# Hey Tom, Firemedic even.



## Jim West Pa (Jul 27, 2010)

Here's a pic o' those block planes. Don't know what kind o' wood they're made of but quite heavy.


----------



## eagle49 (Mar 22, 2011)

*wood*

Alot of them were beach and hornbeam.


----------



## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Jim, I haven't forgotten about these! I hope to start working on them soon. I need to figure out what the original totes and knobs looked like. That'll be a good project to start with bits n pieces of time after the baby arives!

--------------------------------------------- one day I'll be so good that I won't need this forum any longer... then I'll know I have full onset Dementia! ~tom


----------



## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Jim was kind enough to send these planes to me and refused any compensation. His only request being I determine what the best route to take with them was an eventually do that.

I pulled em out the other day and started cleaning them up.

They are, in fact, beach. I cleaned up the irons but determined the plane bodies are beyond restoring... They are horribly checked. One of the irons and caps was in great shape while the other has a good cap but pos iron from the 90's with no life in it.

Here's a few pictures after cleaning (evaporust and buffing) of the good iron. For S&G's I flattened the bottom (couple passes with a No 6) of the one with the good iron (a Ohio Tool Co no 15) wedged the iron and made a few curls :smile:

...build n burn - live n learn...


----------



## Brink (Nov 22, 2010)

Can't pack epoxy into the bodies then smooth them?


----------



## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Brink said:


> Can't pack epoxy into the bodies then smooth them?


Nahhh... Wedge shot, mouth shot, no knob, no tote... Just not worth it. :no:

Good idea though :yes:

...build n burn - live n learn...


----------



## Brink (Nov 22, 2010)

Can mold new ones outa bondo.


----------



## DST (Jan 10, 2011)

Seems I remember seeing an old plane restored by adding a new wood sole. Likes cobbler would do to a shoe. It allowed for narrowing the mouth too. Can't seem to find in now though. I guess if you can't figure out a way then I have a few also that are past repair.


----------



## Chuck M (Dec 21, 2010)

firemedic said:


> Nahhh... Wedge shot, mouth shot, no knob, no tote... Just not worth it. :no:
> 
> Good idea though :yes:
> 
> ...build n burn - live n learn...


They probably didn't have knobs. can you see if the one that has ohio tool company blade has any makings on the nose? looks a lot like the Scioto works plans I recently got that were my great grandpa's.
















http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f11/great-grandpas-tool-box-36293/


----------



## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

I was able to make out:

OHIO TOOL CO
COLUMBUS

15

1887​
The 1887 is a reach, as it's extremely difficult to make out. 

I had to do some very light sanding with 400x and apply BLO to make it out.​


----------



## Chuck M (Dec 21, 2010)

From what I can find the Scioto planes were the lower line by the Ohio Tool Co.


----------



## Jim West Pa (Jul 27, 2010)

Thanx for postin this Tom. It is becomin quite educational for me.
I never knew a plane had so many parts to it.
I think i understand "mouth" and "wedge" but "knob" and "tote" are still a mystery to me :blink::laughing:


----------



## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Jim West Pa said:


> Thanx for postin this Tom. It is becomin quite educational for me.
> I never knew a plane had so many parts to it.
> I think i understand "mouth" and "wedge" but "knob" and "tote" are still a mystery to me :blink::laughing:


*!JOE ALLERT!*

Knob = front grip
Tote = rear grip

One thing that puzzles me is knobs on wooden bodied planes... I've never seen one! The only exception to this is the transition plane with some on the iron frame and others on the wood.

The puzzling part, to me, is that a LOT of wooden planes have a hole, sometimes with a peg in it, up front as if there was a knob that got broken off...? Joe, you care to clear this up for us all?

I'm a bit new to the wooden planes as I've really only taken interest in the last 2 yrs but I've yet to come across any reference to that point.

It's a given that a knob up front makes the plane easier to use... What gives?

...build n burn - live n learn...


----------



## Chuck M (Dec 21, 2010)

That peg in the front is a place to hit with a mallet to release the wedge. I think some times there was even a brass peg there.


----------



## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Well... I'm sorry Jim. This was going to be more of a surprise but I feel bad for you thinking maybe more could be done with these other guys making suggestions n such...

It's kinda funny I texted a picture of the plane covered in epoxy to Brink about the same time he posted that suggestion :smile:

I decided to use one to fix the other. So plane 1 has a new mouth and wedge thanks to plane 2. One gave its life for the other :smile: Working on the wedge right now but the pictures below give a little run down on what I did.

One thing I found odd when I cleaned up the iron was that the right top side of it was beat to crap n back and the blade was ground at a bit of a skew... The plane is not a skew plane so I figured it had something to do with the owners setting routine... When I reassembled the plane for a test run with the new mouth (which still needs tuning) I noticed the blade rest of the plane was not cut straight. I then noticed the right side of the plane body was cracked... Opposite where the iron was beat up. Viola! Makes sense! So I fixed that to allow the blade to sit correctly and it shaves pretty nice.

