# First time restoring a plane



## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

Dave has given me inspiration to restore a plane. M neighbor had an old #4 that he gave me. I am using electrolysis to rmove the rust. Just curious how that goes;


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

*Electorlysis set up*

I had to pay zero cost for this. I already had an old lap top PS that I used already to remove rust from a small piece of an old plane. The people that owned the house before me left lots of iron and steel scraps around.
And, I am a pack rat with cables LOL

I used three pieces of iron and surrounded the pieces. I hung the pieces from an old coat hanger. I made sure there was good connectivity by using alligato clips from each piece to the hanger

















This is after 30 minutes:


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

Woo hoo, looking good. :clap:

I love seeing someone trying their hand at a restore. Even better if I inspired the person. :icon_smile:

This should clean up easily.

The casting looked more dirty than rusty. The electrolysis is likely to remove the paint.

The sole looks like someone used the plane on painted wood. I have had some planes with paint streaks on the sole. So far this has been easy to remove.

I am looking forward to the progress pictures.


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

Dave Paine said:


> Woo hoo, looking good. :clap:
> 
> I love seeing someone trying their hand at a restore. Even better if I inspired the person. :icon_smile:
> 
> ...


I am not sure if I will do all of it electroliysis. Just didn't feel like doing it any other way LOL. I might leave the painted parts as is and get the rust of in a more traditional manner.

I was wondering if it would be easier to get all of the paint of and start from scratch or leave the existing paint on. It is scratched amd flaked in some places.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

mengtian said:


> I was wondering if it would be easier to get all of the paint of and start from scratch or leave the existing paint on. It is scratched amd flaked in some places.


I have not tried painting over the factory jappaning so I am not sure how well the new paint will adhere.

The paint I am using was recommended by Timetestedtools, it is an engine enamel and so goes onto bare metal.

If the existing paint is flaking, so far I have removed all the paint to get back to a clean metal surface and re-painted.


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

*24 hours later*

I just took out the three pieces I put in yesterday. Just used a scotch bright pad to get rid of the gunk. This is the result:








I knew it would take the blue paint off that was the Stanley logo. I want this thing to be done from scratch so I will paint that later.

Next, the two larger pieces!


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

Looking good. These pieces cleaned up very nice. :thumbsup:


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Look'n good


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

Wow, making it look easy! Those are some great results so far. I'll be watching this one closely :thumbsup:


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

*Took a day off to tend to the Greenhouse *

Got busy soaking clay pellets for my hydroponics system. Anyway, started on the body today. I used 5 pieces of iron, one bent in a "U" to surround the body and to get underneath. I want to see how well it not only gets the rust off but the paint as well. The paint was chipped and I plan on painting it from scratch. I will post the after pic tomorrow after I take it out.

This is the set up for it. Plus I like to see it bubble up! Wife is afraid I will grow some toxic monster in there! Looks like some primordial soup.


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## timetestedtools (Aug 23, 2012)

is it soup yet?


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

timetestedtools said:


> is it soup yet?


Not yet LOL.......It would be wonderful if it strips all the paint off and the rust.


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## tc65 (Jan 9, 2012)

I'm interested to see if it will remove all the japanning. I've done a couple of planes that had some japanning intact and remained so even after an electrolysis bath. 

I know others have said that electrolysis will remove japanning, so I don't know if it's because of the lower amps and/or shorter times in the bath that I used or exactly what.

The planes I've done weren't too bad so they were only in a bath overnight (<24 hours) @3 amps. It may just be a function of amp/hours. I didn't want to do a complete restore, so wasn't concerned with complete removal of japanning, just getting rid of rust.


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## Joeb41 (Jun 23, 2012)

Lookin good. Very rewarding restoring old iron.


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

*Yup, Electrolosis takes off japaning*

Well,

Woke up this morning and took out the body. The rust was all gone and a quick 1 minute scrubbing and rinsing pulled the paint right off. Even in most of the nno and crannies. I used a small screwdriver to flake off a few small flakes in a corner.

Frog goes in next!


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

Advice on paint....what paint should I use for the body and frog? Dave mentioned something earlier but I could not find the paint.


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## timetestedtools (Aug 23, 2012)

I recommend Dupli-Color Engine Enamel DUPDE1635 Ford Semi Gloss Black spray paint.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

timetestedtools said:


> I recommend Dupli-Color Engine Enamel DUPDE1635 Ford Semi Gloss Black spray paint.


This is the paint I was referring to earlier. It is the same paint as on your No. 7. You should be able to find at a local auto-parts store, e.g., Advance Auto.

I read of this on Don's blog and other sites restoring hand planes. A good recommendation.

It is designed to be applied to bare metal, so no need for priming.

You do need to read the directions. Easy to spray, but if you want to apply more than 1 coat, which is recommended, the coats have to be about 10 minutes apart and all coats applied within 1 hour.

I apply 4 coats within the hour.

If for some reason additional coats are needed, you have to wait 7 days before you can re-paint. Not a typo, the paint needs to fully cure, which includes cross linking. This takes a long time. In Don's blog he mentions that some folks have been in a hurry and tried to re-paint before the 7 days. Big mistake. The new paint does not adhere, and is a major pain to remove.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

mengtian said:


> Well,
> 
> Woke up this morning and took out the body. The rust was all gone and a quick 1 minute scrubbing and rinsing pulled the paint right off. Even in most of the nno and crannies. I used a small screwdriver to flake off a few small flakes in a corner.
> 
> Frog goes in next!


This cleaned up very well. :thumbsup:


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

While I have the frog in the electolosis bath thought I would do the brass. I had them soak in lemon juice and ketchup overnight. Chucked them and polished with 200-1000 grit.

I did not have a bolt to fit the knob so I used a cut out from poplar as a nut and a wood screw LOL....

