black when buffing.
I will show finished pictures of the planes at the end of the blog series. However here is a before and after of an old Disston hand saw that I restored. I used same process on the brass for the saw and it really stands out over everything else.
Thats all for todays blog. I am doing this blog in a series as it takes a bit of time to load all the pics and resize them. In my next blog of the series I will discuss re-painting and sanding/polishing the plane soles.
Thanks for reading!
but the recipie you got first with citric acid works for brass
Dennis
Nice looking saw.Cleaning Brass and making it shine!
Many old planes and tools featured brass elements such as screw caps, adjustment wheels ext ext. In most cases you cant even tell that its brass because of how dirty it is. Most all of the old Stanley planes have brass nuts on the knob and tote and a brass adjustment wheel. There are other makes that featured brass nuts and wheels as well.
If there is one area of the cleaning/restoring process where you spend a little extra time and effort this is it. When polished and cleaned the brass elements stand out over everything else. Sure it has no effect on the use of the tool but it makes it look great when its sitting on the bench, wall or shelf.
In my opinion Brass is much easier to clean and polish then steel. I use nothing more then some brass polish, fine grit sand paper and some Q-tips. I personally do all of this work by hand. I like doing this kind of thing in my house at the kitchen table or even in the recliner as I am watching tv. As time consuming as this stuff can be its much more comfortable doing in the house while you are relaxed. If you want to speed it up a Dremmel tool with a buffing attachment works fantastic for this also.
In most cases I can get the brass cleaned without sanding it at all. If I do need to sand I just cut a small square of 2000 grit wet/dry paper and sand the brass with the polish on it. I use Q-tips to polish the small parts as they just work best for me. Apply the polish and clean with your pad or Q-tip. The trick to a great shine is to just keep repeating this process until your pad or q-tips no longer turn black when buffing.
I will show finished pictures of the planes at the end of the blog series. However here is a before and after of an old Disston hand saw that I restored. I used same process on the brass for the saw and it really stands out over everything else.
Thats all for todays blog. I am doing this blog in a series as it takes a bit of time to load all the pics and resize them. In my next blog of the series I will discuss re-painting and sanding/polishing the plane soles.
Thanks for reading!
Cotton string works well to polish the two grooves around the rim of the brass adjusting nut. Rub some polish in the grooves with a Q-tip, loop the string around the rim, and rotate the nut while keeping the string tight.Cleaning Brass and making it shine!
Many old planes and tools featured brass elements such as screw caps, adjustment wheels ext ext. In most cases you cant even tell that its brass because of how dirty it is. Most all of the old Stanley planes have brass nuts on the knob and tote and a brass adjustment wheel. There are other makes that featured brass nuts and wheels as well.
If there is one area of the cleaning/restoring process where you spend a little extra time and effort this is it. When polished and cleaned the brass elements stand out over everything else. Sure it has no effect on the use of the tool but it makes it look great when its sitting on the bench, wall or shelf.
In my opinion Brass is much easier to clean and polish then steel. I use nothing more then some brass polish, fine grit sand paper and some Q-tips. I personally do all of this work by hand. I like doing this kind of thing in my house at the kitchen table or even in the recliner as I am watching tv. As time consuming as this stuff can be its much more comfortable doing in the house while you are relaxed. If you want to speed it up a Dremmel tool with a buffing attachment works fantastic for this also.
In most cases I can get the brass cleaned without sanding it at all. If I do need to sand I just cut a small square of 2000 grit wet/dry paper and sand the brass with the polish on it. I use Q-tips to polish the small parts as they just work best for me. Apply the polish and clean with your pad or Q-tip. The trick to a great shine is to just keep repeating this process until your pad or q-tips no longer turn black when buffing.
I will show finished pictures of the planes at the end of the blog series. However here is a before and after of an old Disston hand saw that I restored. I used same process on the brass for the saw and it really stands out over everything else.
Thats all for todays blog. I am doing this blog in a series as it takes a bit of time to load all the pics and resize them. In my next blog of the series I will discuss re-painting and sanding/polishing the plane soles.
Thanks for reading!
Wow.Cleaning Brass and making it shine!
Many old planes and tools featured brass elements such as screw caps, adjustment wheels ext ext. In most cases you cant even tell that its brass because of how dirty it is. Most all of the old Stanley planes have brass nuts on the knob and tote and a brass adjustment wheel. There are other makes that featured brass nuts and wheels as well.
If there is one area of the cleaning/restoring process where you spend a little extra time and effort this is it. When polished and cleaned the brass elements stand out over everything else. Sure it has no effect on the use of the tool but it makes it look great when its sitting on the bench, wall or shelf.
In my opinion Brass is much easier to clean and polish then steel. I use nothing more then some brass polish, fine grit sand paper and some Q-tips. I personally do all of this work by hand. I like doing this kind of thing in my house at the kitchen table or even in the recliner as I am watching tv. As time consuming as this stuff can be its much more comfortable doing in the house while you are relaxed. If you want to speed it up a Dremmel tool with a buffing attachment works fantastic for this also.
