# Hand plane restoration



## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

I had a co-worker that gave me an old junker hand plane. It was slated for the garbage and he asked if I would like it. I said I would and for months, it has sat in my shop while I work on my crane build. I've never restored a hand plane before but was excited to learn how and learn as I go. I started of by disassembling the plane and soaking all the badly rusted parts in vinegar for 1 1/2 days. That soak removed almost all of the rust, which I was very surprised about. I cleaned all the parts and put them aside. I was able to polish all of the original brass hardware back to shiny new looking condition. The tote was broken, so I had to make a new one and while I was making that, I had to make a new knob as well. From there, I worked on the sole. It needed to been cleaned and flattened. I started with 120 grit sandpaper and worked along with 220, 400, 600, 1000, 1200 and finally 1500 to finish it off. Some might say that the 1500 was a little excessive, but it sure is purdy!!!! I masked off the shiny parts and freshened up the paint job on the plane. I'm amazed at how much work it is to rework that sole, but man am I happy with the results. I also cleaned up the iron, flattened the chip breaker, lapped and sharpened the iron. There's still more to come, but I thought you might like to see the progress so far.


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)




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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)




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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)




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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

I have restored a couple of planes, but I have a couple of questions. How did you polish everything so shiny? How did you drill the hole through the tote?


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## Paul_R (Nov 26, 2014)

Very nice and you're a lot more ambitious than I am. 220 is as far as I go on a plane sole and I like patina in a vintage tool. The tote and knob are way cool!


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

Love the tote and knob. You've got it looking brand new man.


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

NIce job. To answer hwebb's question:the way I do it is to remove the rust with electrolysis. Then I polish by buffing with different brushes and pads. Then I take a picture with really good lighting:icon_smile:


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

rayking49 said:


> Love the tote and knob. You've got it looking brand new man.


It probably wasn't that shiny new.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

One thing about it, you don't do anything half way. :smile: You got that ole boy looking good.


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

hwebb99 said:


> I have restored a couple of planes, but I have a couple of questions. How did you polish everything so shiny? How did you drill the hole through the tote?



The process started off with a soak in vinegar for 1-1/2 days. Vinegar is basically a mild acid and will remove all of the rust. Any rust that doesn't come off is very easily removed with a light rubbing with steel wool. After that, I draw hash marks on the sole so I can see when I have it flat. I then attach sandpaper to a flat surface, in this case 3/4" MDF, and start working the plane back and forth across the sandpaper. I start with 120 grit and then move on to 220, 400, 600, 1000, 1200 and finish off with 1500. At that point, the mirror finish that you see in the photos is the finish of the plane. It's time consuming, but what else did I have to do on a Sunday?


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

hwebb99 said:


> I have restored a couple of planes, but I have a couple of questions. How did you polish everything so shiny? How did you drill the hole through the tote?


Sorry, I forgot to answer the question about the tote. Basically, I measured the angle of the hole from the original tote (in this case, it was 25 degrees) and set my drill press table to that angle. I then drilled a 7/16" hole to the proper depth in the top of the tote to accept the brass hardware. I then drilled a 5/8" hole in the bottom of the tote to allow the attachment to the sole. I then drilled a 1/4" hole as far as my bit would allow, turned the blank over and drilled the 1/4" hole through the top until the 2 holes met. I then cut the tote out on the scroll saw, roughly rounded the edges with a large round over bit and then hand sanded the crap out of it until it had the shape I wanted.



See? It's simple.


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## mengtian (Nov 8, 2012)

Kenbo: I have never tried that method (using the different grits) I might try that next time. I have 4 planes I need to get done. This is how I have done mine in the past
http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f11/first-time-restoring-plane-50249/index2/


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## Jeff Shafer (Nov 16, 2010)

Man you really made that thing shine, can't wait to see how it looks with the new tote and knob! Do you use wet sand paper or dry?


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Jeff Shafer said:


> Man you really made that thing shine, can't wait to see how it looks with the new tote and knob! Do you use wet sand paper or dry?


