First time fettler(now with second project)

[Doug B]

I`m after a little advice on plane fettling, i have tried a search but it brings up hundreds of threads, so apologies if i`m covering old ground.

First of all, this is the plane in question.

It`s a Stanley 4 1/2, i was given it a few years ago by a retired friend who had got it from his father, so i`m guessing it`s quite old.

It had seen better days, but having seen DC`s No 5 recently at Cressington barns i decided to see if i could bring it back into good working order.
Whilst at CB i bought a Hock blade & chip breaker, as both were quite pitted even though i had previously tried to clean them up.

Full of encouragement from the show, i spent a couple of nights last week seeing what i could do. I first had a go at flattening the sole, this went well till it dawned on me that i remembered reading that the frog played a big part in the shape of the sole & although i had left it on i hadn`t checked how it fit.

My heart sank when i removed the frog for the first time, there was a hard lump of saw dust under the right hand side of the frog where it was supposed to mate with the body, once removed the frog rocked. I then spent a further night filing to try to get all surfaces to meet, i wasn`t enjoying my first fettling experience.

That was a couple of days ago & if i`m honest i wasn`t in a hurry to start again, but today i got a call from an engineering friend, i told him about my attempts & he said to bring it over, i doubt his receiver was cold by the time i got there. :lol: :lol:

After much merriment on his part at my efforts he put the frog & body in turn on his Bridgeport & this is the result of his machining.

All mating surfaces touch perfectly, so i`m once again inspired to carry on, this is how the sole is looking.

So what should i do next? i figure more work on the sole, but what grit do i work down to? Any advice would be most welcome.

 

[woodbloke]

Looks like this plane could turn out to be quite good. Plane soles can usually be finished at around 300 or 400g (w/d paper) for all practical purposes but it isn't critical IMO...I've finished a couple using 1200g which is way over the top, but they did look shiny More important is to keep the sole as flat as possible and trying not to make it convex - Rob

 

[Ironballs]

Like Rob says (though seriously Rob, 1200 grit :wink: ). I'd get the plane on a flat reference surface and do a rock test to see if it wobbles, perhaps see if you can get some feeler gauges under.

If it doesn't seem flat then draw a grid on the sole using spirit based marker and take it to a piece of 400 grit, that will show you where the high and low points are. If the high point is in the middle then you're in trouble, if not you can flatten using sandpaper and a flat surface - though be aware that a high point can develop behind the blade, you may be able to get your engineering friend to remove that

 

[Vann]

I'd get the plane on a flat reference surface and do a rock test to see if it wobbles, perhaps see if you can get some feeler gauges under.

If it doesn't seem flat then draw a grid on the sole using spirit based marker and take it to a piece of 400 grit, that will show you where the high and low points are. If the high point is in the middle then you're in trouble, if not you can flatten using sandpaper and a flat surface - though be aware that a high point can develop behind the blade, you may be able to get your engineering friend to remove that

But before you do all this, fully assemble the plane, including the irons (cutting & cap), as the tensions of the tight frog screws and lever cap may distort the sole slightly (into it's final operating shape). Back off the iron a little so you don't sand the cutting edge :shock: . Then follow the instructions above.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[OPJ]

Something Matthew Platt once told me is never to go OTT on a plane sole as the shinier the surface, the greater the risk of flash rusting. :? When I did mine a few months ago, I finished on 400g, covered them in wax and they've been fine since. 8)

I assume you also had to buy a longer screw for the lever cap?

 

[woodbloke]

I assume you also had to buy a longer screw for the lever cap?

Are such things made...I doubt it. When I did mine a couple of years ago, Pete (Newt) machined me a couple of longer ones out of brass. What makes it awkward is the profile of the screw head and the thread, which is something peculiar - Rob

 

[OPJ]

Hmmm... You could be right, Rob. I could've sworn Workshop Heaven did them but I can only see the cap iron screws... :?

 

[SVB]

Olly,

I have just repleaced the iron and chip-breaker on a 5 1/2 and the existing cap screw was fine.

Just lucky?

Simon

 

[Racers]

Hi, Doug

Have you flatened the face of the frog? they are often hollow across the width.