In most cases I can get the brass cleaned without sanding it at all. If I do need to sand I just cut a small square of 2000 grit wet/dry paper and sand the brass with the polish on it. I use Q-tips to polish the small parts as they just work best for me. Apply the polish and clean with your pad or Q-tip. The trick to a great shine is to just keep repeating this process until your pad or q-tips no longer turn black when buffing.
I will show finished pictures of the planes at the end of the blog series. However here is a before and after of an old Disston hand saw that I restored. I used same process on the brass for the saw and it really stands out over everything else.
Thats all for todays blog. I am doing this blog in a series as it takes a bit of time to load all the pics and resize them. In my next blog of the series I will discuss re-painting and sanding/polishing the plane soles.
Thanks for reading!
Great job !
I'm a big fan of Nevr-Dull Magic Wadding Polish, too.
Whatever it takes to breathe new life into the old tools !!
FUnny how we all latch on to favorites. I like Bar Keepers Friend.Cleaning Brass and making it shine!
Many old planes and tools featured brass elements such as screw caps, adjustment wheels ext ext. In most cases you cant even tell that its brass because of how dirty it is. Most all of the old Stanley planes have brass nuts on the knob and tote and a brass adjustment wheel. There are other makes that featured brass nuts and wheels as well.
If there is one area of the cleaning/restoring process where you spend a little extra time and effort this is it. When polished and cleaned the brass elements stand out over everything else. Sure it has no effect on the use of the tool but it makes it look great when its sitting on the bench, wall or shelf.
In my opinion Brass is much easier to clean and polish then steel. I use nothing more then some brass polish, fine grit sand paper and some Q-tips. I personally do all of this work by hand. I like doing this kind of thing in my house at the kitchen table or even in the recliner as I am watching tv. As time consuming as this stuff can be its much more comfortable doing in the house while you are relaxed. If you want to speed it up a Dremmel tool with a buffing attachment works fantastic for this also.
In most cases I can get the brass cleaned without sanding it at all. If I do need to sand I just cut a small square of 2000 grit wet/dry paper and sand the brass with the polish on it. I use Q-tips to polish the small parts as they just work best for me. Apply the polish and clean with your pad or Q-tip. The trick to a great shine is to just keep repeating this process until your pad or q-tips no longer turn black when buffing.
I will show finished pictures of the planes at the end of the blog series. However here is a before and after of an old Disston hand saw that I restored. I used same process on the brass for the saw and it really stands out over everything else.
Thats all for todays blog. I am doing this blog in a series as it takes a bit of time to load all the pics and resize them. In my next blog of the series I will discuss re-painting and sanding/polishing the plane soles.
Thanks for reading!
Good post Dan.
I wish I could have good enough luck one day to run across some of these wonderful finds. It seems everytime I go treasure hunting there are only kinked saws and never a Disston…only Lakeside. Are these any good?Cleaning Brass and making it shine!
Many old planes and tools featured brass elements such as screw caps, adjustment wheels ext ext. In most cases you cant even tell that its brass because of how dirty it is. Most all of the old Stanley planes have brass nuts on the knob and tote and a brass adjustment wheel. There are other makes that featured brass nuts and wheels as well.
If there is one area of the cleaning/restoring process where you spend a little extra time and effort this is it. When polished and cleaned the brass elements stand out over everything else. Sure it has no effect on the use of the tool but it makes it look great when its sitting on the bench, wall or shelf.
In my opinion Brass is much easier to clean and polish then steel. I use nothing more then some brass polish, fine grit sand paper and some Q-tips. I personally do all of this work by hand. I like doing this kind of thing in my house at the kitchen table or even in the recliner as I am watching tv. As time consuming as this stuff can be its much more comfortable doing in the house while you are relaxed. If you want to speed it up a Dremmel tool with a buffing attachment works fantastic for this also.
In most cases I can get the brass cleaned without sanding it at all. If I do need to sand I just cut a small square of 2000 grit wet/dry paper and sand the brass with the polish on it. I use Q-tips to polish the small parts as they just work best for me. Apply the polish and clean with your pad or Q-tip. The trick to a great shine is to just keep repeating this process until your pad or q-tips no longer turn black when buffing.
I will show finished pictures of the planes at the end of the blog series. However here is a before and after of an old Disston hand saw that I restored. I used same process on the brass for the saw and it really stands out over everything else.
Thats all for todays blog. I am doing this blog in a series as it takes a bit of time to load all the pics and resize them. In my next blog of the series I will discuss re-painting and sanding/polishing the plane soles.
Thanks for reading!
I CHEAT like crazy when doing the brass bits.Cleaning Brass and making it shine!
Many old planes and tools featured brass elements such as screw caps, adjustment wheels ext ext. In most cases you cant even tell that its brass because of how dirty it is. Most all of the old Stanley planes have brass nuts on the knob and tote and a brass adjustment wheel. There are other makes that featured brass nuts and wheels as well.
If there is one area of the cleaning/restoring process where you spend a little extra time and effort this is it. When polished and cleaned the brass elements stand out over everything else. Sure it has no effect on the use of the tool but it makes it look great when its sitting on the bench, wall or shelf.
