# New planes and broad questions



## Acercanto (Jul 9, 2013)

Hey y'all,
I've recently acquired 2 new planes, a Bedrock #604 #4 equivalent I think, and a wooden rabbet plane.

Bedrock No. 604 by acercanto, on Flickr
It was real funny, when I got it, the user had flipped the iron and chip breaker around so the chip breaker was the cutting surface!! I guess he thought it was a scraper plane or something. :laughing:
The lat. adj. lever is missing because of the busted frog, but I'm not too torn up about it. The mouth adjustment is really clever; the 2 side screws have a conical end, and they pull 2 pins down that in turn hold the frog in place.
I'm thinking of making this a fore plane, is it too short for that? Would a #5 be better for that use?

The other addition to the fold is this:

Old wooden rabbet plane by acercanto, on Flickr
Got it at an antiques shop in town for $15. It's oak, and there's a couple of cracks coming from the wedge slot area. Is this something I need to worry about/fix? Also, the bedding angle of the iron seems a bit off and there's not enough play in the tang to bring it to even with the bottom.
I do like how the blade is skewed though, seems like that'll help with shaving buildup.

And my broad question is what should be my first priority as far as tools for making a bench with? All I have so far is an 18volt Ryobi circular saw that can't hold a 90-degree angle to save it's life, a drill, some planes, a 1" Stanley chisel, a chainsaw, a dremel, 2 pipe clamps, a pruning saw (crosscut pull saw), and some other small hand tools.
I'd like to do most of my working by hand, partly because of budget issues, but also because I like it, so I'm thinking a Japanese pull saw to start.

I've got a couple of pallets to pull apart and use, but they're soft (fast grown) pine, so they wouldn't be any good for a bench, but I could make some shelves or something out of them, but i need to get them flat, but without a bench, it's kinda hard. It's a catch 22. :thumbdown:

Tl;dr:
Would a #4 make a good fore plane?
Do cracks in a wooden plane wedge hole need fixing?
What to make a bench out of to make a bench out of?
:smile:

Thanks!
Acer


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## Gilgaron (Mar 16, 2012)

A #5 or #6 would be true fore planes, but if need be I suppose you could set for an open mouth and see how it goes. With it being a smoothing plane, the short length will mean a bit more work to get it flat I would think.

I don't have any wood bodied planes, but the pictures look pretty good. The skew should make it a nice shoulder plane.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

A 4 is pretty short for a fore plane but sure makes a nice smoother. A generic jack, be it iron, wooden or a transition, and they can be found readily and had for cheap. 

The wooden plane is actually Beech lumber. Most plane bodies are beech and there are exceptions but looking at the pictures confirms it being beech. The checking doesn't look too terrible. 

The iron needs to be reground, over time wood shrinks but iron doesn't. The sides of the iron as well as the bevel edge. The iron should be only a bit wider than the body of the plane - yes wider not flush and more on this later if you have questions.


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## Acercanto (Jul 9, 2013)

Thanks for the responses, gentlemen. I have another #5 that I can use for a fore. Guess this one'll be my smoother.
The rays made me think oak, but I can definitely see Beech, now that you mention it.
So should I take the wood down to be just shy of the iron, or just make it about even and adjust the iron to the side I'm cutting on?
Guess I need to get something more than my Swanson speed square...

Acer


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## Turner1944 (Jan 26, 2013)

*#604 Frog & Fore Plane*

Acer:

I believe I have a frog that will fit the Bedrock but I would need to know the type or better pictures to know for sure. Also, I have a number of #7's and #6's (bench planes) that I will be selling to downsize my collection that would make a good fore plane.

David Turner
Plymouth, MI.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Acercanto said:


> Thanks for the responses, gentlemen. I have another #5 that I can use for a fore. Guess this one'll be my smoother.
> The rays made me think oak, but I can definitely see Beech, now that you mention it.
> So should I take the wood down to be just shy of the iron, or just make it about even and adjust the iron to the side I'm cutting on?
> Guess I need to get something more than my Swanson speed square...
> ...


Pump the brakes! :laughing: 

Don't alter the wood, grind the iron! It's easier than most think.

As for Dave's offer above, I'd jump on that and get the 7 for a jointer. A 6 is a little on the heavy side for strenuous rough work as a fore plane...


