Rusted Up Foreplane (Not rusty anymore, pics here)

[joiner_sim]

Hi,
I've been given a 1950's Record No.6 Foreplane. The plane itself is nothing i don't think i can't sort out, not much rust to complain about. But..... the iron and cap iron are rusted to bits. Is it possible for me to restore them, and what method is best? Or would it be better for me to source a new iron and cap iron. I really want to restore this plane due to its age and the superb construction of it, with its wooden handles and the RECORD name.

This is a picture of one in good condition:

 

[Paul Chapman]

If the iron is rusted and pitted at the sharp end, you will never get a decent edge on it, so it would be better to replace it. As regards the cap iron, you could replace it with a Clifton two-pice cap iron. This is a copy of the old Record Stay-Set cap iron and significantly improves the performance of the plane - I have them fitted to all my planes link

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Aled Dafis]

Yup!!

I can also vouch for the Clifton iron and chipbreaker combo. I have a Clifton #3 and a #5 1/2, and the irons are sweeeet.

IMHO the O1 tool steel is far easier to keep sharp than the A2 steel preferred by Lie-nielsen and Veritas/Lee Valley - although Rob Lee (Lee Valley big boss man) swears by O1.

I find that if an iron is easier to hone, then I'm less likely to put off honing for another few minutes, and therefore my work is better because of it.

Regards

Aled


[/quote]

 

[Jake]

IMHO the O1 tool steel is far easier to keep sharp than the A2 steel preferred by Lie-nielsen and Veritas/Lee Valley - although Rob Lee (Lee Valley big boss man) swears by O1.

I agree, save that for the reason you identify, I don't think it's fair to say that LV prefer A2 - it's just that if they don't supply it by default they'll be marked down in the "great woodworking public's" estimation for having "inferior blades".

Hopefully the worm will turn, in time.

 

[Paul Chapman]

Just a couple of points I should add about fitting Clifton blades and cap irons. You can fit a Clifton cap iron without modifying the plane at all. However, the Clifton blades are 3.1mm thick, so if you fit one of them as well, you might find that the 'Y' lever is too short to engage with the slot in the cap iron.

As it's a 1950s Record, you would be able to silver solder a piece of metal on the end of the 'Y' lever to lengther it. Rob (Woodbloke) did this on mine (a #05 Record Stay-Set)

Soldering the extra piece on

'Y' lever cleaned up

You would probably also need to open up the mouth a little with a file.

Hope this helps.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Aled Dafis]

Jake

That's pretty much what I had in my mind, but couldn't find the appropriate words - this english language lark is a bit much for me. Why on earth can't you all speak welsh????

My feeling is that the "worm" is in fact slowly turning, as a number of posts have recently spoken very highly of the Clifton irons.

Regards

Aled

 

[Jake]

Jake

That's pretty much what I had in my mind, but couldn't find the appropriate words - this english language lark is a bit much for me. Why on earth can't you all speak welsh????

Fiar enyyff!

 

[Aled Dafis]

Fiar enyyff!

Da iawn!! (very good)


:lol: :lol:

 

[Jake]

Apart from, perhaps, using just one f where there could have been at least two?

I'll raise a glass to HCS.

 

[bugbear]

Hi,
I've been given a 1950's Record No.6 Foreplane. The plane itself is nothing i don't think i can't sort out, not much rust to complain about. But..... the iron and cap iron are rusted to bits.

Well, if they're as bad as they would be if I used that phrase, they're not restorable. But then, my definition of "rusted to bits" is somewhere around "not restorable", so it's a circular definition ;-)

The key distinction here is wether the rust is shallow or deep; how much of the blade/cap is covered doesn't matter at all. There are also (casually speaking) two kinds of rust; "red rust" which is shallow and easily removed, and "black rust", which ... isn't

How do your parts compare to these (posted by "chems" recently)

Note that the only part that REALLY matters is the flat surface opposite the bevel, which in chems case is pretty good. The extensive corrosion around the name etc at the top of the end is unfortunate, but only cosmetic.

Is it possible for me to restore them, and what method is best?

Many people like Electrolysis, but I've never gone to the trouble and mess of it. I would recommend 400 grit wet 'n' dry, used on a small metal block, to avoid rounding off corners. Don't rub hard, just keep rubbing, using frequent rinsing to remove the (very messy) rust soup you'll be making.

