Old planes a good find?

[gsmittle]

Six bucks??? SIX BUCKS???? SIX BUCKS???
You suck! Nice get!

g.

[cwsmith]

Thanks a lot there fella!! (Didn't think that I'd ever get one of those.)

So far the #3 has cleaned up really well. I still haven't sharpened the blade, figure I'll leave that to last.

I'm getting ready to re-finish the knob and tote, but I've got to get the right stain for that. After further cleaning, I've found the black "japaning" to be pretty good. A bit of resin needed cleaning around the mouth but once that was off, there was only a rust spot, about 1/4" dia, to be touched up.

I took a Sharpie and marked up the sole and then took several swipes across some 1000 grit W&D, on my granit tile, and it was all removed. With a straight edge, I can't slip a 0.002 feeler anywhere along it's surface. I'd still have to do a lot of honing to get the grind thing to a mirror finish though, but I doubt that necessary.

By the condition, I'd say this belonged to a good carpenter or woodworker. The guy in the store thought it came from an estate sales, as that is how they acquire most of the old tools (that and garage sales).

I'll post some pictures when I get this polished up and back together.

Thanks for the comments,

CWS

[durango dude]

since you've cleaned it up - might as well restore the handles with some stain.

Great find, though ----

My hand planes are Pre WWII Miller Falls ---- and I use them a lot.

[phrog]

Here's the link to japanning should you want it.

http://home.comcast.net/~rexmill/planes101/japanning/japanning.htm

[cwsmith]

Richard,

Thank you for the link. Actually, I hooked up with your earlier link to that home page and read through just about every article, including that particular one on "Japanning". All very interesting stuff, and I can well see that it would be ever so easy to become a collector, providing one can find more of these. It is all very interesting.

The "Japanning" on this particular #3 is fairly decent and as previously mentioned only need a slight touch-up. The casting is rough on the inside and I can see that some sandblasting might be in order should I ever care to go that route. But, that isn't the case at this point.

I did put some walnut stain on the tote and knob. The knob is a couple shades darker and the tote would require significant sanding to get the dark marks out of it. I don't want to reduce the surface however, and that would be required if I attempted to remove those dark marks. So, at this point I've only lightly sanded, applied some stripper, and then some cleaning with an abrasive pad, followed by a walnut oil stain. In a few days, I'll shellac the surface and apply some Butchers wax. (also read that article in your link )

Objective for me is to make this workable, and also to look good, but I want it to appear as old too, and not just pretty it up for display.

Thanks,

CWS

[phrog]

That's the way that I've approached the ones that I've "restored." I use them rather than display them.

There is a great video out there somewhere that was originally done in Japanese if I remember correctly. It depicts in slow motion the importance of setting the chipbreaker correctly. I haven't been able to find it but if I do will post it. I would like to see it again myself. Also, the mouth has to be set correctly relative to the blade depth. Play around with those things and you'll see what a difference it makes when you're planing.