In my opinion Brass is much easier to clean and polish then steel. I use nothing more then some brass polish, fine grit sand paper and some Q-tips. I personally do all of this work by hand. I like doing this kind of thing in my house at the kitchen table or even in the recliner as I am watching tv. As time consuming as this stuff can be its much more comfortable doing in the house while you are relaxed. If you want to speed it up a Dremmel tool with a buffing attachment works fantastic for this also.
In most cases I can get the brass cleaned without sanding it at all. If I do need to sand I just cut a small square of 2000 grit wet/dry paper and sand the brass with the polish on it. I use Q-tips to polish the small parts as they just work best for me. Apply the polish and clean with your pad or Q-tip. The trick to a great shine is to just keep repeating this process until your pad or q-tips no longer turn black when buffing.
I will show finished pictures of the planes at the end of the blog series. However here is a before and after of an old Disston hand saw that I restored. I used same process on the brass for the saw and it really stands out over everything else.
Thats all for todays blog. I am doing this blog in a series as it takes a bit of time to load all the pics and resize them. In my next blog of the series I will discuss re-painting and sanding/polishing the plane soles.
Thanks for reading!
I put them on a screw and put the screw in my drill. Then instead of holding the bit and polishing it, I spin it in the polish that I am holding.
Re-painting the plane body
Its been a little bit since I have added to this series but I have been very busy as of late. This blog will focus on re-painting the plane body and frog.
This is one thing that I usually skip over when restoring planes. Most of the planes I have restored still had pretty decent japanning and showed only minor chipping and wear. That is fine with me, especially if I am going to be using them. However I have restored planes where the japanning was so damaged that I felt they needed a new paint job.
I have seen a number of different methods to doing this and a lot of them are more detailed then mine. I am personally ok with just a simple and cheap paint job that will look good and hold up. I also don't always strip all of the old japanning off the plane. You MUST scrap or sand off any loose finish but if your just looking for a minor touch up you don't have to remove all the old finish. I recently finished my #7 Stanley Jointer plane and that plane was in super rough shape. That one I removed all of the old finish. To do that I used my drill press with a wire brush attachment. Paint strippers will work if your removing a lot. After hitting it with the wire brush for a while I went in by hand with some sand paper and sanded everything smooth. I first applied two coats of primer, sanding after each coat then I used some spray paint that I bought at an automotive store. I applied 3 or 4 coats of the final finish.
There are many different spray paints and I am sure many of them will work just fine. The paint I used works great for me but may not be the best choice for someone else. I just went with fast, simple and easy. I don't like re painting them, its just not a fun thing for me to do so I wanted easy.
Just make sure to take your time in the prep work. Removing all loose japanning from the old finish, sanding everything smooth, wash the surface thats to be painted very well and make sure all loose dirt/rust is off, tape the parts that you don't want painted and then apply the primer and finish in multiple coats.
![Smoothing plane Plane Wood Rebate plane Tool]()
![Tool Font Bumper Composite material Concrete]()
![Pliers Tool Hand tool Metalworking hand tool Slip joint pliers]()
![Liquid Cosmetics Fluid Material property Tints and shades]()
![Belt buckle Eyewear Rectangle Automotive exterior Cable]()
![Office supplies Wood Rectangle Writing implement Hardwood]()
![Wood Bumper Composite material Hardwood Auto part]()
The Jointer plane is the plane that I used the spray paint on, the #3 shows how I taped it off. I don't have a finished pic of the #3 yet but as you can see with the #7 the new paint job looks much better then the before pic.
Thats all for this blog. Not the best blog for info on painting. I will spend a lot more time in the next blog talking about polishing and sanding the rest of the sole and then I will show all my before and after pics.
Thanks for reading
Its been a little bit since I have added to this series but I have been very busy as of late. This blog will focus on re-painting the plane body and frog.
This is one thing that I usually skip over when restoring planes. Most of the planes I have restored still had pretty decent japanning and showed only minor chipping and wear. That is fine with me, especially if I am going to be using them. However I have restored planes where the japanning was so damaged that I felt they needed a new paint job.
I have seen a number of different methods to doing this and a lot of them are more detailed then mine. I am personally ok with just a simple and cheap paint job that will look good and hold up. I also don't always strip all of the old japanning off the plane. You MUST scrap or sand off any loose finish but if your just looking for a minor touch up you don't have to remove all the old finish. I recently finished my #7 Stanley Jointer plane and that plane was in super rough shape. That one I removed all of the old finish. To do that I used my drill press with a wire brush attachment. Paint strippers will work if your removing a lot. After hitting it with the wire brush for a while I went in by hand with some sand paper and sanded everything smooth. I first applied two coats of primer, sanding after each coat then I used some spray paint that I bought at an automotive store. I applied 3 or 4 coats of the final finish.
There are many different spray paints and I am sure many of them will work just fine. The paint I used works great for me but may not be the best choice for someone else. I just went with fast, simple and easy. I don't like re painting them, its just not a fun thing for me to do so I wanted easy.
Just make sure to take your time in the prep work. Removing all loose japanning from the old finish, sanding everything smooth, wash the surface thats to be painted very well and make sure all loose dirt/rust is off, tape the parts that you don't want painted and then apply the primer and finish in multiple coats.
