I collect old hand tools, and it’s really common to find a nice vintage handplane with a broken tote. If the tote is cracked into two pieces it usually can be fixed, and if it’s made of a beautiful wood like rosewood or cocobolo, it’s entirely worth salvaging.

Tropical hardwoods naturally contain oil, so prepare the two halves for a strong glue joint by wiping the mating surfaces with solvent to remove any natural oils. Place a 3-in.-long dowel into the tote’s bolt hole to help keep the pieces lined up. Wax the dowel to keep it from getting glued in the hole. To clamp the tote, I use hand-screw clamps, which let me make small adjustments to the clamping angle to get a tight joint. To make the top of the tote fit in the clamp, cut a custom-shaped caul on the bandsaw and test the fit in the clamp. The jaws should be parallel when clamping.

Put on the glue and clamp it overnight. Knock out the dowel and smooth the joint by scraping and sanding, then put on a few coats of finish. Reassemble the plane, and you’re ready to start smoothing.

Jim Richey

Jim Richey

Tad Grenga, Suffolk, VA

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