Preserve plane handle trade label

[JohnPW]

Hello all,

Has anyone got any ideas on how to preserve the trade label on a Record plane handle?

I bought a mid 50s no 06 (full face frog type) recently with an almost completely intact label. After I cleaned off most of the rust (plane seems to be hardly used) and went to try it out, I might have touched the label when I was adjusting the lateral lever or maybe it just came off by itself. It's actually the varnish that's come off. My guess is that the wood has shrunk slightly, I keep it indoors but apparently it was left in a shed for the last 30 odd years.

I can see a bit of the label/varnish has lifted off the wood but hasn't broken off from the rest of the label yet. I was think of applying some sort of varnish, so the label would be held together and that any loose bit won't break off. And maybe work some of the varnish under the loose bit, as a sort of glue.

I've got some water based artist's acrylic varnish which I gues would be non-yellowing and chemically stable. Would it be OK to use that? Or maybe a woodworking varnish would be better?

 

[hansonread]

I personally would use some form of 2 part varnish or clear coat epoxy if for no other reason than for shear durability. There is going to be loads of times when your sweaty mitts are going to be touching it so will be exposed to all sorts of wear and tear.

You could dip coat the handle as is, and would completely preserve the 'old' look of the handle whilst making it smoothe and workable for yourself. The more coats you can add the better remembering to key the surface with 600/800g inbetween.

Failing that if you wanted to re finish the handle completely whilst retaining the sticker, use some liquid mask and mask the wood around the sticker, then spray on several coats of clear epoxy resin over the area, building up a really nice flat film over the top. then finish the handle in whichever oil/wax/varnish you fancied, stripping the wood back with steel wool so as not to disturb the epoxy to much. Dont worry about the epoxy going matte with the steel wool, can be polished up at a later to a high shine.

If you don't fancy embarking on such a project, or buying said materials then whip it off and stick it in a jiffy bag, and i'l quite happily do the epoxy work for you as I have all the stuff lying around

 

[Vann]

I'm watching this with interest. I'm in the same boat.

Just a comment on that Record 06 plane. The "full face" frog you describe, and the transfer, were both phased out about 1956. The cutting iron dates from mid-1950s to 1959. But the ribbed plane body wasn't introduced until 1963*
So the plane appears to be a bitsa. That won't affect it's performance in the slightest, but it reduces it's historic value (and I'm assuming you want to save the transfer for it's historic value).

Cheers, Vann.

* all according to http://www.recordhandplanes.com

 

[JohnPW]

I have a feeling the label will flake off by itself if I don't do something soon, it's getting a bit wrinkled now. And bits of the (quite thin) varnish is coming off and sticking to my hand every time I grab the handle. The only varnish I've got on me at the moment is a hard wax oil which I understand is a oil/varnish combo, I might try using that.

Re the dating, http://www.recordhandplanes.com/dating.html says:

The curved top edge of the sides and the curved toe and heel of the body casting had a ground finish until about 1955 to 1960. They were subsequently left as cast and enamelled blue. The frog receiver in the body casting was modified from a straight central rib to a wishbone shaped buttress around 1955 to 1960. This is when Qualcast, Derby, were doing the casting of the frog and body for Record. On some bodies you will see the letter 'Q' where the frog is seated.

Plane numbers 06, 07 and 08 had a central strengthening rib added to the body casting from 1963.

So according to that, a plane with the central strengthening rib dates from 1963 and has a wishbone shaped frog receiver and painted top and end edges. However mine has the central strengthening rib but with a straight frog receiver; the ends are bare and the top is also bare except for the very end bits.

So either the central strengthening rib dates form earlier than 1963, or the straight ribbed frog receiver and bare edges were used after 1955-1960.

Assuming mine is not a bitsa, I would date it to about 1955-56, the last of the older flat frog and label but with the newly introduced rounded iron. But that would mean the 1963 date for the first strengthening ribs is way out. Also my iron is different to the ones shown on that site, it's most similar to the second one ("mid 1950s to 1959") but the slot goes further up like the flat top iron ("1930 to mid 1950s'").

 

[JohnPW]

I personally would use some form of 2 part varnish or clear coat epoxy if for no other reason than for shear durability. There is going to be loads of times when your sweaty mitts are going to be touching it so will be exposed to all sorts of wear and tear.