The Jointer plane is the plane that I used the spray paint on, the #3 shows how I taped it off. I don't have a finished pic of the #3 yet but as you can see with the #7 the new paint job looks much better then the before pic.
Thats all for this blog. Not the best blog for info on painting. I will spend a lot more time in the next blog talking about polishing and sanding the rest of the sole and then I will show all my before and after pics.
Thanks for reading
Attachments
Holy smokes thats quite a transformation. Nice work Dan.Re-painting the plane body
Its been a little bit since I have added to this series but I have been very busy as of late. This blog will focus on re-painting the plane body and frog.
This is one thing that I usually skip over when restoring planes. Most of the planes I have restored still had pretty decent japanning and showed only minor chipping and wear. That is fine with me, especially if I am going to be using them. However I have restored planes where the japanning was so damaged that I felt they needed a new paint job.
I have seen a number of different methods to doing this and a lot of them are more detailed then mine. I am personally ok with just a simple and cheap paint job that will look good and hold up. I also don't always strip all of the old japanning off the plane. You MUST scrap or sand off any loose finish but if your just looking for a minor touch up you don't have to remove all the old finish. I recently finished my #7 Stanley Jointer plane and that plane was in super rough shape. That one I removed all of the old finish. To do that I used my drill press with a wire brush attachment. Paint strippers will work if your removing a lot. After hitting it with the wire brush for a while I went in by hand with some sand paper and sanded everything smooth. I first applied two coats of primer, sanding after each coat then I used some spray paint that I bought at an automotive store. I applied 3 or 4 coats of the final finish.
There are many different spray paints and I am sure many of them will work just fine. The paint I used works great for me but may not be the best choice for someone else. I just went with fast, simple and easy. I don't like re painting them, its just not a fun thing for me to do so I wanted easy.
Just make sure to take your time in the prep work. Removing all loose japanning from the old finish, sanding everything smooth, wash the surface thats to be painted very well and make sure all loose dirt/rust is off, tape the parts that you don't want painted and then apply the primer and finish in multiple coats.
![Smoothing plane Plane Wood Rebate plane Tool]()
![Tool Font Bumper Composite material Concrete]()
![Pliers Tool Hand tool Metalworking hand tool Slip joint pliers]()
![Liquid Cosmetics Fluid Material property Tints and shades]()
![Belt buckle Eyewear Rectangle Automotive exterior Cable]()
![Office supplies Wood Rectangle Writing implement Hardwood]()
![Wood Bumper Composite material Hardwood Auto part]()
The Jointer plane is the plane that I used the spray paint on, the #3 shows how I taped it off. I don't have a finished pic of the #3 yet but as you can see with the #7 the new paint job looks much better then the before pic.
Thats all for this blog. Not the best blog for info on painting. I will spend a lot more time in the next blog talking about polishing and sanding the rest of the sole and then I will show all my before and after pics.
Thanks for reading
Don't forget to include the obigatory shaving pic when complete.
Thanks for sharing.
Attachments
still nice and informative DanRe-painting the plane body
Its been a little bit since I have added to this series but I have been very busy as of late. This blog will focus on re-painting the plane body and frog.
This is one thing that I usually skip over when restoring planes. Most of the planes I have restored still had pretty decent japanning and showed only minor chipping and wear. That is fine with me, especially if I am going to be using them. However I have restored planes where the japanning was so damaged that I felt they needed a new paint job.
I have seen a number of different methods to doing this and a lot of them are more detailed then mine. I am personally ok with just a simple and cheap paint job that will look good and hold up. I also don't always strip all of the old japanning off the plane. You MUST scrap or sand off any loose finish but if your just looking for a minor touch up you don't have to remove all the old finish. I recently finished my #7 Stanley Jointer plane and that plane was in super rough shape. That one I removed all of the old finish. To do that I used my drill press with a wire brush attachment. Paint strippers will work if your removing a lot. After hitting it with the wire brush for a while I went in by hand with some sand paper and sanded everything smooth. I first applied two coats of primer, sanding after each coat then I used some spray paint that I bought at an automotive store. I applied 3 or 4 coats of the final finish.
There are many different spray paints and I am sure many of them will work just fine. The paint I used works great for me but may not be the best choice for someone else. I just went with fast, simple and easy. I don't like re painting them, its just not a fun thing for me to do so I wanted easy.
Just make sure to take your time in the prep work. Removing all loose japanning from the old finish, sanding everything smooth, wash the surface thats to be painted very well and make sure all loose dirt/rust is off, tape the parts that you don't want painted and then apply the primer and finish in multiple coats.
![Smoothing plane Plane Wood Rebate plane Tool]()
![Tool Font Bumper Composite material Concrete]()
![Pliers Tool Hand tool Metalworking hand tool Slip joint pliers]()
![Liquid Cosmetics Fluid Material property Tints and shades]()
![Belt buckle Eyewear Rectangle Automotive exterior Cable]()
![Office supplies Wood Rectangle Writing implement Hardwood]()
![Wood Bumper Composite material Hardwood Auto part]()
The Jointer plane is the plane that I used the spray paint on, the #3 shows how I taped it off. I don't have a finished pic of the #3 yet but as you can see with the #7 the new paint job looks much better then the before pic.
