If you are a woodworker with a bit of an interest in old tools, you find that you meet other people who feel the same way. It's nice to meet, chat, look over a collection and generally witter on about the sort of details that 99.99% of people don't care about. A harmless pleasure.
So it was that I made the acquaintance of a tool connoisseur of great good taste and discernment. I won't embarrass him by naming him on here, but I do want to say something about his extraordinary generosity. He has the knack of giving other people gifts that are just right, and really appreciated.
So it was that we got talking about a panel plane. It's unmarked, though the iron is by Mathieson and it has a distinctive Scottish look about it. He said it was a bargain, as it has some slight damage, but it's nothing that makes any difference to its performance. It looks just a little tired - but who wouldn't after more than a century?
He insisted on giving it to me, and I didn't refuse. I knew that he was right and that it will be a star performer.
This is it:
You can see that there's some superficial rust on the casting and on the iron. There's also a bit of a chip behind the mouth:
That won't matter to me at all.
The beech infills are in good condition and are beautifully curved.
But it's all there, waiting to be used, so I spent a pleasant while this afternoon tidying it up a little.
On the casting, I just gave it a once-over with a medium Garryflex block. These are great for removing rust while not making the steel look like it just came off a production line. It's hard to photograph to show the difference, but the side to the left has been done while the bit to the right has not.
And here you can see that I have done the top edge along the side, but it's still rusty at the toe.
After cleaning up the body, I gave the wooden parts a gentle clean with some reviver. I then used some Alfie Shine from my Secret Santa present. It smells lovely and goes on a treat. I omitted to photograph the tin and the cloth but you can take my word for it that I am also indebted to whichever generous forum member gave it to me. This plane is not going rusty any more.
And here's the result. Not radically different in appearance, but clean, smooth and ready for use.
You can see how well it works on this bit of old oak.
It's a really heavy, solid plane. I checked it on the kitchen scales and it weighs 7lb 13 oz (3.5kg) - as much as a healthy baby! I could just push it one handed, with no need to use the front grip if I didn't want to.
It makes me want to get on and make something - I've not had a decent project on the go for far too long.
I just need to find room in the workshop for one or two other little gifts first - but you'll have to wait to see them when they each get their turn at the bench!
Thanks again to my generous benefactors! =D> =D>
So it was that I made the acquaintance of a tool connoisseur of great good taste and discernment. I won't embarrass him by naming him on here, but I do want to say something about his extraordinary generosity. He has the knack of giving other people gifts that are just right, and really appreciated.
So it was that we got talking about a panel plane. It's unmarked, though the iron is by Mathieson and it has a distinctive Scottish look about it. He said it was a bargain, as it has some slight damage, but it's nothing that makes any difference to its performance. It looks just a little tired - but who wouldn't after more than a century?
He insisted on giving it to me, and I didn't refuse. I knew that he was right and that it will be a star performer.
This is it:
You can see that there's some superficial rust on the casting and on the iron. There's also a bit of a chip behind the mouth:
That won't matter to me at all.
The beech infills are in good condition and are beautifully curved.
But it's all there, waiting to be used, so I spent a pleasant while this afternoon tidying it up a little.
On the casting, I just gave it a once-over with a medium Garryflex block. These are great for removing rust while not making the steel look like it just came off a production line. It's hard to photograph to show the difference, but the side to the left has been done while the bit to the right has not.
And here you can see that I have done the top edge along the side, but it's still rusty at the toe.
After cleaning up the body, I gave the wooden parts a gentle clean with some reviver. I then used some Alfie Shine from my Secret Santa present. It smells lovely and goes on a treat. I omitted to photograph the tin and the cloth but you can take my word for it that I am also indebted to whichever generous forum member gave it to me. This plane is not going rusty any more.
And here's the result. Not radically different in appearance, but clean, smooth and ready for use.
You can see how well it works on this bit of old oak.
It's a really heavy, solid plane. I checked it on the kitchen scales and it weighs 7lb 13 oz (3.5kg) - as much as a healthy baby! I could just push it one handed, with no need to use the front grip if I didn't want to.
It makes me want to get on and make something - I've not had a decent project on the go for far too long.
I just need to find room in the workshop for one or two other little gifts first - but you'll have to wait to see them when they each get their turn at the bench!
Thanks again to my generous benefactors! =D> =D>