I used both. Dry for the rough material removal and then wet afterwards with the higher grits. I did the final 1500 dry.


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Finished up the plane today. Put it all together. Wasn't working quite right. Found the chip breaker to be out of square. Had to regrind the chip breaker and them grind a new bevel so that it sat perfectly on the blade. Ended up re-lapping the blade and putting another 30 bevel with a 35 degree micro bevel. Adjusted the frog, repair the blade tilt, etc etc etc and took it for a spin. Although it is just a lower quality plane, I'm blown away with its performance. I'm a very happy guy and I'm moving on to my next plane restoration.


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## Jeff Shafer (Nov 16, 2010)

Man that looks great! So is it similar to a Stanley no 4 or 4 1/2?


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Jeff Shafer said:


> Man that looks great! So is it similar to a Stanley no 4 or 4 1/2?


Yes. This is a Footprint #4. It's a cheaper plane, but after spending the time restoring it, it works like a dream. I believe it is comparable in size to a Stanley #4. It is my first, but definitely not my last, restoration. I think I'm hooked.


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## BZawat (Sep 21, 2012)

Yeah, it only takes one lol

Looks great man 👍


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

You did on heck of a job on your plane, it does look good, I really like the racing stripe. :smile:


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

Kenbo said:


> . Although it is just a lower quality plane, I'm blown away with its performance.]


Even a low quality tool can do fantastic work if you take the time to get to know it!


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_xetxuz_J8



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY49qAr6lyo


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## Joe Lyddon (Mar 13, 2007)

Kenbo,

You did a wonderful job! Just plane (pun) AWESOME! 

Thank you!


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## ObtainiumMaker (Oct 2, 2012)

Correction...it _was_ a lower quality hand plane. Outstanding job :thumbsup:


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

One thing is for sure, you don't do anything half way, looks great. By the way, you do have an accent, at least compared to down this way. :smile:


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

BigJim said:


> One thing is for sure, you don't do anything half way, looks great. By the way, you do have an accent, at least compared to down this way. :smile:


As long as I don't sound goofy. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha


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## rwhite (Sep 4, 2012)

You did a great job on your plane. It looks like it just came out of the box.


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## hwebb99 (Nov 27, 2012)

rwhite said:


> You did a great job on your plane. It looks like it just came out of the box.



No, it looks way better.


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## tprofera (May 18, 2009)

Great restoration! Hard to believe its the same plane. As info: I've found that for me the easiest way to drill the holes for tote is to drill straight up and down (90 degrees) on a square block of wood using a drill press before shaping the handle in any way. In other words tilt the handle after drilling! Then draw (or trace) the handle at the proper angle cut it out on the band saw. This make it easy for me and comes out perfectly nearly every time. It's so much easier to drill a straight hole than to try to get the angle correct with a tilted DP table. Best part is, if you mess up the hole (which is much less likely with this method) you have almost zero time invested. Hope this helps someone out there. Here is one of my restorations. :smile: Here is a restoration I did a while back: http://lumberjocks.com/ratchet/blog/21662


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## Bill White 2 (Jun 23, 2012)

Well done sir.
Bill


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## Adcolor (Apr 20, 2014)

Very nice -- if you need another plane(s) to restore next, I have a couple of candidates!

I have yet to try it, but some put a back angle on the iron. Slightly dulls it from teh maximum sharp, but makes it stay sharper longer (less downtime sharpening).

There are lots of $25 planes out there (or less). You will be surprised how soon you have a full set from 4~8. Block planes, rabbet planes, skew planes all come too. 

Look around for the details you want (screw adjustable frog for example). Lot's of non-Bailey/Stanley planes are available cheaper too (Sargent, Keen Kutter, etc). 

I made a simple tote for a #5 Bailey I have, resized it to fit my hands. I was inspired by pistol grip shapes. I like the drilling when the wood is still a block. Much easier.


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## Bill White 2 (Jun 23, 2012)

Yep! You're well on your way to having a shop full of planes.:laughing:
Bill


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