Hello from Australia
Found an old no 6 bailey plane with a slightly pitted sole. Trying to flatten it on plate glass with 40 grit paper. It seems to be taking an eternity to get rid of the pits and I am building up massive arms. Any tips to make it easier?
Replies
Howdy!
This is absolute heresy, you understand, coming from a Neanderthal.... However, one way to speed the process is to use one of them thar tailed apprentices: a b*lt s*nd*r. It will remove metal at an altogether too quick a speed, if you don't pay close attention, and then you have a completely different problem to solve.....
Good luck. Once you have it flat and tuned up, you should have a very nice plane!
Tschüß!
Mit freundlichen holzbearbeitungischen Grüßen!
James
You don't have to remove the pits, they will have no effect on the performance.
John White, Shop Manager, Fine Woodworking Magazine
Ta for the advice, will clean it up know. I just can't believe it cost US $14 what a bargain.
Heard about an alternative to camellia oil.
1/4 beeswax, 1/4 linseed oil(raw) and 1/2 mineral turps/spirits any good?
psm,
Here's my alternative to camellia oil: a candle stub. It doesn't have the allure of the orient, or the mystique of the exotique, but I'll wax poetic and say it with a bit of light verse:
a candle is wicked, but it isn't a sin
after it's burned, to use it again.
Cheers,
Ray Pine
G'Day. $14 is a very good deal. Congrats. You will enjoy that plane.
There is a #7 tucked away in an out of the way corner of my local flea market that has a $24 price tag on it and is calling to me like a siren's call. It is a type 9 with about an inch and a half of its cutter left, a good frog and an iron body that doesn't look warped or cracked or obviously messed up to the naked eye. It has collected a nice amount of rust. It will need a new tote and a (low) knob - both of which I have the ability to make, now. I already have a Bedrock No. 8, a Clifton No. 7 and a very good No. 6 with a Hock Blade and chipbreaker so I need another plane like I need a hole in the head. But I doubt I will be able to resist the siren call of this fixer-upper plane for 24 bucks much longer,...
Edited 8/23/2006 9:43 am by EdHarrison
I completely agree with your sentiment re sirens call. Today I took delivery of a Lie- Nielsen blade. In the morning it will be bedding down with its new no 6 parts, and then I will make it sing.
Keep up the rejuvinating!
psm,
"Today I took delivery of a Lie- Nielsen blade. In the morning it will be bedding down with its new no 6 parts, and then I will make it sing."
Will it smoke, afterwards?
Haha,
Ray
Probably sigh with every stroke...
Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb
Thank you very much for that insight. However in my attempts to flatten soles pits are sort of a concern but overall regardless of said pits I have worked on some that continue to frustrate me because judging by the polished suface Iam not gettng an even wear and the thought ocurred to me that one(1) the tail end of the sole is machined below the all-over surface and (2) my pressure is not even> I too get in a rush and will do initial prep on a dedicated 6X48 belt sander. I collect hand planes after viewing a video by Kelly Dunbar on restoring planes and finally thanks to you and FWW for this wonderfull site. It is nothing short of uplifting to have access to so many knowledgeable and skilled workers at my finger tips It is indeed a wonderfull thing. GoodWorkings-bufun
Thank you,
John W.
Take it to a machine shop that surfaces car engine heads. I have taken a couple to a local shop and have been well pleased with the results. Basically what they use is a wide belt sander.
nidluam
Hey psmfisch,
I agree with John, don't try to remove the pits! If you go too far you can damage the throat of the plane. Pits don't effect the performance, lapping too far will certainly.
Tom
flat is what counts pits don't matter, same as corrugations added to sole of large planes...
Trying to flatten it on plate glass with 40 grit paper. It seems to be taking an eternity to get rid of the pits and I am building up massive arms. Any tips to make it easier?
Yep.
http://www.geocities.com/plybench/flatten.html
Use the abrasive paper technique noted in one of the updates.
BugBear
Just read your referenced post. Wow! Special Jigs, domed surfaces, plates ground so thin that the throat is opened???
Does this seem just a wee bit obsessive?
It might be a wee bit obsessive depending on what your goals are.
If your goal is to make full width .0008-inch gossamer fluffy shavings the full length of a fiddleback maple board to win planing competitions and the admiration of all around you, then no length you can go to to get flat soles and keen edges is too much.