Got the paint and just waiting for tomorrow to take the frog out. Need to do the wood tonight.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

mengtian said:


> While I have the frog in the electolosis bath thought I would do the brass. I had them soak in lemon juice and ketchup overnight. Chucked them and polished with 200-1000 grit.
> 
> I did not have a bolt to fit the knob so I used a cut out from poplar as a nut and a wood screw LOL....
> 
> Got the paint and just waiting for tomorrow to take the frog out. Need to do the wood tonight.


Nice and shiny. Looking very good. :thumbsup:

Good idea to wait. I like to paint the frog and the casting at the same time.

Don't forget about masking the areas which are not meant to be painted, and put small pieces of paper towel in the screw holes so they do not get painted. For an example, see post #24 in my restoration thread. This was the #5.

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f11/plane-restore-round-4-a-48338/index2/

Your #7 was the first frog I painted both sides. I did not take pictures of the plane / frog taped up.

I apply the tape, and then cut off the areas which need to be painted with a sharp pen knife. Time consuming, but I feel worth the effort.

Since I wanted to paint both sides of the frog at the same time, I hung the frog from a "bridge" by the lateral adjustment lever.

I clamped two pipe clamps to either side of the bench, then clamped a bar across the two ends of the pipe, and used a rare earth magnet to hold the frog by the lateral adjustment lever. This allowed easy removal to hold for painting, the replace to wait for the next coat.


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

*Frog is out*

Took the frog out this mornig....what a mess LOL.









And 20 seconds later after a quick rinse:
















Think I should run it over with a wire brush attached to my grinder before painting?


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## timetestedtools (Aug 23, 2012)

mengtian said:


> Think I should run it over with a wire brush attached to my grinder before painting?



Yes.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

timetestedtools said:


> Yes.


+1 on a pass with the wire brush. I like a clean surface before painting. Sanding works, but the wire brush is easier.


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

*Taped and getting ready for paint*

Got everything the way I wanted, washed with mineral spirits and taped:


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

*While waiting I thought I would detail some pieces*

While waiting I thought I would detail some pieces


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

*Painting done!*

Painting done! Here is what the progress looked like:


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

*Frog*


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

*Before..After*

One week ago:








Today:









Now I guess I should wait for the paint to cure before I put it together. How long should I wait?


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

mengtian said:


> One week ago:
> View attachment 67579
> 
> 
> ...


Terrific progress. :thumbsup:

I just noticed the detail with the Y lever. Wow, this polished up to look like new.

I am happy you went with black for the frog. The red was perhaps original, but would not be my choice.

Once the paint is dry to the touch you can assemble. Normally I leave overnight and assemble the next day. The curing for 7 days only matters if you needed to touch up for some reason.


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## timetestedtools (Aug 23, 2012)

I often assemble immediately. Your metal to metal parts should be bare, so no worries there.


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

*All assembled and done!*


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

*Tested!*

















Now I need to find anothor plane to play with:yes:


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## Chris Curl (Jan 1, 2013)

:thumbsup:


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

mengtian said:


> Now I need to find anothor plane to play with:yes:


Woo hoo. Looking very nice. Great job. Happy to see someone getting into tool restoration. :clap:

Restoration of tools can be addictive. 

I do have a No. 5 which I purchased as a parts plane. I am not recalling how much I paid for this when I won the EBay auction.

It turns out not to be a good parts plane. The tote long screw and toe screw are incorrect and not usable.

The blade has been ground down to within 1/2in of the slot.

The lever cap edge looks like it has been chewed up. It seems some owners used the lever cap as a screw driver to unscrew the cap iron. A common problem.

The good news is that the casting, frog, tote and knob are in good shape. I would sand and refinish.

The casting looks its age, but not a rust bucket, but likely needs to be repainted.

Do you think this would be of interest?

I can post pictures if you are interested.


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

Dave Paine said:


> Woo hoo. Looking very nice. Great job. Happy to see someone getting into tool restoration. :clap:
> 
> Restoration of tools can be addictive.
> 
> ...


Sure...post the pics.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

mengtian said:


> Sure...post the pics.


I will take pictures and post tomorrow, which for me is Saturday.


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

Dave Paine said:


> I will take pictures and post tomorrow, which for me is Saturday.


Tomorrow is Saturday in Texas also


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## USMCSergeant (Aug 21, 2012)

That looks incredible! Great job and thanks for posting.

I picked up a Stanley #3 today, unsure how old.. but it says Bailey on the cast iron portion and Stanley on the blade, anyhow, I think I'll work on restoring it also. It wont take as much work as yours, yours appears to be much older. But still should be fun, and for $10, I wont complain


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## timetestedtools (Aug 23, 2012)

I woke up this morning thinking it was tomorrow but it was today.

looking forward to the pic's mentioned yesterday.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

mengtian said:


> Sure...post the pics.


I took some pictures today.

Overall view of the plane and the parts I have removed so far. The lateral adjustment lever needs to be straightened.









Closeup of the tote. After sanding and refinishing, this will look good as new.









The casting, frog and knob have not been taken apart at this time. They look good so far.









These components are the worst.

On the left we have a blade grounded down so far it almost has been ground to the slot. The lever cap has the most edge damage I have seen in a hand plane so far. The tote screws are #12. Wrong diameter, wrong thread, since the real hardware is BS Whitworth. A standard for hardware back in the late 1800's when the design standards were developed, but the standard fell out of favour in the mid 1900's so is now obsolete except for hand planes, and mid 1900's British cars.









If this plane is to be restored, I feel it will need a new lever cap, a new blade, and replacement tote long screw and toe screw.

I have not looked at how much I paid to win this EBay auction, but likely I should have passed. :huh:


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