# Latest rust bucket plane



## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

I took my buddy to a local Antiques and Collectibles place, more of a permanent flea market. I just wanted to let him see the selection of "stuff".

I had to check out the hand planes. The devil made me fork out $5 for this #5 plane, an obvious Stanley knockoff. Who knows, perhaps made by Stanley as a "no-name".

This is the before restoration, about noon today. The bottom was worse, some rust scales.









My buddy had not seen a restoration so we got straight to work.

A little Liquid Wrench and I was able to remove all components.

Some initial cleaning. The components were then place d in Evapo-Rust. I need a different container to try this with the casting.

The tote was badly cracked and about to fall apart. My buddy had not seen a tote being made so I converted a piece of walnut scrap to replace the tote. Very similar to Stanley, but not quite the same.

This is the partial restoration. Components cleaned, lubricated, casting partially cleaned. The blade has not yet been sharpened, but it is not dinged up and appears the last sharpening was done reasonably well.

The knob is attached with a single long screw. The head has a wood screw profile.

The tote attachment is normal Stanley type. Steel screw with brass nut.

The frog does not have a rear adjustment screw. The brass nut for the Y adjustment lever is 1in diameter.









A close-up of the old and new totes. The new tote has not yet had a finish applied.









The only hint of a manufacturer is the word "COLUMBIA" on the blade. I have no idea if this is original.









The casting. The only marking is "No 5" on the front.









The main value of this was to work on it with my buddy so he could participate and observe the steps. A cheap $5 lesson. :laughing:

If anyone can provide any information on the potential manufacturer, I would appreciate.

Thanks for looking.


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

Excellent job on the tote! :thumbsup: A very nice find at $5, and a very nice restoration. In this case I highly doubt that the Stanley name (or other) is worth much extra money. Well done!


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

*Update to the restoration*

I found a container to fit the casting so that I could apply the Evapo-Rust.

Timetestedtools was correct. Remove as much rust as practical before submerging.

My build is to remove the item after a few hours and clean off with wet-dry paper. This exposes new surface and removes more rust to save the Evapo-Rust.

I did some preliminary sharpening of the blade and cap iron. I also installed the new tote.

This picture is to show the plane can make fluffy shavings.









I did not take a picture of the sole, the before was not pretty. This "after" is also not pretty. The pitting is from the "before" rust scales.

The plane will still work, but the sole looks rather worse for historical "wear". I expect the sole was exposed to water pools at some time.









I am still working on a replacement knob. The original is not bad, but since I am replacing the tote, it feels like the knob should also be replaced.


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## timetestedtools (Aug 23, 2012)

Nice job Dave. Have you found anything on Columbia. Its a brand I have not heard of.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

timetestedtools said:


> Nice job Dave. Have you found anything on Columbia. Its a brand I have not heard of.


Thanks.

So far my search has not found anything about a "COLUMBIA" brand of plane. A lack of markings on the plane does not help. This could just be a name of the company which made the iron.

Phaedrus told me the shape of the sole and the frog look similar to his Diamond Edge plane he restored in August. This may be a coincidence. I think if people were trying to work around Stanley patents, they may have similar aspects of design.


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

http://lumberjocks.com/topics/26133

I found someone with a similarly branded plane who had limited luck identifying the make. They concluded that it is likely a pre-Stanley Union made brand.

http://www.apple-wood.com/main.php?g2_itemId=1700&g2_page=3
That looks like the same restore, but better quality images and the text on this site concludes that it may be Stanley made.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

Phaedrus said:


> http://lumberjocks.com/topics/26133
> 
> I found someone with a similarly branded plane who had limited luck identifying the make. They concluded that it is likely a pre-Stanley Union made brand.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the links and research. My searches were not leading anywhere.

The twisted lateral adjustment lever is more like the Union or at least a non-Stanley style.

The second link with the better picture has a comment : 
"_Originally advertised as a Stanley Plane I no longer believe it to be a Stanley creation_"

The No 7 knob has the typical Stanley two piece brass nut and steel screw. My No 5 has a single steel screw. Could be variations with the size of plane, or the period of manufacture. The depth adjustment nut may be larger than the one on my plane, which is 1in, the original Stanley size.

Let's hope the mystery about which company actually made this adds to the charm. :smile:


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## timetestedtools (Aug 23, 2012)

you might fnd this site helpful in the future
http://www.brasscityrecords.com/toolworks/graphics/plane%20id.html


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

timetestedtools said:


> you might fnd this site helpful in the future
> http://www.brasscityrecords.com/toolworks/graphics/plane id.html


Thanks for the link. I had seen this site before and was actually going to try and search to find it today.

I now remember thinking old records and old tools was an unusual mix for a site. 

The twisted lever on the plane does appear to be a Union style.


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## timetestedtools (Aug 23, 2012)

Dave, I've got every site I know about listed here http://lumberjocks.com/donwilwol/blog/24092

Let me know if you come accross something I've missed.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

*New knob, my work is complete*

I have made the new knob, so posting the pictures to complete the restore.

I made myself use up some scraps. I did not have a scrap piece of walnut thick enough. I ended up using the walnut off-cut from making the tote, but had to glue two pieces together.

