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I think the tapered effect has been caused by the plate being driven out of the spine at the heel end by rough treatment of some kind. The writing on the spine should be parallel with that on the plate, as in my photo below. You should be able to correct yours by holding the plate in a vice...

Very well done - I have enjoyed following this thread. I look forward to seeing the next planes as they develop.

Andy is of course correct - it does mean Air Ministry, like on this box, originally for whole plate size photographic paper, that now holds my Record 050 plane. Anyway, I think you have a fine measuring instrument there.

Thanks ED65. Yes, I think it had been painted black. I used abrasive paper with WD40 and then with metal polish. I also tried using tomato ketchup, brushed on, left overnight and washed off - believe it or not it worked quite well, particularly on the medallion.

Thanks Andy. Here is another saw from the same batch. A Disston D-8, 22", 11PT, rip. It cleaned up quite well except for some deep pits. The handle is very nice - apple, I think.

I shall be watching this one with great interest. I agree with Pete concerning silver steel. Bright mild steel should be quite sufficient and will be much easier to work. Yes, partridge wood is tricky stuff to plane. I used violin planes with toothed irons, scraper planes and scrapers for...

Another rusty purchase cleaned up: a 26", 7 PT rip saw. The etching is: P. Lloyd Davies, Sovereign, Saw No. 179, Image of a King George V sovereign coin, Warranted Cast Steel, Extra Spring Temper, Sheffield (?), Made Expressly for T. H. Newman, Kingston. George V reigned from 1910 to 1936 so I...

I bought one of these in 1990 - with a few accessories it came to £393 so I think you got a bargain. Mine has given me good service. If you can't find the manual please let me know and I'll scan it and make a PDF for you.

Mine has also got about a 1 mm gap between ball and drive wheel, and I think the ball would only ever come into play if the wheel became worn and sloppy on its axle. Have you tried applying some penetrating oil to the ball? It seems to be retained by the end of the socket being swaged down. I...

I would suggest starting with a small bevel-down plane, with steel sole and sides but no very tight mouth, U-bend or steel front plate to worry about. It sounds like you are experienced at metalwork and have got most of the tools you will need – a round nosed punch is good for peining and a...

I would recommend making a smaller and simpler plane before progressing to a large mitre plane. Also, I suggest trying dovetailed joints on some metal offcuts before even starting a plane. The peining process is not difficult but it takes a bit of practice to do well. A medium sized metalwork...

Here is the replacement cap in place:

Thanks Mr_P and Andy. I couldn't think of a way of repairing the lever cap that would be strong enough and look good so I chose to replace using one by Bristol Designs. The screw that came with the new one has a 5/16" BSW steel threaded part but I thought it would be nice to re-use the screw...

This plane appears to have had a chequered existence. It is a rather a “Bitsa”: – the iron is by Alex Mathieson & Son, the cap iron is by I Sorby, the front infill is non-original and there is no visible maker’s mark. The dovetailing is to a good standard. The obvious fault is the broken...

It is a captive ball bearing in mine.

I would start by sharpening the iron and seeing how the plane works. Then, if the results are encouraging, dig out the damaged area, apply filler then file/sand it smooth.

These two have a bit of waisting:

Yes, the 043 is a very suitable tool for the job. A pleasure to use.

Yes, I would say the lower one is a lino knife. Here is another example:

Four long chisels. I think three of them could be called paring chisels but one is much too thick. From the top down the thicknesses are: Near tip 2.3 mm, near bolster 4.2 mm Near tip 2.8 mm, near bolster 5.0 mm Near tip 6.2 mm, near bolster 8.0 mm Near tip 3.0 mm, near bolster 4.8 mm