Thats all for this blog. Not the best blog for info on painting. I will spend a lot more time in the next blog talking about polishing and sanding the rest of the sole and then I will show all my before and after pics.
Thanks for reading
thank´s for taking your time to make the picture book and share with us
take care
Dennis
Attachments
Thanks, looking forward to the metal polishing info. Tried my belt sander on one plane but probably not the best choice.Re-painting the plane body
Its been a little bit since I have added to this series but I have been very busy as of late. This blog will focus on re-painting the plane body and frog.
This is one thing that I usually skip over when restoring planes. Most of the planes I have restored still had pretty decent japanning and showed only minor chipping and wear. That is fine with me, especially if I am going to be using them. However I have restored planes where the japanning was so damaged that I felt they needed a new paint job.
I have seen a number of different methods to doing this and a lot of them are more detailed then mine. I am personally ok with just a simple and cheap paint job that will look good and hold up. I also don't always strip all of the old japanning off the plane. You MUST scrap or sand off any loose finish but if your just looking for a minor touch up you don't have to remove all the old finish. I recently finished my #7 Stanley Jointer plane and that plane was in super rough shape. That one I removed all of the old finish. To do that I used my drill press with a wire brush attachment. Paint strippers will work if your removing a lot. After hitting it with the wire brush for a while I went in by hand with some sand paper and sanded everything smooth. I first applied two coats of primer, sanding after each coat then I used some spray paint that I bought at an automotive store. I applied 3 or 4 coats of the final finish.
There are many different spray paints and I am sure many of them will work just fine. The paint I used works great for me but may not be the best choice for someone else. I just went with fast, simple and easy. I don't like re painting them, its just not a fun thing for me to do so I wanted easy.
Just make sure to take your time in the prep work. Removing all loose japanning from the old finish, sanding everything smooth, wash the surface thats to be painted very well and make sure all loose dirt/rust is off, tape the parts that you don't want painted and then apply the primer and finish in multiple coats.
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The Jointer plane is the plane that I used the spray paint on, the #3 shows how I taped it off. I don't have a finished pic of the #3 yet but as you can see with the #7 the new paint job looks much better then the before pic.
Thats all for this blog. Not the best blog for info on painting. I will spend a lot more time in the next blog talking about polishing and sanding the rest of the sole and then I will show all my before and after pics.
Thanks for reading
Attachments
Ratchet- I never thought of shaving pics but since you brought it up I will be sure to add some. ThanksRe-painting the plane body
Its been a little bit since I have added to this series but I have been very busy as of late. This blog will focus on re-painting the plane body and frog.
This is one thing that I usually skip over when restoring planes. Most of the planes I have restored still had pretty decent japanning and showed only minor chipping and wear. That is fine with me, especially if I am going to be using them. However I have restored planes where the japanning was so damaged that I felt they needed a new paint job.
I have seen a number of different methods to doing this and a lot of them are more detailed then mine. I am personally ok with just a simple and cheap paint job that will look good and hold up. I also don't always strip all of the old japanning off the plane. You MUST scrap or sand off any loose finish but if your just looking for a minor touch up you don't have to remove all the old finish. I recently finished my #7 Stanley Jointer plane and that plane was in super rough shape. That one I removed all of the old finish. To do that I used my drill press with a wire brush attachment. Paint strippers will work if your removing a lot. After hitting it with the wire brush for a while I went in by hand with some sand paper and sanded everything smooth. I first applied two coats of primer, sanding after each coat then I used some spray paint that I bought at an automotive store. I applied 3 or 4 coats of the final finish.
There are many different spray paints and I am sure many of them will work just fine. The paint I used works great for me but may not be the best choice for someone else. I just went with fast, simple and easy. I don't like re painting them, its just not a fun thing for me to do so I wanted easy.
Just make sure to take your time in the prep work. Removing all loose japanning from the old finish, sanding everything smooth, wash the surface thats to be painted very well and make sure all loose dirt/rust is off, tape the parts that you don't want painted and then apply the primer and finish in multiple coats.
![Smoothing plane Plane Wood Rebate plane Tool]()
![Tool Font Bumper Composite material Concrete]()
![Pliers Tool Hand tool Metalworking hand tool Slip joint pliers]()
![Liquid Cosmetics Fluid Material property Tints and shades]()
![Belt buckle Eyewear Rectangle Automotive exterior Cable]()
![Office supplies Wood Rectangle Writing implement Hardwood]()
![Wood Bumper Composite material Hardwood Auto part]()
The Jointer plane is the plane that I used the spray paint on, the #3 shows how I taped it off. I don't have a finished pic of the #3 yet but as you can see with the #7 the new paint job looks much better then the before pic.
Thats all for this blog. Not the best blog for info on painting. I will spend a lot more time in the next blog talking about polishing and sanding the rest of the sole and then I will show all my before and after pics.
Thanks for reading
Dale- I have never used a belt sander on them I think thats probably over kill. Sanding and polishing the sides does not require nearly as much as what most may think. I will hopefully have the next blog up within a few days.
