RESTORATION PROJECT

I was recently contacted by someone enquiring about my restoration services. It turns out they had inherited two hand planes from their grandpa and were looking for information regarding the restoration process. I informed them it all depends on what their expectations are. They replied that they would like them to be usable and fully functional but would like to retain as much as the original character as possible.

We continued to exchange emails discussing the process and their expectations. They sent me some photos so that I could get some idea as to the hand planes condition. I based my initial assessment from what I could see in the photos. My initial thought was that they were in rough condition but not terrible. I sent them my assessment and estimate for restoring the planes. They decided to ship the hand planes to me to begin the restoration process.

Once they arrived I had a better opportunity to inspect them further. One was a Craftsman size 5 and the other was a Dunlap size 4. There were a few issues I noticed that didn’t show up in the photos such as pitting on the body of one of the planes, paint on the Craftsman frog was worn in certain places, handle on Dunlap was broken etc.

The first plane I started to work on was the Craftsman. I started off by first breaking it down and giving each part a thorough cleaning. Its essential to remove any rust, grease, grime, and paint splatter.

 

Next it was time to work on the knob and tote. Apart from a small chip missing from the top of the tote, the tote was in reasonable shape. The knob however had a few cracks at the bottom around the ring. The cracks were carefully cleaned out and then secured using an epoxy mix for strength and durability. 

Unfortunately the finish on the knob and tote (as can be seen on the first pic) was cracked and flaking off. Therefore both the knob and tote were carefully sanded to remove just enough original finish so that a new finish could be applied. The knob and tote were finished with two coats of stain and 3 coats of clear lacquer for durability.

The next step was to gently wire wheel all the smaller metal parts such as the cap screw, tote screw, frog screws & washers, brass adjustment nut, tote & know bolts & brass nuts.

The next thing is to ensure that the frog, lever cap, cap iron, & blade all fit together and function properly. At this point I noticed the blade had quite a curve to it, so first things first the blade was mad flat. next it was onto sharpening the blade. This turned out to be no easy task. Not only was this blade out of square, but the edge had a multitude of profiles like it had been sharpened at different angles multiple times. 

After many hours using a honing guide, starting off with different grits of sandpaper on a granite block, and finally moving on to different grits on my diamond plates I was finally able to square up the edge, sharpen the blade to 30 degrees with a small micro bevel. 

Lastly it was time to put the plane back together and proceed to flatten out and clean the sole and clean up the cheeks. Again according to the customers wishes, this process was kept to as minimal as possible to retain as much as the original character as possible. 

Finally it was time to give it a test.

The plane cuts through the oak board, taking a full width cut easily.

It was then time to move onto the Dunlap plane. The same steps and processes were followed as with the Craftsman plane.

Things to note on the Dunlap plane. The tote was cracked and broken all the way through about 1/4 of the way up from the bottom. 

Once again the break was carefully cleaned and then fixed using an epoxy mix. 

The other processes and steps were followed as before. 

In accordance with the customers wishes the planes to be restored were to maintain as much original character as possible. Therefore no painting or japanning was done. Bare metal surfaces were cleaned and flattened while preserving the tools history. 

The final product 

I would appreciate any comments and suggestions that would help be better service future customers. if you have any questions regarding my tool restoration services please feel free to contact me.