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## Acercanto (Jul 9, 2013)

The iron is narrower than the wood by a smidge, that's why I was thinking I needed to narrowen (is that even a word?) the wood.
I'm pretty comfortable shaping the blades. I do the sandpaper on glass routine, and things come out nice and shiny.
I don't have a sharpening jig, other than a scrap of laminate flooring that I C-clamp the iron/chisel to at the appropriate angle.
I really appreciate the offer, David! I'd like to take you up on that #7. Here's another photo to maybe help type it. Is the hyperkitten site any good for typing non-Stanley planes?

Bedrock #604 details by acercanto, on Flickr
I just love the clever frog attachment. I doubt I would have ever thought of that.

Acer


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## Acercanto (Jul 9, 2013)

Well, did a bit of digging and I think it's a type 6. It's got the "Y" trademark on the iron, and Bedrock on the lever cap.

Acer


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## Turner1944 (Jan 26, 2013)

*Bedrock #604*

Acer: I have the exact frog you have pictured and it would be a perfect fit. I have 3 different #7 Stanley Bailey bench planes at $60, $70, & $80. Send me an email address for pictures and more details. If you buy a #7, I'll throw in the frog.

Up Date 9/2/2013: Only one #7 left @$60.

David Turner
Plymouth, MI.


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## Acercanto (Jul 9, 2013)

Oh, sorry I missed your last post, David! I don't have the moola for the #7, but I would like to buy the frog if you still have it. You can PM me, and we'll sort it out, or email me, the domain is vt dot edu, and the first part is forestman.
I've got another question now. I've set up an electrolysis bath with a little phone charger (5v, .3A) and done the cap iron, but literally seconds after I finished rinsing it off, it was starting to rust back up!! Seriously, I didn't even have time to wipe the paste wax on it entirely! This is going to be a real problem when I finish the base, because I'm planning on repainting it, but I don't want it forming rust as I'm spraying it!

Ideas? And for more information, I'm taking it out of the electrolysis bath, walking 20' inside to the kitchen sink and rinsing it in warm water to heat the metal up so as I dry it, the heat drives the moisture out as well, and by the time I finish toweling it dry and reach for the waxy napkin, it's started to rust again.

Acer


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## Turner1944 (Jan 26, 2013)

*Frog*

You have a visitors message from David Turner


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## Gilgaron (Mar 16, 2012)

I've not used electrolysis, so a more informed opinion may arrive shortly, but perhaps you should spray it down with some WD-40 immediately if it is rusting that quickly? That should give you time to wax it.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

Acercanto said:


> Ideas? And for more information, I'm taking it out of the electrolysis bath, walking 20' inside to the kitchen sink and rinsing it in warm water to heat the metal up so as I dry it, the heat drives the moisture out as well, and by the time I finish toweling it dry and reach for the waxy napkin, it's started to rust again.


I have had some plane castings which showed the beginnings of rust on one part while I was wet sanding another part, or where my wet hands touched and started to show rust.

I think some castings are more porous than others.

If you are concerned, you would need to remove from the electrolysis bath and immediately dunk in a container with denatured alcohol, which would dilute any moisture to minimize the superficial rust. I would not go to such effort.

Dry it down and deal with the superficial rust later.

I would not worry. This is very superficial. In my cases it comes off with WD-40 or worse case WD-40 and some fine wet-dry abrasive.


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## Acercanto (Jul 9, 2013)

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I was going to spray it with WD-40, but it turned out the base didn't rust nearly as much as the lever cap when I took it out, for some reason . I'd had it cooking for over 3 days, so the layer of the gray patina may have protected it or something.
The japanning is pretty rough, and I'm planning on spray painting it (green cause I like the color, and it's a user, not a mantle piece.  ), but it didn't all come off in the bath. Is it okay to spray over it? I scrubbed it real good with a steel brush to get all the loose bits off, but I'm worried about adhesion, as well as the nooks and crannies of the base, where I can't necessarily scrub or sand.

I really appreciate the knowledge everyone is so gracious about handing out on here. It's so awesome to be part of it.

Acer


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

I do not know how to predict if the new paint will adhere to the old paint. It will depend on the type of paint old and new.

I would try and scrape off as much as possible to minimize any old paint remnants.

If the paint does not scrape off, roughen the surface with abrasive to help the new paint adhere to the old.


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