Thanks
Attachments
I have used a brush on oil paint because I can get almost the same finish as the original jappaning I have only done my egg beater drill and it's like new and I plan to reduce all my planes soon.Re-painting the plane body
Its been a little bit since I have added to this series but I have been very busy as of late. This blog will focus on re-painting the plane body and frog.
This is one thing that I usually skip over when restoring planes. Most of the planes I have restored still had pretty decent japanning and showed only minor chipping and wear. That is fine with me, especially if I am going to be using them. However I have restored planes where the japanning was so damaged that I felt they needed a new paint job.
I have seen a number of different methods to doing this and a lot of them are more detailed then mine. I am personally ok with just a simple and cheap paint job that will look good and hold up. I also don't always strip all of the old japanning off the plane. You MUST scrap or sand off any loose finish but if your just looking for a minor touch up you don't have to remove all the old finish. I recently finished my #7 Stanley Jointer plane and that plane was in super rough shape. That one I removed all of the old finish. To do that I used my drill press with a wire brush attachment. Paint strippers will work if your removing a lot. After hitting it with the wire brush for a while I went in by hand with some sand paper and sanded everything smooth. I first applied two coats of primer, sanding after each coat then I used some spray paint that I bought at an automotive store. I applied 3 or 4 coats of the final finish.
There are many different spray paints and I am sure many of them will work just fine. The paint I used works great for me but may not be the best choice for someone else. I just went with fast, simple and easy. I don't like re painting them, its just not a fun thing for me to do so I wanted easy.
Just make sure to take your time in the prep work. Removing all loose japanning from the old finish, sanding everything smooth, wash the surface thats to be painted very well and make sure all loose dirt/rust is off, tape the parts that you don't want painted and then apply the primer and finish in multiple coats.
![Smoothing plane Plane Wood Rebate plane Tool]()
![Tool Font Bumper Composite material Concrete]()
![Pliers Tool Hand tool Metalworking hand tool Slip joint pliers]()
![Liquid Cosmetics Fluid Material property Tints and shades]()
![Belt buckle Eyewear Rectangle Automotive exterior Cable]()
![Office supplies Wood Rectangle Writing implement Hardwood]()
![Wood Bumper Composite material Hardwood Auto part]()
The Jointer plane is the plane that I used the spray paint on, the #3 shows how I taped it off. I don't have a finished pic of the #3 yet but as you can see with the #7 the new paint job looks much better then the before pic.
Thats all for this blog. Not the best blog for info on painting. I will spend a lot more time in the next blog talking about polishing and sanding the rest of the sole and then I will show all my before and after pics.
Thanks for reading
Attachments
Sanding and Polishing the body and metal parts
In my first blog of this series I talked about removing the rust using Evapo-Rust. The following picture shows my Stanley #4 after it was soaked over night in Evapo-Rust and washed and scrubbed clean.
![Composite material Tool Automotive exterior Metal Fashion accessory]()
I have polished and sanded the sides a number of different ways. I have done all by hand with folded up sand paper and sanding blocks, I have used my dremmel tool with different attachments and I have used my drill press with wire brush. I find all of these to be way to time consuming. I find it fastest and easiest to lap the sides of the body the same way you would lap the sole. Lapping the sides wont necessarily effect the use but I now do it on all the planes I restore. I usually start with 180 grit paper attached to some plate glass. I will lap it with this grit for a min or two and then check to see where it is at. If it looks to be touching on most of the sides then I continue with this grit and work up to 800 or 1000 grit. You don't have to polish it to a real high grit, in most cases 400 grit will be just fine. It just depends on how shiny you want it to be. You can go higher then 1000 if you want to as well.
![Wood Office ruler Composite material Metal Hardwood]()
![Wood Creative arts Ruler Art Measuring instrument]()
![Plant Tints and shades Terrestrial plant Wood Paint]()
![Wood Automotive exterior Rectangle Tints and shades Bumper]()
If the plane is in rough shape I may move down to 120 grit. I don't stay on one grit for long. I try and move back and forth so that I don't end up with deep scratch patterns from the lower grits. As far as the paper goes I was using all automotive paper but I recently found that the 3M purple sandpaper that Home Depot sells works great for the lower grits. I move to wet/dry paper once I am at 400 grit. I do most of this work with dry paper. I may get the last few grits a little damp with some water or mineral spirits. The following is the plane side after 400 grit.
![Bottle Water bottle Plastic bottle Wood Tableware]()
And then after 800
![Finger Wood Art Fish Creative arts]()
You will have some areas that are low and just are not hitting the paper. I just hit these areas by hand with paper or sanding block. I also use a sanding block and paper on the top edge of the sides and around the front of the sole edge. Wear gloves and mask unless you want black hands and a nose full of metal dust.. It leaves a really bad taste in the back of your throat when you breath to much of it in.
The frog of the plane gets the same treatment however I try and get the face of the frog pretty flat. I remove the york adjustment thing to do this.
![Sleeve Motor vehicle Automotive exterior Font Auto part]()
Once I am done with the lapping and sanding I go over it with some polish. I have used a few different types of polish and they have all worked well. I do this by hand. I would assume a buffing wheel would work better but I don't own one. The polish I have in the picture I had bought for an Aluminum project but it said on the label that it worked on all metals. I tried it out and it worked really well so I have been using it on the planes. Check the automotive store and I am sure they will have a large selection of metal polish in all different price ranges.
