Assistance with Sharpening and Tuning a Record Jack Plane
mlansing
| Posted in Hand Tools on
I’m relatively new to woodworking and recently purchased a used Record 5 1/2 jack plane. While I’ve found plenty of instructional videos online about sharpening and tuning, I’d feel much more confident having an experienced woodworker handle it.
Is anyone here able to assist me with sharpening and tuning the plane, or perhaps refer me to someone who could?
Thank you for your time and any guidance you can offer.
Replies
A Record was my first plane. I soon got-rid, as it was essentially unfixable. This was decades ago and the first place I came for assistance was this forum, then known as "Knots" - filled to the brim with many highly knowledgeable woodworkers.
You might be lucky and have a Record plane that's not one of the thousands so badly made that they can never be put right without a full set of heavy duty metal working machines to remake them. Many folk do manage to more or less remake such planes (and Record weren't the only offenders) from a PSO - plane shaped object - into an actual working plane, with nothing more than hours of effort and cussing. :-)
There are so many things that can be wrong with them. The most serious faults are frogs, beds and bodies that are too badly cast or warped to get right, no matter how much you file at the various bits. But some are fixable with a do-able amount of work - or so I hear. (I just bought a proper one from Veritas).
You might be best trying to progress with one or more of the excellent articles in this magazine; and with help from better quality YouTube sources. When these prove not quite enough to fettle a particular issue that arises with your particular plane, why not post here then for advice about that specific issue, which will probably get you explanations and techniques that will clarify what you've read or seen on the web?
It would probably be best if you begin with the basics - getting the frog properly bedded in the body and getting the body as it should be (flat sole, square sides et al). Don't go buying a high quality aftermarket blade and cap iron, for example (its often a necessary step to replace the cheese-metal originals) if you aren't sure that the rest of the plane is up to snuff.
If you are near a location with a woodworking club, there may be someone in the group willing to take on the initial set up. There is a large hand tool group on the Sawmill Creek site with sources. Good luck
Paul Sellers videos on YouTube. He has at least one from 10ish years ago where he does just that. I’ve learned most of what I know from him. He is a no nonsense woodworker who has done it as a career for 60+ years. He shows you in the video what you need to know. Also, I’ve flattened mine. Just get a big tile from big box store. It will be more than flat enough for your needs to run it on sand paper on the tile. Rex Kruger is another one on YouTube that will have similar videos to rehab a plane. It’s relatively straight forward. Enjoy!
There is an excellent Video Workshop on this site: “Restoring Vintage Handplanes with Roland Johnson”. I’d start there.