wooden plane info please

[sunnybob]

just bought a large square wooden plane. excuse my ignorance, i think its called a jack plane.
Its 3 3/8" square, and 22" long. the guy says he bought it at a tool auction in Lincolnshire

the blade has a name imprinted, which is slightly obscured, maybe some one knows who it is.
theres a crest with the initials E P in two circles with central points. around the top of that in a semi circle is the following;
EDW _PREST_ SA & SONS. (the dashes are not readable)
underneath in two straight lines are WARRANTED and below that ; _ _ _ TSTE_ _.

Also there is some woodworm holes on one back corner. i think they are long gone, but how do I treat that?
The blade edge isnt too far gone, I think I can get a good edge back on it.

i'm trying to get a good picture on the web, will come back if i succeed.

 

[sunnybob]

ok, here goes with the pics.

and

 

[marcros]

Edward preston

 

[sunnybob]

i've researched preston, my plane seems to be in the 1901 catalogue as a "trying plane". thats a new one on me.

anything to treat the woodworm?

 

[bugbear]

Edward Preston is a premium, sought after maker. That's likely (unless the woodworm damage is severe) to be a VERY good plane, with an excellent blade.

BugBear

 

[DuncanA]

You can buy a liquid woodworm treatment where you just apply a few drops to all the flight holes - I've used it in the past on old planes.

The trying plane (also sometimes called a trueing plane) might be more familiar to you as a jointer plane, which seems to be a more common term for them nowadays. Looks like it should continue to do good work after a bit of TLC though!

 

[sunnybob]

Overall, the plane is in quite good condition. There are a couple of very minor cracks on the top rear, all well away from the planing surface. this woodworm is the only serious fault with it. The blade looks like it hasnt had too many sharpenings. The wedge shows no damage from careless hammers. The handle, which looks straight from a tenon saw, has come out, but it just needs regluing, its in very good condition

This might be the answer to my problem with truing edges.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

The full stamp is, 'Edward Preston & Sons Warranted Cast Steel'. Prestons were taken over by Hampton's (Record's parent company) in 1932, so the iron at least is older than that.

Seperate the iron and cap-iron and soak them in vinegar for about 48 hours. A good rub with a pan-scrub and a wash off in warm, soapy water should bring them up a treat - but dry them off thoroughly as soon as they come out of the water, and give them a rub with oil, or they'll flash rust again. For the stock and handle, have a read of AndyT's tool restoration thread stickies at the top of the handtool board. Clean up the wooden bits before glueing the handle back in - it'll be a bit easier that way. The woodworm are probably long gone, but one way to make sure is to wrap the plane in a poly bag and leave it in the freezer for a week or so. The holes can then be filled with wax.

Give the sole a clean up with a fine-set plane, checking that it's straight and out of wind, sharpen up the iron and have a play - enjoy!

 

[sunnybob]

I've cleaned off a maybe a half century of grime and what looks like laquer off the wood, and a lot of white paint spots all over the back of it. and now have found the full makers stamp on the front end of the plane confirming it is a preston.
Thankfully its not pristine, so I dont have to worry about a purist shouting at me for "destroying the patina".
I started reshaping the blade edge, it has a lot of small nicks, and appears to have been sharpened in a simple curve. There is some pitting on the blade, but its minor as far as using it is concerned, mostly cosmetic.

The wood has a reddish colour, and a strong wavy grain along the plane. i dont recognise it (no surprise there!)

I'm not going to do too much to it apart from the blade, this is going to be a working plane.

 

[sunnybob]

here are a couple more pictures, first one the wood colour, second one the wormholes. As an aside, there is no evidence of a front knob of any description. nothing broken off, the wood grain undisturbed. Is that strange?

and the stamp on the front, which is upside down?

 

[JohnPW]

Hello,

The wood is beech, quarter sawn with the medullary rays verticals which gives the nice flecks on the side of the plane.

 

[AndyT]

There would never have been a front handle, or any need of one.
If planing an edge, you put the thumb of your left hand on top and curl the fingers underneath, using them as an immediately adjustable fence with which to steer the plane.
If planing a surface, grip across the front of the plane, fingers on the far side, thumb on the near.