![Paint Tin Automotive tire Bumper Gas]()
![Musical instrument Safety glove Kitchen utensil Watch Wool]()
Just keep buffing/polishing until you reach the point that you want to reach. Some pits, scratches and dings will be to deep to completely sand and buff out.
This does not take much time, even if the plane is in bad shape. It is messy though. I hope I covered enough. Pretty simple really.
Here is before and after of the Stanley #4
![Smoothing plane Plane Scrub plane Jack plane Rebate plane]()
![Smoothing plane Plane Scrub plane Rebate plane Shoulder plane]()
In my first blog of this series I talked about removing the rust using Evapo-Rust. The following picture shows my Stanley #4 after it was soaked over night in Evapo-Rust and washed and scrubbed clean.
I have polished and sanded the sides a number of different ways. I have done all by hand with folded up sand paper and sanding blocks, I have used my dremmel tool with different attachments and I have used my drill press with wire brush. I find all of these to be way to time consuming. I find it fastest and easiest to lap the sides of the body the same way you would lap the sole. Lapping the sides wont necessarily effect the use but I now do it on all the planes I restore. I usually start with 180 grit paper attached to some plate glass. I will lap it with this grit for a min or two and then check to see where it is at. If it looks to be touching on most of the sides then I continue with this grit and work up to 800 or 1000 grit. You don't have to polish it to a real high grit, in most cases 400 grit will be just fine. It just depends on how shiny you want it to be. You can go higher then 1000 if you want to as well.
If the plane is in rough shape I may move down to 120 grit. I don't stay on one grit for long. I try and move back and forth so that I don't end up with deep scratch patterns from the lower grits. As far as the paper goes I was using all automotive paper but I recently found that the 3M purple sandpaper that Home Depot sells works great for the lower grits. I move to wet/dry paper once I am at 400 grit. I do most of this work with dry paper. I may get the last few grits a little damp with some water or mineral spirits. The following is the plane side after 400 grit.
And then after 800
You will have some areas that are low and just are not hitting the paper. I just hit these areas by hand with paper or sanding block. I also use a sanding block and paper on the top edge of the sides and around the front of the sole edge. Wear gloves and mask unless you want black hands and a nose full of metal dust.. It leaves a really bad taste in the back of your throat when you breath to much of it in.
The frog of the plane gets the same treatment however I try and get the face of the frog pretty flat. I remove the york adjustment thing to do this.
Once I am done with the lapping and sanding I go over it with some polish. I have used a few different types of polish and they have all worked well. I do this by hand. I would assume a buffing wheel would work better but I don't own one. The polish I have in the picture I had bought for an Aluminum project but it said on the label that it worked on all metals. I tried it out and it worked really well so I have been using it on the planes. Check the automotive store and I am sure they will have a large selection of metal polish in all different price ranges.
Just keep buffing/polishing until you reach the point that you want to reach. Some pits, scratches and dings will be to deep to completely sand and buff out.
This does not take much time, even if the plane is in bad shape. It is messy though. I hope I covered enough. Pretty simple really.
Here is before and after of the Stanley #4
Attachments
Awesome job in your plane restoration. I follow your method for working the sides of the plane as well. One added benefit to this process is that, with the sides flattened, the surface is even and stable for shooting board style operations where the plane is setting on its sides.Sanding and Polishing the body and metal parts
In my first blog of this series I talked about removing the rust using Evapo-Rust. The following picture shows my Stanley #4 after it was soaked over night in Evapo-Rust and washed and scrubbed clean.
![Composite material Tool Automotive exterior Metal Fashion accessory]()
I have polished and sanded the sides a number of different ways. I have done all by hand with folded up sand paper and sanding blocks, I have used my dremmel tool with different attachments and I have used my drill press with wire brush. I find all of these to be way to time consuming. I find it fastest and easiest to lap the sides of the body the same way you would lap the sole. Lapping the sides wont necessarily effect the use but I now do it on all the planes I restore. I usually start with 180 grit paper attached to some plate glass. I will lap it with this grit for a min or two and then check to see where it is at. If it looks to be touching on most of the sides then I continue with this grit and work up to 800 or 1000 grit. You don't have to polish it to a real high grit, in most cases 400 grit will be just fine. It just depends on how shiny you want it to be. You can go higher then 1000 if you want to as well.
![Wood Office ruler Composite material Metal Hardwood]()
![Wood Creative arts Ruler Art Measuring instrument]()
![Plant Tints and shades Terrestrial plant Wood Paint]()
![Wood Automotive exterior Rectangle Tints and shades Bumper]()
If the plane is in rough shape I may move down to 120 grit. I don't stay on one grit for long. I try and move back and forth so that I don't end up with deep scratch patterns from the lower grits. As far as the paper goes I was using all automotive paper but I recently found that the 3M purple sandpaper that Home Depot sells works great for the lower grits. I move to wet/dry paper once I am at 400 grit. I do most of this work with dry paper. I may get the last few grits a little damp with some water or mineral spirits. The following is the plane side after 400 grit.