You could dip coat the handle as is, and would completely preserve the 'old' look of the handle whilst making it smoothe and workable for yourself. The more coats you can add the better remembering to key the surface with 600/800g inbetween.

Failing that if you wanted to re finish the handle completely whilst retaining the sticker, use some liquid mask and mask the wood around the sticker, then spray on several coats of clear epoxy resin over the area, building up a really nice flat film over the top. then finish the handle in whichever oil/wax/varnish you fancied, stripping the wood back with steel wool so as not to disturb the epoxy to much. Dont worry about the epoxy going matte with the steel wool, can be polished up at a later to a high shine.

If you don't fancy embarking on such a project, or buying said materials then whip it off and stick it in a jiffy bag, and i'l quite happily do the epoxy work for you as I have all the stuff lying around

Thanks for that. I think I'm going to brush on a coat of varnish over the top of the handle, just enough so the label won't flake off anymore and preserve it as it is now. For the rest of the handle I'm going to leave it and use it as it is. When enough of the varnish eventually comes off, I'll put some oil on it.

 

[Pekka Huhta]

The varnish used on those handles is nitrocellulose-based stuff. It will dissolve (slowly) in alcohol, and very quickly to toluene. Acetone is a good "middle of the road" solution: easy to get and much safer than toluene.

I would suggest just first rubbing the handle with an alcohol rag. Any alcohol intended for alcohol burners etc. will do. be very careful not to rub off the whole decal. Better to just dab it on instead of rubbing heavily. The whole handle gets a much better look that way, you can really see the loose varnish flakes getting "glued" back on when the alcohol dissolves the varnish and soaks under the flakes. Some handles require acetone (must have something to do with the different coatings they have used), but I have seen none that would not react to that treatment. And I have used it on dozens of handles.

I would advise against any hard 2-part varnishes, as they usually do have strong solvents in them and you can boil the old varnish off completely.

Be very careful and try it out on the handle before attacking the decal.

Pekka

 

[JohnPW]

OK I've put some varnish on the label.

Before I did that the existing varnish was flaking and peeling off by itself, the label was a bit better, maybe the label was holding the varnish together.

After painting on some varnish (Chestnut Hard Wax Oil):

After a couple of days:

I've stopped the flaking off but I think I need to put more varnish on as I don't know if any of the new varnish has got under the label (to help stick it down) or the new varnish is just on top, like sellotape.

 

[MMUK]

This may be a little late but could you laminate the label with plastic film and lift it completely? Then you can refurb the handle and re-apply the label afterwards.

 

[GazPal]

A dab of superglue works wonders when "fixing" old labels into place. Allow it to cure for a couple of days and you can then re-finish the handle using dye and varnish of your choice. I tend to use Colron Wood Dye "Indian Rosewood" and Liberon Danish Oil when re-finishing handles and front knobs.

Quite often - if the old varnish is very flakey - I simply strip the finish and get down to the bare timber by scraping with a craft knife blade/scraper and refine the resulting surface using increasingly finer grades of steel wool.

 

[Kerf]

I can help you with this as I restore Record planes and tools. You can make your decals using this stuff. Google Search: Inkjet Water-Slide Decal Paper

I have an image of the decal (which I will not supply so don't ask), but if you look around they are available on the web. You just print them off on ordinary paper until you get the size right. Then on the transfer paper and follow the instructions for applying.

 

[MMUK]

I have an image of the decal (which I will not supply so don't ask), but if you look around they are available on the web.

If it's freely available on the web why are you so cagey about supplying it? :? :? :?

 

[Tony Spear]

I have an image of the decal (which I will not supply so don't ask), but if you look around they are available on the web.

If it's freely available on the web why are you so cagey about supplying it? :? :? :?

And why are you so offensive in your "User Name"?

 

[MMUK]

I have an image of the decal (which I will not supply so don't ask), but if you look around they are available on the web.

If it's freely available on the web why are you so cagey about supplying it? :? :? :?

And why are you so offensive in your "User Name"?

Sorry Tony, you've lost me there :?

 

[JohnPW]

I was looking to keep what's left of the original label/decal/sticker. A reproduction's fine for those who'd want one but it's not for me.

I've varnished another one, from a 60s no 5 1/2. It's not bubbling and flaking off but it's cracked all over.