Did I get a bargain

[Shultzy]

I went into Derby on Thursday and spotted this in a charity shop.

these are all the bits ( the blade has S.ASHTON SHEFFIELD on it)

the base is a bit scored, and I don't know why the holes are there

and for those of you who can't read upside down, this is what I paid for it.

Most of it only requires a minimum of scraping and sanding, but how much can I take off the base before it affects the performance. What's suitable as a finish.

 

[Amateurrestorer]

If you take too much off the base it will make the mouth wider,I would be tempted to fill it,it should'nt affect the action too much.

 

[Wiley Horne]

Schultzy,

Those two divots in the sole are maddening, but they won't prevent the plane from working. If the sole is otherwise in decent shape (and it looks to be), I would suggest leaving the holes alone initially, and later think about filling them in. How large are they in diameter--3 or 4mm?

First thing I would do is just sharpen the blade, and see if the plane will work. Even if you know there is some tuning to be done, it's good to get a idea at the outset as to whether the plane is pretty close to working, or not. This will give you a baseline feel for the plane, and will let you track performance improvements as you perform your fettling.

Once you've tried the plane, start your examination on the main issues:

Quest. 1: Is the wedge making good solid contact with the blade, particularly at the lower end? That is something you want to happen. Put some soft pencil on the outer edges of the top of the blade, and see if the pencil transfers to the wedge when you insert the whole assembly. If you happen to have feeler gauges, you could slide the finest one up through the sole, and see whether it will get between the blade and wedge.

Quest. 2: When you put a straightedge to the sole, is the sole a little bit concave in the length and/or width? If so, lap the sole down until the leading edge of the mouth is sitting firmly on the work, or until there is no more concavity--which ever occurs first. If you lap away the concavity, and the mouth is still not flush with the work, let's talk.

Quest 3: When you put a straightedge to the sole, is the sole convex in the length or width ? If so, don't lap anything--need to talk about it.

Suggestion: If the sole is not convex, and if you can get past Questions 1 and 2, then I would suggest just sharpen the blade, flatten the lower part of the blade back, make sure the cap iron is making a knife-edge contact with the blade--and just use the plane. Later, you can fill the holes. Different ways to do it depending on your preferences and the tools you have.

Wiley .... who thinks you did just fine. The education will be worth more than the $20.

 

[Chris Knight]

Schultzy,

The leading edge of the mouth looks pretty beaten up. I think it will probably need repairing with an inlay - that is a rather common thing to have to do on planes that have been well used.

If you can get hold of this article it might help.

The wooden smooth plane. Part 2. Make it work better than a sander. Basic conditioning, remouthing, shooting the sole, blade adjustment, etc.
POPULAR WOODWORKING #76 Jan 1994 (v.13#4) pg. 24

 

[Shultzy]

Wiley, thanks for your helpful comments. The "divots" are 4mm (looks as if they were made by a countersink drill). Taking an 1/16" off the sole would probably clear most of the marks.

From the back to the back of the frog is flat.
From the front of the frog to the front, the sole is slightly convex.
Width is ok.

I will check the other suggestions when I've cleaned and sharpened the blade.

BTW the plane cost £4.75 (about $10)