![Bottle Water bottle Plastic bottle Wood Tableware]()
And then after 800
![Finger Wood Art Fish Creative arts]()
You will have some areas that are low and just are not hitting the paper. I just hit these areas by hand with paper or sanding block. I also use a sanding block and paper on the top edge of the sides and around the front of the sole edge. Wear gloves and mask unless you want black hands and a nose full of metal dust.. It leaves a really bad taste in the back of your throat when you breath to much of it in.
The frog of the plane gets the same treatment however I try and get the face of the frog pretty flat. I remove the york adjustment thing to do this.
![Sleeve Motor vehicle Automotive exterior Font Auto part]()
Once I am done with the lapping and sanding I go over it with some polish. I have used a few different types of polish and they have all worked well. I do this by hand. I would assume a buffing wheel would work better but I don't own one. The polish I have in the picture I had bought for an Aluminum project but it said on the label that it worked on all metals. I tried it out and it worked really well so I have been using it on the planes. Check the automotive store and I am sure they will have a large selection of metal polish in all different price ranges.
![Paint Tin Automotive tire Bumper Gas]()
![Musical instrument Safety glove Kitchen utensil Watch Wool]()
Just keep buffing/polishing until you reach the point that you want to reach. Some pits, scratches and dings will be to deep to completely sand and buff out.
This does not take much time, even if the plane is in bad shape. It is messy though. I hope I covered enough. Pretty simple really.
Here is before and after of the Stanley #4
![Smoothing plane Plane Scrub plane Jack plane Rebate plane]()
![Smoothing plane Plane Scrub plane Rebate plane Shoulder plane]()
Thanks for posting,
David
Attachments
thank´s again for sharing and taking the time to makes theese great toturials DanSanding and Polishing the body and metal parts
In my first blog of this series I talked about removing the rust using Evapo-Rust. The following picture shows my Stanley #4 after it was soaked over night in Evapo-Rust and washed and scrubbed clean.
![Composite material Tool Automotive exterior Metal Fashion accessory]()
I have polished and sanded the sides a number of different ways. I have done all by hand with folded up sand paper and sanding blocks, I have used my dremmel tool with different attachments and I have used my drill press with wire brush. I find all of these to be way to time consuming. I find it fastest and easiest to lap the sides of the body the same way you would lap the sole. Lapping the sides wont necessarily effect the use but I now do it on all the planes I restore. I usually start with 180 grit paper attached to some plate glass. I will lap it with this grit for a min or two and then check to see where it is at. If it looks to be touching on most of the sides then I continue with this grit and work up to 800 or 1000 grit. You don't have to polish it to a real high grit, in most cases 400 grit will be just fine. It just depends on how shiny you want it to be. You can go higher then 1000 if you want to as well.
![Wood Office ruler Composite material Metal Hardwood]()
![Wood Creative arts Ruler Art Measuring instrument]()
![Plant Tints and shades Terrestrial plant Wood Paint]()
![Wood Automotive exterior Rectangle Tints and shades Bumper]()
If the plane is in rough shape I may move down to 120 grit. I don't stay on one grit for long. I try and move back and forth so that I don't end up with deep scratch patterns from the lower grits. As far as the paper goes I was using all automotive paper but I recently found that the 3M purple sandpaper that Home Depot sells works great for the lower grits. I move to wet/dry paper once I am at 400 grit. I do most of this work with dry paper. I may get the last few grits a little damp with some water or mineral spirits. The following is the plane side after 400 grit.
![Bottle Water bottle Plastic bottle Wood Tableware]()
And then after 800
![Finger Wood Art Fish Creative arts]()
You will have some areas that are low and just are not hitting the paper. I just hit these areas by hand with paper or sanding block. I also use a sanding block and paper on the top edge of the sides and around the front of the sole edge. Wear gloves and mask unless you want black hands and a nose full of metal dust.. It leaves a really bad taste in the back of your throat when you breath to much of it in.
The frog of the plane gets the same treatment however I try and get the face of the frog pretty flat. I remove the york adjustment thing to do this.
![Sleeve Motor vehicle Automotive exterior Font Auto part]()
Once I am done with the lapping and sanding I go over it with some polish. I have used a few different types of polish and they have all worked well. I do this by hand. I would assume a buffing wheel would work better but I don't own one. The polish I have in the picture I had bought for an Aluminum project but it said on the label that it worked on all metals. I tried it out and it worked really well so I have been using it on the planes. Check the automotive store and I am sure they will have a large selection of metal polish in all different price ranges.
![Paint Tin Automotive tire Bumper Gas]()
![Musical instrument Safety glove Kitchen utensil Watch Wool]()
Just keep buffing/polishing until you reach the point that you want to reach. Some pits, scratches and dings will be to deep to completely sand and buff out.
This does not take much time, even if the plane is in bad shape. It is messy though. I hope I covered enough. Pretty simple really.
Here is before and after of the Stanley #4
![Smoothing plane Plane Scrub plane Jack plane Rebate plane]()
![Smoothing plane Plane Scrub plane Rebate plane Shoulder plane]()
David :
just remember if you want to use it as a shooter
you have to use a square fence it can ride agains when laping the sides
or ells you wont want to use it as a shooter…...LOL
take care
Dennis
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