The pattern of light and dark areas on the plane before you cleaned it might well have shown you how its previous owner held it.

 

[sunnybob]

there wasnt any pattern in the muck. To be honest, I dont think this has had much use at all. the wedge shows no marks. But it was more than just dust i took off, some dark stain badly applied, with streaks all across the plane body. I didnt get too aggressive, just 220 grit on an orbital sander with light pressure.
If it werent for the woodworm i would think this could worth a bob or two.

How much force should you use on the wedge? I very briefly assembled it and tried it on a piece of sapele end grain, across a shooting board, with barely more than hand force on the wedge, but the blade slipped back in under the pressure.

 

[matthewwh]

Isn't it lovely when one of these 'what have I bought' forum posts comes along and the guy has picked up something genuinely good and wants to use it rather than just requesting a valuation.

What you have there Bob is a Clifton No.7's great, great, great, grandad. In reasonably skilled hands, correctly tuned and set, it is capable of almost engineering accuracy.

There is more to using it than you might think, but learning how to would be a far more rewarding journey than trying to clean it. When you achieve your first sub 4 thou accuracy surfaces you might need to forgive yourself for having welcomed it into your life with an ROS rather than a gentle turpentine massage. Do forgive yourself though, we've all done it.

You'll need a small mallet to set the wedge - about the same force that a judge or an auctioneer uses when they are not particularly excited.

It's in good nick because try planes were treated with reverence, saved for best. You wouldn't dream of taking a try plane to a board that hadn't previously been jack planed and fore planed to within 1/32" of ready. The Try would take maybe a couple of dozen strokes that produce those precision surfaces that make perfectly seamless joints with one another, then get put away until next time.

 

[sunnybob]

Matthew,
I've always felt that things should be used as they were intended, not put in a glass case and have sugar thrown at it. my pet hate is motorcycle museums that never ride the bikes (but thats a whole different rant). Of, course, if someone was to offer me a couple thousand for it my morals do have a price (lol).

I've now found a couple you tube videos on them, and am a lot wiser today than yesterday. I asked why there wasnt a front knob and know the answer. I also now know why the hammer denting on the front top end is there. Good job I saw that, I was going to use a small crow bar to lever the wedge our (gasp, shock, horror). The minor cleaning I have done might upset a purist, but it was necessary to allow me to grip and use the plane properly.

the top of the blade has no hammer damage, which makes me think was very lightly used, but last used on a bad surface due to the small nicks in the blade edge.

The main reason I bought this in the first place was as a shooting plane, as I am having ongoing problems getting square edges to end grain in particular, but all angles in general. I need to sharpen the blade (a lot!) and see if it solves my problem. Having spent most of my life working with metal, something that can achieve close tolerances in wood is a dream come true for me. As long as it doesnt take me 5 years to learn how to use it properly.

 

[bugbear]

One of the biggest differences between a wooden plane and a Bailey is how you adjust it. It's not harder, but it's VERY different.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMbYEEJWmu4

BugBear

 

[sunnybob]

ive seen simiiar, but that was short and sweet, thanks (g)

 

[Presh]

Hi All,

I have a similar plane that I am also wanting to successfully use. I am assuming that this performs the function of a Jointer Plane? As you can see from one of the attached photos, whilst the sole of the plane is 'relatively flat' it is not square to the sides. I assume that as long as this is not used on a shooting board then this should be OK? Ref the flatness of the base, just how flat should this reasonably be? Given that this is a wooden bodied plane is it a simple case of placing the plane in a vise 'sole-up' and planning / smoothing until it is as flat as I can get it. I really want to use it in anger but would not want to be the one that irreparably damages such an old tool. Thanks
Steve

 

[MIGNAL]

The sides are not important if it's never going to be used on a shooting board.
Retract the blade so it sits well below the mouth opening. Use a Plane that has a very sharp blade and is set to take a very fine shaving.
Don't do this on days of very high or very low humidity. You want Goldilocks humidity. A known good straightedge will tell you where to start taking the obvious shavings. Read the grain of the Plane first. It should be fairly obvious which direction you should be planing. Don't forget to check across the sole too. It doesn't have to be absolutely bang on (whatever that is) but you do want to avoid the hollow immediately in front of the blade.