# First hand plane restore!



## nbo10 (Jan 26, 2011)

Hi All,
I've gotten my first hand plane, a Stanley #5 off of ebay. It's pretty rough and needs some work.

First thing. Did people have small hands back in the day? The tote doesn't even come close to fitting my hand. It's not an issue since the tote is cracked. I'll be making a new tote with the plans from Lee Valley. It's odd how small the tote is.

Second. The blade isn't square. It has a pretty good slant across the blade. I don't have a grinder. Does anyone have suggestions on squaring the up the edge.

Thanks


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## tim407 (Nov 24, 2012)

I would not want to even attempt to try and square up the blade with sand paper you'd be at it for a long long time. If I were you I would pick up a good hand crank grinder on eBay. You can get em dirt cheap and it'll save u hours repairing the blade you've got and nicks your make in your blades later. 

Once u get the blade generally shaped with your grinder then stones or sandpaper to hone your blade.


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## timetestedtools (Aug 23, 2012)

do you have a belt sander?


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

nbo10 said:


> Hi All,
> I've gotten my first hand plane, a Stanley #5 off of ebay. It's pretty rough and needs some work.
> 
> First thing. Did people have small hands back in the day? The tote doesn't even come close to fitting my hand. It's not an issue since the tote is cracked. I'll be making a new tote with the plans from Lee Valley. It's odd how small the tote is.
> ...


How about some pictures. We love to see the before and after.

The tote has to fit under the lateral adjustment lever so cannot be too tall. Stanley made their totes rather narrow.

I have had a few blades which were not square. I spend the time to fix by hand. I use a Lee Valley Mk II Honing jig, since I am not able to get the consistency I want by hand.

I start with 80 grit wet-dry paper. It is not as fast as a grinder or belt sander, both of which I own, but I am not worried about the time.

You could start with coarser grit which will remove metal faster.

You could also put a file in a vise to get the edge square. I would move the blade on a fixed file rather than the other way. Less risk of damage to you if the blade slips off the stationary file.


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## amckenzie4 (Apr 29, 2010)

nbo10 said:


> Hi All,
> 
> Second. The blade isn't square. It has a pretty good slant across the blade. I don't have a grinder. Does anyone have suggestions on squaring the up the edge.
> 
> Thanks


Do you have a drill press? I have a grinder, but hate using it -- I'm actually planning to clean it up and sell it as soon as I finish moving. Here's what I've done to make squaring blades easier.

1) I cut a block that I can mount to the table of my drill press: it's long enough to clamp a hand plane iron to, but short enough to get a chisel on. It's cut at about 25 degrees, which is about where I want my chisels and hand planes.

2) I mount a collet in my drill press that's designed for using sanding disks with an electric drill. I have a set of wide (~3" radius) disks that are somewhere between a sanding disk and a cutoff wheel: I mostly use one that's around 80 grit.

3) Depending on how much work the blade needs, I either clamp it to the ramp or just hold it there: oddly, I'm more likely to clamp it if it doesn't need much work.

4) I set the table height so there's about half an inch between the disk and the edge of the blade. Then, turn on the drill, and use the handle to lower the disk onto the blade. 

I like it because I can keep a finger on the blade an inch or two away from the edge and track how hot it's getting. If it's getting too hot, I can pull the blade and dunk it in a cup of water. The drill press is easy to let up on, and since this is just a rough edge anyway it doesn't need to be perfect. 

Once I've got big nicks out and the edge approximately square, I switch to an old coarse oilstone, then a fine stone, then a strop. I was given a set of DMT diamond plates for Christmas, so I'll probably switch to those over the oilstone, but we'll see how I like them.


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## nbo10 (Jan 26, 2011)

Here it is after I had started taking it apart. The previous owner for some reason had installed the tote backwards. I don't have a belt sander or drill press. I'll start with the sandpaper route and reevaluate once I get started.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

nbo10 said:


> Here it is after I had started taking it apart. The previous owner for some reason had installed the tote backwards. I don't have a belt sander or drill press. I'll start with the sandpaper route and reevaluate once I get started.


Thanks for the picture.

Does not look to have any rust. You mentioned the bad sharpening.

It took some creativity to install the tote backwards. No wonder it did not feel to match your hand. What an idiot. :laughing::laughing:


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## nbo10 (Jan 26, 2011)

I tried to put it back on backwards to take a picture, but couldn't finagle it enough.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

nbo10 said:


> Here it is after I had started taking it apart. The previous owner for some reason had installed the tote backwards. I don't have a belt sander or drill press. I'll start with the sandpaper route and reevaluate once I get started.


Wet and dry paper is preferred. The fluid, water or whatever, helps the process a lot.