Or would it be better for me to source a new iron and cap iron. I really want to restore this plane due to its age and the superb construction of it, with its wooden handles and the RECORD name.

Record (or Stanley) new blades are made from cheese. SO called "after market blades are available, and are excellent - they're priced at 25-35 depending on brand and source.

However, since these could be bought at any time, I see no downside (apart from your time and effort) to having a crack at cleaning up the existing items. If nothing else, you'll learn skills, in both rust evaluation (always a good skill to have if buying second hand), and blade preparation.

This is a picture of one in good condition:

NICE photo.

BugBear

 

[joiner_sim]

thanks for the help and advice, i'll have a go this weekend if i get a chance.

 

[matthewwh]

If the rust hasn't pitted the back you could use 'restore' to get the rust off, it works like phosphoric acid but is biodegradable so you can tip it down the drain when you are finished with it.

If it's saveable drop me a pm with your address and I'll send you a little sample bottle to try out.

Failing that the Clifton iron and chipbreaker are a superb upgrade.

 

[joiner_sim]

:!: :arrow: :idea: :arrow:

Right then, yesterday I spent a few hours in the shop messing around with this plane, hoping for something of a result like the picture i found off the internet on the first post of this topic.

Here is the BEFORE pics, the surface of the plane is slightly already cleaned up, because it was an after-thought to take pics.

As I said the surface is slightly cleaned up, because I didnt think to take pictures until i started.

WORK IN PROGRESS*

As the picture below shows, I cramped up a thin long piece of plywood and nailed on some 60 grit sanding paper. I kept running the plane surafce up and down this until all the rust was lost. I done the two side edges this way as well. I also did this method with the other metal parts.
I then re-done the same method but I changed the paper to 80 grit. After doing all of this, I sprayed WD-40 on all cleaned up surfaces and rubbed it in with a cloth, this was to preserve the surafces.

I then had to actually sort the blade out now there was no rust on it. Cleaned up the back of the blade on a coarse 250 grit diamond stone first until it was flat and then finished it on a 600 grit. Obviously then just sharpened up the usual way.

FINISHED! *
The finished product...

Altogether now, as you can see I couldn't wait to see if it cut nicely before taking the pictures!!! Lovely cut I must say :lol: Its all in the sharpening!
As you can see the handles are still looking a bit rough, but that is because I ran out of shop time, when i get a minute a nice rub down on the rosewood handles and the a lovely varnish will do the trick!

I have linked to this image as i thought it was too big.http://www.freewebs.com/simonswoodwork/record/05072008014.jpg

THE RESULT! *

A nice pile of shavings!

Lots of pics here, just thought I'd share as many other people on the forum do too! Any questions or comments just add onto the topic on PM me.
Thanks,
Simon.

 

[joiner_sim]

Just wanted to compare..... haha

 

[Chems]

 

[joiner_sim]

They are pretty much identical! It did take me a long time to get the blade sharp enough to cut, its sharp now, but I'll continue to keep sharpening it here and there to hopefully get it to what is perfectly sharp for the ultimate cut, like the rest of my tools............ :roll: haha i wish, the rest need sharpening all the time, but they are in use 45 hours a week minimum!

 

[Chems]

Im going to get some of the blue paint and respray the body of mine and give it some more polishing, varnish the handles also. It really does provide an excellent cut, Ive literally just put it down from doing some smoothing. I look forward to seeing yours before I do mine

 

[Handrubbed]

I have restored a number of planes that were found in the condition of yours. I basically treat every piece and surface as needing a partial remanufacturing. In other words, the existing plane is like raw material due for remanufacturing. It is dirty, tedious work and far removed from actual woodworking, but rewarding nevertheless.

This a the result of one such effort. I try to avoid the over-restored appearance that you sometimes see, ie. motorized wire brushing, etc. I hope you approve.[/img]

 

[woodbloke]

Nice job on the plane and I agree with your comment about being dirty and tedious work... it certainly is, this Record T5 started as:

and finished up like this:

...but the effort does justify the end result. I have another plane restoration project to start fairly soon which should be interesting - Rob

 

[Chems]

Rob, thats lovely, what brand and shade of paint did you use for the blue? Someone recommend a brand from B&Q but I could never find it.