I attempted to sand these flat, but I am not sure why the glue line is showing unless they are not as flat as I expected.

I am happy with how the grain pattern looks.

The knob has been sanded and Ultra-Shine applied, which further smooths the surface, but no finish has yet been applied.

I did find out that it will save time to get a 9/16 drill bit for the next knob. I had to expand the 1/2in hole with a small router type bit on my B&D Dremel like tool.

I have larger Forstner style drill bits, but only in 1/8in sizes.

I think I will be going back to the flea market where I got the plane, they have many old drill bits.









For comparison, this is what the plane looked like just a few days ago. Easier to see almost side by side in a single post.










Close up of the old knob and new knob. I wanted to make the new one a tad larger. I just like the feel of the larger knob. I also did not reduce the waist as much as the original.

This does not have the ring Stanley added to reinforce the knob from breaking at the bottom. I thought making it thicker would assist is strengthening the knob.









I am happy with how this turned out. Thanks for looking.

Phaedrus, now off to you to give this its renewed life. 

FYI, I have only sharpened the blade to 600 grit. You may want to go finer.

I hope you get a lot of use out of this. :thumbsup:


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## Billy De (Jul 19, 2009)

Kudos Dave kudos:thumbsup:.


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

Dave, 
I feel like I won the vintage hand tool lottery! It will have a good home with me. I'll give it lots of wood to eat and I will hone the edge to 2000. I will also work to figure out the lineage of this thing. I almost wonder if the blade is an aftermarket that is branded with "Columbia.". From the pictures, everything seems to match and be of equal patina, so that seems to rule out this as being a franken-plane. Much of this plane looks to match my Diamond Edge for plane (though that could be a bias since I have spent so much time looking at it). The original knob is the spitting image, the casting around the mouth are, the curves along the high areas of the sole, the frog and lateral adjuster, etc. I can evaluate this further and more effectively when they are next to each other. 

As always Dave, you are exceedingly generous with your knowledge, restoration labor, and great old tool finds. Thanks a bunch!


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## timetestedtools (Aug 23, 2012)

some possible further information on ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/SCARCE-COLU...808?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item46085fad98


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

timetestedtools said:


> some possible further information on ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/SCARCE-COLU...808?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item46085fad98



Thanks, that one looks like it has been restored, but had less rust.

I am constantly amazed at the prices people pay on eBay.

It may indeed be "scarse" but that does not mean it is valuable. It had perceived value to whomever forked out $225 + shipping. :thumbdown:


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

Indeed. That seller has a lot of ambitiously priced tools :blink:. Nice find on the info!


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## timetestedtools (Aug 23, 2012)

the price of #2's has always been a little high, but in the last few months they seem to have sky rocketed.


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

*It's here!*

The "rust bucket" arrived today safe and sound! I test drove it and it cuts great! I actually took some notes on how it was adjusted to dial in my DE foreplane a little better. 

I am very, very far from an expert at identifiying planes and their makers, but there are some uncanny similarities between this "Champion" plane and my Diamon Edge. See photos for specific areas of interest:











































Thanks again! I will post pictures as a put finish on the handles. I am building a quick picture frame for the wife and will be applying that finish at the same time in the next few days. Stay tuned!
--


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

*Finally following up on this!*

Sorry for the extended delay on this. I've had this plane done for a while and have just been side tracked. Below are some pictures of the tote and knob that Dave Paine crafted for the "rust bucket" plane that he sent me. I did some final sanding on the tote and put several coats of satin poly on both. I also shortened the rod that goes through the length of the tote for a better fit.

Below are the photos. Sorry that I slacked and just took them with my cell phone .


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

Thanks for the final pictures. The knob and tote look so much better with the finish.

The No 5 may still be a mystery for the manufacturer, but it looks like a keeper now. :thumbsup:

I looked at this in the store several times over a long period. The rust did put me off initially. Looking back through the thread, it feels rewarding that this is now having a good second life.

I like the last "family" picture of your planes. Nice looking family. :icon_smile:


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

Dave Paine said:


> Thanks for the final pictures. The knob and tote look so much better with the finish.
> 
> The No 5 may still be a mystery for the manufacturer, but it looks like a keeper now. :thumbsup:
> 
> ...


Family?? No, no, no--that is an armada! 

You do great work, Dave. It was an honor to have this gem fall into my lap and to have the opportunity to finish up the great work you began. It is hard to believe that it is the same tool that was shown at the beginning of the thread! Thanks again, Dave!:thumbsup:


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## timetestedtools (Aug 23, 2012)

another great save!


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## Chris Curl (Jan 1, 2013)

i have that exact plane. you did a great job on it mine is not nearly as clean


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## Phaedrus (Jan 18, 2012)

Chris Curl said:


> i have that exact plane. you did a great job on it mine is not nearly as clean


Thanks! Dave Paine did the hard work with the rust removal and he even built the tote and turned a new knob for the front. :thumbsup: I did the easy work with some fine sanding and applying finish. I have done some tool rehab, but haven't tackled the major rust like some of these guys have. I choose my battles :laughing:


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