Once the mouth is done and new wedge made I'll try to find something interesting to make a tote with.

It's gonna be a dandy little plane when I send I back to ya :yes::smile:

...build n burn - live n learn...


----------



## Jim West Pa (Jul 27, 2010)

firemedic said:


> Well... I'm sorry Jim. This was going to be more of a surprise but I feel bad for you thinking maybe more could be done with these other guys making suggestions n such...
> 
> It's kinda funny I texted a picture of the plane covered in epoxy to Brink about the same time he posted that suggestion :smile:
> 
> ...


WHAT ?!?!?!?!?!?!? 
You had jist best git that thot right out o' yer ladder climbin', fire fightin, life savin, ukky water divin into beautiful water soaked log recoverin,dust makin, plane fixin, wood workin, new baby diaper changin, cool tool buyin' and restorin', boiled cat fish and crawdad eatin, ( mm..do ya wrastle gators too :laughing: ) mind son !!!!

Those planes were a gift to you and tho i am SERIOUSLY humbled that you would even think o' such an act, i don't see me ever bein able to give them the use and life they deserve like i know you will.
Seriously Tom. If you feel compelled to make that raised from the dead plane a gift for someone then please pay it forward by givin it to someone else that you know will apppreciate and use it as much as you would.
( that is such an overly kind gesture tho Tom)

Oh yeah, and back to the first line of your post....
" Well... I'm sorry Jim. This was going to be more of a surprise but I feel bad for you thinking maybe more could be done with these other guys making suggestions n such..."
I had no expectations at all Tom.
I had only curiosity after seein the wonderfull job you did with your #45. And your passion ans love of these older tools is quite evident.

If i may make a suggestion for future reference for ya.....
If you do ever decide to use an epoxy for this kind of thing.
I allways used a product in my gunsmithing work called ACRA GLASS.
It is mainly used for bedding gun stocks because it is virtualy impervious to climate changes and will not crack under the recoil of the biggest of calibers.
. It also tools amd machines very well.
You can also mix the dust of whatever wood you are workin with to match the color of the wood.
It comes in liquid, gel, steel and aluminium form and can be purchased at your more stocked gun stores or ordered from Brownell's in Iowa.
It's shelf life is .......well.......i jist dug mine out last week to repair a pistol grip for someone and the stuff is still as good as new.
I purchased it more than 20 years ago.:yes:

I allmost fergot to add.........very sweet progress you've made so far on it :thumbsup:


----------



## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Sigh...

Yeah... wrastled a couple. Only thing you left out was cotton pick'n :laughing:


...build n burn - live n learn...


----------



## Jim West Pa (Jul 27, 2010)

firemedic said:


> Sigh...
> 
> Yeah... wrastled a couple. Only thing you left out was cotton pick'n :laughing:
> 
> ...


 
Hahaha, probly should threw snappin turtle noodlin' in there too huh? :laughing:


----------



## joesbucketorust (Dec 13, 2011)

As common as Ohio Tool Co woodies are, it would make more sense to trash the body, keep the tapered iron and make an entirely new body out of some nice exotic hardwood. Match the width to the old one, make the length whatever you desire. I've sold a few irons/chipbreakers to people who have used woods like purpleheart or cocobolo to make their own custom-sized plane. You can copy the bed angle from the original, or customize it - make steeper angle if you primarily do hardwoods, or even a scraper plane.

There is an OTC collector who has posted a catalog on the net:
http://www.mvr1.com/Ohiowoodenplanes.html

He's into much more than just this company, the rest of his website is very good reading.

Chuck explained the button. It's struck with a wooden/leather mallet to loosen the iron. If you catch the woodie bug then before throwing money at the dealer, look closely at the ends and the knob to make sure they haven't been whacked to death. The button is usually end-grain wood, sometimes metal. I found one last year that was a metal spike a good 3/4" long - just before I sawed into it (I recycle the bodies for wedges and totes) A lot of the european ones have the button at the end and a dowelish looking rod up front. A lot of american users seem to have pried out the button and made their own european looking dowelish type knob. Look at enough of them and you'll see all sorts of embellishments - carved sides, redone totes etc.


----------



## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Joe, thanks. I meant to reply to the other answer about it being a knob to strike on above too and forgot.

Brink sent me some info in reference to it as well. I never made the connection. I still have a lot to learn about these wooden planes.

My original plan was to do exactly as you suggested... then I got to thinking it might be nice to send it back to Jim and well if he really wants me to hang on to it I'll more than likely build another wood body for it. All in all though this is a great learning experience though that I'm sure I'll be able to build on in the future.

Cheers! and thanks again!

...build n burn - live n learn...


----------

