# Yet another plane restore



## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

So seeing all the plane restoration projects going on lately got me inspired, so i figured id join in. Well, the inspiration and the fact that i found a pretty good CL deal and have been in the market anyway. Since im narcissistic and like pretend that people care about my daily activities, ill be posting some pictures here showing my progress for the renovations. To start with, ill show what im working with. Dont think you can see it in the pictures, its a Union #5 plane, fair bit of surface rust. Nothing too deep, no pitting or the like. The tote and bun are in pretty bad shape though, the tote is cracked and half and held together by the bolt holding it on and the bun shows its age. That, and the actual iron is completely shot, maybe someone with more skill could bring it back to life but, for me, its easier to get a new iron. My plans are to start with an electrolysis bath to get most of the rust off of all the parts, (plane purists cover your eyes) strip off the original japanning, get everything trued and polished up, fabricate some new handles and finally get a new iron in it and make some shavings. As it stands, ive got up to stripping the japanning, ill get pictures of my progress up tomorrow. If anybody has anything to chip in id love to hear it!


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## tc65 (Jan 9, 2012)

Is the top of the tote missing part of the horn or is that just the way those were made?


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

Devil if i know, i havent looked too closely into it though. It may just be missing it, like i said, the tote was pretty banged up


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

epicfail48 said:


> Devil if i know, i havent looked too closely into it though. It may just be missing it, like i said, the tote was pretty banged up


The tote has a horn to prevent the hand slipping off when pushing the plane, like this picture.









Many of the horns are damaged by planes falling off benches, or being knocked around.


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## acowboy (Nov 20, 2013)

I have restored two Union's #5, one early and one mid.

Yours appear to be a early style Union, before the buy out from Stanley.

This link here is about the frog timeline.
http://www.brasscityrecords.com/toolworks/FEATURE/union%20frog%20design/union_frog.htm

My early has the same looking tote, but was lobed off or broke off, maybe for the ease of adjusting the blade...? 

Love Union planes, if you have the original blade in it, you will notice it is considerably thicker than a Stanley.

Need any help, just holler, going to love watching your progress....:thumbsup:

Lol...got me again...Dave...:laughing:


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

So an update on my progress. The rust came off pretty easy, gave it a few hours in an electrolysis bath. Most of the parts are cleaned, though the japanning is giving me some issues getting it stripped off. Figure il let it soak a bit more in the bath, and worse comes to worse ill pick some of that heavy duty paint stripper and give that a go, i know it takes enamel off. Pics when i can, i promise.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

No surprise that when you want the jappaning to come off, it resists.

I use this paint stripper. No odour or harsh chemicals. Thick coat and leave for a number of hours. Turns white when it has done its job.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ready-St...lly-Friendly-65832/100665911?N=5yc1vZc5bmZ4m0

You still have to scrap off, and some areas will be subborn and require more scraping than others.


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## MarkE (Jan 29, 2014)

I have been using this stuff to repaint after having to strip off the old japanning. It holds up really well and doesn't require a primer on bare metal.


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## MarkE (Jan 29, 2014)

One of the things I like about the Union planes is the thicker iron, as acowboy mentioned. If you decide to replace the iron with a thicker Hock, Lie-Nielsen or Veritas iron, you most likely won't have to file the mouth open to allow for the extra thickness.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

Whelp, got all the rust off, and most of the jappanning to boot with nothing more than a wire scrub brush and a long soak in the electrolysis bath. Twice. And i had to buy a new brush. Anyway though, most of its off and thats good enough for me! Ive also decided, screw it, ill try to get the iron in working order too. Following are pics, showing it taped up and ready for painting. Actually, i just finished the painting, but in the continued spirit of "ill do it later", im going to post those at some other time. On the docket tomorrow is fabricating the new tote and bun. I was originally planning on doing them in walnut, but im cheap and walnut isnt, so i picked up a nice plank of hickory. Figure ill knock that out tomorrow and see how badly i messed up the paint job.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

Good progress, coming along very well. :thumbsup:

I just turned a platter out of hickory. Not a pleasant wood for turning. I had a lot of tear out. Good luck with the knob. If your hickory is like mine, you will need a lot of sanding.


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## acowboy (Nov 20, 2013)

Looking good,

Depending on what paint your using, follow the manufactures directions on coats. VHT high temp engine enamel, which is what I use.

Several light coats can be applied in a hour time frame after that you have to wait seven day for applying additional coats. Finish tends to crinkle if done sooner. This is just a heads up...


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

*Been a busy day*

Got a good bit of work done on one of my rare days off, with the photographic evidence to prove it too! I already showed off how the plane looked after de-rusting and de-japanning, so here it it painted. Pic 1 shows the parts all nice and painted, though with the masking tape still on. Pic the second shows the new tote and bun. Both are made of the aforementioned hickory. The tote i was originally going to remake in the original style, but i chose to redesign it to fit my hand a little better, i found the original pinched a bit because it was too small for me. The bun, at risk of sounding arrogant, im particularly proud of. First time ive ever turned something, and without a lathe to boot. After reading Dave's comment, im finding myself rather fortunate that it came out so well, no tear-out to speak of and it feels fantastic in the hand. Well, my hand at any rate. Pics #3 and 4 show the plane assembled, 3 before staining the wood and 4 after. Im not done yet by any means, i still need to flatten the base and probably the sides, true up the all the mating surfaces and work out the iron situation. For the time being im grinding the old iron back into a usable shape, but i plan on replacing it with something.


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## acowboy (Nov 20, 2013)

:thumbsup:
Time to make some shavings now..


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## jdpber (Mar 25, 2014)

Nice, she is GREEEEEEN !


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## Gilgaron (Mar 16, 2012)

Were Union planes originally green or that's just your personal touch? It looks ready to be put to good use!


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

Gilgaron said:


> Were Union planes originally green or that's just your personal touch? It looks ready to be put to good use!


Gods no, the original ones were black. The green was my touch, I find that if I set a tool down and blink its lost forever. Most of my tools end up painted some bright and easy to spot color. She's not quite ready to make some shavings, I'm still doing some work on truing the sole and sorting out the plane iron. Shouldn't be too much longer now though


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## Gilgaron (Mar 16, 2012)

Ah, I thought they were black, but I know that Groz planes are green and thought perhaps they might have gotten that from Union. I can sympathize with wanting things bright colors, easy to lose something in a pile of shavings.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

That, and now i get to call it the incredible hulk. It what is close to the end of my updates, im almost done. Ive got the old iron squared up and resharpened, just so i can get it working until i replace the iron and possibly chipbreaker, along with getting the sole trued up pretty well. I put a coat of poly on the wood, so im still waiting for that to dry before i reassemble everything and actually play with it a bit. I must admit, there are a few things im disappointed with. The pait i used doesnt seemed to agree with me, there are several spots that chipped to ill have to wait to touch it up. That, and the frog took some damage at some point. I noticed that when i got it, and it doesnt effect the overall utility of the tool so it doesnt bother me too much, but replacement parts for down the road seem nearly impossibly to find for Union tools. I found maybe 2 on ebay, and both those were $20 and up, so thatll probably wait a bit. Dont want the frog to cost more than the entire plane after all. Final pictures tomorrow, after everything is done-ish


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

And here is the mostly finished product. Down the line ill replace the iron and source a new frog, but for not, im content. Mostly.


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## Stinger4me (Nov 27, 2009)

Great job, I love the green and the contrasting color of the wood. _*Verrrry nice!*_


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