If on the other hand, your goal is straight, flat, smooth lumber with the end purpose of making furniture or other items of beauty and function in mind, you can do with a good deal less.
To my mind, you should first work on sharpening the iron, fitting the cap iron (though I like to keep them .050-inches or more away from the iron then work on the frog to make sure that the iron sits firmly upon it. Then see how the plane cuts. You may not need to do an awful lot more to it.
I don't see the point in going to great lengths to get mechanically flat soles to anything but smoothers and jointers, and for jointers just the toe, heel and mouth area need to be planar, the rest can stand shy without impairing function.
There is certainly nothing wrong with working hard to get a really flat sole, I just don't believe it to be a prerequisite to doing good work.
David C
A fine assessment of the requirements of lapping the sole of a plane. Earlier this year, I tuned up an old Bedrock 606 that looked as though it was soaking at the bottom of Lake Michigan for quite some time. Once I got the toe, heel, and mouth area (fore and aft) flat and in reference, and the frog and bed seated properly, the plane worked beautifully. It was still very badly pitted, so I spent approximately another 8 hours (no kidding) lapping away over the course of a week. Now, the bottom is dead flat, and shines. However, the plane works (maybe??) a small fraction better than it did after my first assessment. I do sleep well, though, knowing that I won't need to deal with the re-arrival of the rust so quickly.
Jeff
So, it this regard, cleaning up an old plane becomes a meditation, containing the key elements of solitude, focus (or equally valid - non-focus), and repetition. The vocal mantra is "beeeee fllaaaaaaaattt". The visual mantra is a seamless, shining plane - simple, pure, without flaw. Surely, true enlightenment follows.
8 hours, are u crazy! no wonder u sleep well, you are exhausted.
I can definitely live with pits. I will spend time on polishing that blade instead.
I can live with the pits too. I think pitting is only a problem if they're on the blade or if you're a tool collector. My pitted sole No 5C cuts perfectly good shavings. Tell me and I'll forget, show me and I'll remember, but let me try and I will understand.
mv,
Pits ain't so bad, you shoulda seen the longways corrugations some bozo put in the sole of this old Stanley I rehabbed. It took DAYS to sand them out! Opened up the throat almost 1/4". but by Gad, the sole is flawless!
Ray
Ray,
I could never figure out why someone would try to put corrugations in the bed of a plane. The only thing I could figure is they're trying to increase it's value on the tool market. Extremely unethical and possibly criminal (fraud). Glad you fixed the plane. Tell me and I'll forget, show me and I'll remember, but let me try and I will understand.
Pits ain't so bad, you shoulda seen the longways corrugations some bozo put in the sole of this old Stanley I rehabbed. It took DAYS to sand them out! Opened up the throat almost 1/4". but by Gad, the sole is flawless!
Now that's funny! Bet it would be pretty flexible for planing curved surfaces too...I don't need no stinkin' #20...
And besides, Ray, you shoulda had the machine shop mill 'em out and saved all that labor!
Ha--take care, Mike
Mike,
Yah, the toe and heel double as feeler guages. The toe is .001" and the heel is .002. Takes a full shaving every time, as it flexes enough to follow the contour of the board. Kinda like that plane that uses a razor blade for a cutter, but all over!
Cheers,
Ray
Yes...that was funny....It would be even more funny to have a newbie to actually heed this advise and flatten out a corrugated plane sole.
You guys slay meThank you,
Cheatah
Cheatah,
You..you mean...they were SUPPOSED to be in there?.......Dang!
Ray
Ray,
Oh no! I didn't sand them off. I filled them in with epoxy. :-)
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
I understand that, with careful treatment, epoxy can be cured.
Best wishes,
Ray
If not treated carefully a nasty exothermic inflammation can result.
Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb
Nah! Not nuts, just anal about my tools. I've brought back to life an entire set of old bedrocks, and I learned a long time that if I left the pitting, I would only have to continue to attend to the rust reappearing, so I finished to job. Now, I just keep them oiled every 6 months or so, and I have no issues with RUST.
Jeff
Wow! Special Jigs, domed surfaces, plates ground so thin that the throat is opened???
Does this seem just a wee bit obsessive?
No more so than making your own furniture when shops have it for sale.
Everybody needs a hobby.
BugBear
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