Look what followed me home.

[jussi]

I went to a tool swapmeet today and managed to find a Stanley 90 shoulder plane. The place was mostly tool dealers and the few guys that had 90 or 92's were selling them for $95-$115. I couldn't justify spending that kind of cash for a hand tool. Maybe I'll feel different in the future I was about to leave when I saw this little plane sitting by itself along side it's much bigger brothers. I asked the guy how much he wanted for it, figuring it would be somewhere close to $100. When he said $40 I paused for a second and looked at it again to make it really was a 90. After a bit of haggling we settled on $30.

It's not in as great as conditions as the ones selling for $95+. One of those looked brand new. This one is much more worn. What do you guys suggest of rehabbing it to as close to new as possible. I see the sole (right term?) is not square. see pic. Is that gonna be a problem? If so, any suggestions on how to fix it. Do you know what angle the blade should be?

Ideally I'd like to get as close to this. Short of the nickel plating

Oh and I got that nice little bar stool for $5.

[JR]

Nice find, Jussi! I need one of those, too. Like you, I can't pull the trigger on $100.

JR

[crokett]

A very nice find indeed.

[cabinetman]

That was a fantastic deal. You will love that plane. It's actually a bull nose plane. I have a #90, fully plated and bought it new many moons ago. I think I paid somewhere around $80. It can be disassembled and used as a chisel plane if you desire (top comes off). I set the bevel somewhere between 20 and 25 degrees.
.

[RAFlorida]

Really great find Jussi.

Looks to be in good shape for what I can see. And that bar stool will do you right while you're petting or trying to train that what followed you home.

[Ed62]

Definitely a good buy.

Ed

[Hoover]

You might try this site: http://www.rexmill.com/

[jackellis]

I have purchased a number of well used planes. I clean them up so I can use them, but I don't bother making them look new. My secret is household vinegar, which removes rust and adds an oxide coating that appears to protect the metal from fresh corrosion. the result is not exactly pretty, but I don't care.

IMHO the best part about using vinegar instead of electrolysis sand other elaborate treatments is disposal. I don't feel the least bit guilty about pouring what is essentially salad dressing heavily fortified with iron down the drain (though maybe I should). Can't be quite so cavalier with phosphoric acid and other similarly nasty stuff.