If you want to send this to me I will be happy to restore the edge to as good as new condition. Just send me a PM.


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## MasterSplinter (Jan 12, 2013)

It looks in good shape. Better than some of the ones i reciently got.


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## DannyT (Apr 26, 2011)

the rod for the tote is pointing the wrong direction, it needs to be screwed into the hole at the back. looks like they put it in the front hole and then bent the rod back on an angle.


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## nbo10 (Jan 26, 2011)

I'll probably have to replace the rod.

There was a bit of rust under the frog, which wont be hard to remove.

I'm really intrigued by the hand crank grinders. I'll probably try to pick one up, but that is another project. I can't wait to get this fixed up and working.



DannyT said:


> the rod for the tote is pointing the wrong direction, it needs to be screwed into the hole at the back. looks like they put it in the front hole and then bent the rod back on an angle.


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## EricD (Jan 17, 2013)

Does anyone use Oxalic acid (wood bleach) to remove rust? I have a few nice user Type 16-19 Stanleys that could use rust removal and I've use Oxalic acid for restoring old Schwinns.


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## Gilgaron (Mar 16, 2012)

I'd use evaporust before acid. No risk of damaging it.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

+1 for Evapo-Rust. It is not cheap, but it does a terrific job.

No fumes, no risk of burns. Put the pieces in a big ziploc bag, pour in the Evapo-Rust and wait overnight. Close the bag so you do not lose moisture. I left mine in an open tray and lost about a quart of water. I can add back, but easier to not lose in the first place.


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## EricD (Jan 17, 2013)

I've used OA for many resto-projects on old bicycles, it can't be worse than electrolysis. I'm going to give it a shot and see how it works. OA isn't really very strong when used correctly and the fumes aren't nearly as bad as paint/solvents. It only takes 2-3 heaping teaspoons for 2 gallons of warm water. I'll take some pictures and start a thread about it. BTW, OA vs Evaporust is a never-ending discussion on the Schwinn Forum.


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## nbo10 (Jan 26, 2011)

I've picked up some sharpening supplies after work today, a marble tile and sand paper. I worked on squaring up the blade earlier in the week and got it pretty good. A coarse stone and files helped with the squaring. 

I was a little unsure if I could really get the back of the blade to shine, like I've seen in online videos. Starting with the 180 grit did wonders and you can already see reflections on the back of the blade. One thing I'm worried about is some pitting on the back side. I'm not sure you can make it out in the photos. It looks like left over adhesive, but it is small little dimples. Sanding has made a big difference already. Should I continue to remove all the pitting on the back side? 

I hope to have this bad boy finished by end of the weekend.


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## timetestedtools (Aug 23, 2012)

I did a little test on just flattening and shining the back here (http://timetestedtools.wordpress.com/2013/01/18/sharpening-past-the-dmt-and-polishing-the-iron/) for the difference in just flattened back and polished backs. I'd also try to get the pits out. They will translate into small marks on the wood as you plane.

I hate using the ruler trick (just do an internet search if you don't know what it is) but it can help a lot with pitted irons. Yours is minor enough that I'd try to remove them by flattening, but if you tire of it, the ruler trick will work as well.


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## nbo10 (Jan 26, 2011)

Is a marble tile flat enough to flatten the back of a blade?


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## timetestedtools (Aug 23, 2012)

> Is a marble tile flat enough to flatten the back of a blade?


I personally don't know the answer, but I would think it would depend on the tile.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

timetestedtools said:


> I personally don't know the answer, but I would think it would depend on the tile.


Yes, I recall a sharpening thread some months ago, a person bought marble tiles from e.g., Lowes, then got home and found they were not flat.

I think this was the thread.
http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f11/first-try-truing-using-hand-plane-41906/

Could be tile specific, but best to check.

I purchased granite slabs from Grizzly which were reference surfaces and so ground to a very tight tolerance. Woodcraft is also selling granite slabs.

If you have a granite countertop shop locally, they may have sink cutouts which may be better than marble. More scratch resistant.


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## nbo10 (Jan 26, 2011)

Dave Paine said:


> Wet and dry paper is preferred. The fluid, water or whatever, helps the process a lot.
> 
> If you want to send this to me I will be happy to restore the edge to as good as new condition. Just send me a PM.



Thanks for the offer. If I can't get this blade sharpened up by end of the week I might take you up on it.


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## Woodwart (Dec 11, 2012)

You don't need to flatten all of the back side. You can use a thin piece of metal, like a thin ruler, under the top of the blade to flatten just the1/8" or so closest to the edge. This gives a very slight back bevel to the blade, but by the time you have honed the front of the blade the back bevel is inconsequential.


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