Pete

 

[Benchwayze]

Hi SV,

You're doing okay here. These particular smoothers are in demand. Especially one that will be as good as this, when finished. I have one that needs a wooden tote, so when I get my backside in gear I'll get it done!

For Mike G... It's just a wider version of the No. 4 smoother and was well-favoured in the Joiners' shop where I worked in the 1960's!

Regards
John

 

[David C]

I finish on 240 grit, which is blunt by this time.

Follow with 0000 wire wool and metal polish (Autosol). Then Wax.

There a number of other small but important details, see my first book pages 28 to 32.

best wishes,
David Charlesworth

PS I no longer file the front edge of the throat to a forward slope having found better ways of controling the angle of the front edge of the chipbreaker. i. e. Honing guide.

 

[Doug B]

Many thanks to everyone for their replies.

The cap screw is fine Olly, plenty long enough, though you did have me worried when i first read your post. But since reading the replies this evening i went straight into the shop to check & have been fettling like a good one ever since. :lol:

Pete the frog is remarkably flat \/ so i`m happy with that.

The front knob & tote are both in bad shape & i`m thinking of making new ones from Cherry, what finish would be best to use on these? I was thinking of an oil finish but would this be up to he task?

Once again thanks for your interest, i will post pics when it`s finished.

 

[DaveL]

The front knob & tote are both in bad shape & i`m thinking of making new ones from Cherry, what finish would be best to use on these? I was thinking of an oil finish but would this be up to he task?

I have oiled the handles on a couple of planes, I find it much nicer in use than the crusty varnish I scrapped off.

 

[bugbear]

The front knob & tote are both in bad shape

They look "ok" to me; I'd leave that for another time, unless you're keen.

BugBear

 

[Doug B]

Labour of love finally over, & if i`m honest, i`m over the moon with the results. 8) 8)

In the end i made the tote & knob from Holly, the original tote was cracked so i needed to make a new one, so i thought i`d best make a job of it & make a matching knob, it also got a lick of paint for good measure :roll: :lol:

The original tote was flat bottomed & had a screw at the front as well as the long bolt that passes through it. Even though there were two fixings the tote still move slightly. On removing the tote i found there was a mortice in the casting, so when i made the new one i cut a tenon to fit the mortice & haven`t bothered with the front fixing (though i`ve saved the screw), it seems ok, can anyone fore see any problems?

It works like a dream, the Hock blade & cap iron are excellent, i`m so pleased i took the time to do this, i was originally thinking of buying a new LN/LV 4 1/2 but the end result negates any need to buy new.

The final photo is the base, in the end i wasn`t happy with the wet & dry route, i wasn`t getting the results i wanted (it was probably me :roll: ). So i went back to my engineering mate, who gave me a black paste to use instead of wet & Dry ( don`t know what it`s called) but it was a revelation. It showed up all the high points & in no time at all i had the sole dead flat, which even for me was obvious as the plane stuck to the paste & grinding surface more & more the flatter it got.

The only annoying thing is the marking in front of the mouth, a few specks that would not go away, i can only think they are imperfections in the cast, though it doesn`t impair the performance of the plane.

Once again thanks to everyone who passed on their ideas & to anyone thinking of fettling, all i can say is it`s well worth the effort.

 

[Ironballs]

Bloody good job mate and those holly handles look fantastic - are you going to throw a bit of finish on them?

Shows what you can do with a bit of fettling and some good quality new iron

 

[Doug B]

Cheers IB

They`ve had some oil & a couple of coats of woodwax, though the colour hasn`t changed that much, which is pleasing. \/

 

[stevebuk]

well done doug, they look the dogs danglies mate, no wonder you are proud of them.

 

[Racers]

Hi, Doug

Very nice!!!! I like the holly handles.

You might get problems with the pits in front of the mouth rusting I had it on an old Record 4 1/2 and I found puting supeglue stopped it happening.

Pete

 

[lurker]

Very Nice Doug,

I like the holly handles and might nick that idea
Where did you get the Hock parts from?

Be warned you are now on a very slippery slope, before long you will be getting up early on sunday morning and going car booting looking for the next fix...................won't he Pete :lol: