Replies

1. 
   saschafer | Jun 09, 2009 05:59am | #1

   Don't worry about the scratches. The only place that a scratch can possibly affect the operation of the plane is if it nicks the front of the mouth. And even then, it's not likely to be a problem unless it's huge. Just make sure that the sole apart from the scratches is flat. There's a good chance that there's a raised ridge of metal adjacent to each scratch--you need to be sure to remove that.

   The most important areas of the sole to make flat are (a) the area beneath the toe of the plane, (b) the area directly in front of the mouth, and (c) the outer sides towards the heel. You want all three areas to be in the same plane. The rest of the sole can be a little bit hollow without causing problems, but it can't be proud of the critical areas.

   I could have sworn that Chris Schwarz posted a photo on one of his blogs showing which areas on a plane bottom are important and which are not, but I can't seem to find it.

   -Steve

    

1. 
   FrankDrackman | Jun 09, 2009 06:48am | #3

   I agree with Sparky.  Scratches going the length, or most of the length, are common on old planes.  They don't usually hurt the performance.  In fact, with some planes you can get a corrugated sole.

1. 
   user-172496 | Jun 09, 2009 06:26pm | #7

   Frank Drackman ! thanks for your in put.

   Jack

2. 
   user-172496 | Jun 09, 2009 06:19pm | #5

   Saschafer ! thanks for your in put.

   Jack

2. 
   PrunusSerotina | Jun 09, 2009 06:46am | #2

   Smoothing planes aren't that large, and the surface area of the sole of the plane is small. You should be able to easily remove those scratches with sandpaper on thick plate glass. I prefer granite to glass. I start with 80 grit, and work my way down. The last #4 I restored took less than 30 minutes, and it was in rough shape.

1. 
   user-172496 | Jun 09, 2009 06:23pm | #6

   PrunusSerotina ! thanks for your in put.

   Jack

3. 
   derekcohen | Jun 09, 2009 10:10am | #4

   Mostly the scratches occur when the iron sole encounters grit or dirt embedded in the board being planed. It happens.

   Regards from Perth

   Derek

1. 
   user-172496 | Jun 09, 2009 06:27pm | #8

   Thanks Derek !

4. 
   GregoryPaolini | Jun 10, 2009 01:56pm | #9

   I've had good luck with sandpaper spray glued on to MDF as well.  My favorite smoother is a record I flattened this way, which now produces full width shavings of .002 or less.

   Hope this helps

    

   Gregory Paolini

   http://www.GregoryPaolini.com

5. 
   roc | Jun 12, 2009 07:07am | #10

   I will be "different" and say toss the old plane and get one of these

   http://www.veritastools.com/Products/Page.aspx?p=87

   Disregard the attachment pic sometimes they don't go to the page I want but just to the home page of veritas.

   Any way the plane is made more accurately in many ways, better frog I bet, thicker blade for sure, use the old plane as a paper weight and join the twenty first century. Old planes are fun and the best of the lot are useful but hard to beat the veritas planes for price and performance. That way you can spend your shop time making woodwork.

   roc

   Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )

   Edited 6/12/2009 12:15 am by roc

   
   

   ---

   Edited 6/12/2009 12:17 am by roc

   
1. 
   user-172496 | Jun 12, 2009 08:41pm | #11

   Well roc !!!! that's fine but I am retired, and I don't have a whole lot of the green backs that I can go out and buy a new one. Besides I would have to spend some time on the new one adjusting it and tuning it. And if I did have a few bucks I know I could find a lot of other tools I could bring home, many, many, more. I am a bit of a tool nut, and the list would not fit on a toilet paper roll.

   Thanks roc

   Jack

1. 
   saschafer | Jun 12, 2009 11:59pm | #13

   "Besides I would have to spend some time on the new one adjusting it and tuning it."

   Actually not. A Veritas plane works immediately out of the box. You don't even have to hone the plane iron.

   -Steve

    

1. 
   roc | Jun 13, 2009 04:36am | #15

   Steve,>Ready to go out of the box<You got it man. I wasted a bunch of time fettling half a$$ed tools, some of them brand new and priced higher than Veritas, and I like metal working. Can you imagine what people would say if they bought a safety razor and they had to "fettle" it and sharpen the blades before they could shave in the morning ? PhooeyAll,
   Help me out people; there must be an appropriate phrase from Texas or there abouts that means "Do you want to stay home and brush your dog and polish your gun or do you want to go hunting ?".rocGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )Edited 6/12/2009 9:43 pm by roc

   Edited 6/12/2009 9:51 pm by roc

1. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Jun 13, 2009 04:51am | #16

   roc,

   How 'bout, hit for show and putt for dough?

   Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

2. 
   roc | Jun 13, 2009 05:43am | #19

   >hit for show and putt for doughWell that is more pebble beach than panhandle but I'll take it.rocGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )

2. 
   roc | Jun 13, 2009 04:16am | #14

   >green backs<Oops ! Sorry. I thought you were one of those cheep skate rich guys.: )rocwho has been busy hoarding tools over the last decade like there is no tomorrow. Well that doesn't make sense. How about like a very dedicated tool squirrel. Yah that's it. But I am glad I spent every thing I had then cause stuff is going up now.Retired . . . retired . . . hummm I used to know what that word meant. Hummmm . . . OH YAH IT IS THAT THING THAT I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO AFFORD TO DO !Now I am deeeeeepressed. : (: )Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )

   Edited 6/12/2009 9:17 pm by roc

2. 
   SteveSchoene | Jun 12, 2009 09:39pm | #12

   Sure Veritas and Lie-Nielsen make excellent planes.  But with the investment in time, and a new blade, the older Bailey planes can be fettled to perform at a level very close to these finer tools--not entirely but perhaps 90% - 95% of the time.  Certainly with unfigured domestic hardwoods I doubt there is any performance difference that could be discerned in a double blind test, if only such a thing were possible.   Certainly the newer planes are nice and avoid the need for some considerable time spent tuning, but they aren't really dramatically superior to the older planes after that tuning has been done. 

   Certainly on more difficult woods, then the differences between Bedrock and Bailey do come into play, hence differences between Lie-Nielsen and Bailey. 

1. 
   derekcohen | Jun 13, 2009 05:00am | #17

   47007.13 in reply to 47007.11 

   Sure Veritas and Lie-Nielsen make excellent planes.  But with the investment in time, and a new blade, the older Bailey planes can be fettled to perform at a level very close to these finer tools--not entirely but perhaps 90% - 95% of the time.  Certainly with unfigured domestic hardwoods I doubt there is any performance difference that could be discerned in a double blind test, if only such a thing were possible.

   Hi Steve

   I almost entirely agree with you. In fact I have said for a long time that ... if you predominantly work straight grained and undemanding wood ... then the LNs and the LVs and the C&Ws of this world are overkill.

   Further, if you have the time to use (... not "waste"), fettling a plane can be cost-saving, educational and fun. If someone wants to fettle up a Stanley, or even a no-name brand of questionable quality, then I don't have a issue with them.

   However ...

   There is more to a LN and a LV and a C&W than simply that they work out of the box. Some enjoy the quality with which they are built. Some like their improved ergonomics (such as adjusters), and some like the era they connect to. Different strokes for different folks. C'est la vie.

   I have a number of Stanleys, but it is often very unproductive to use a plane with a cutting angle below 60 degrees. Plus A2 blades suit me better because our local woods are not only hard and interlinked, but many have a highish level of silica. While many here have stated their desire for Australian timbers, I envy the American woods for their apparent ease. Still, many Australians use and enjoy Stanley planes, upgrading the blades and choosing less challenging woods.

   Regards from Perth

   Derek

    

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Jun 13, 2009 05:42am | #18

   I quite agree that the simple joy of using a particularly fine instrument is worth paying for--if one can.  And, I did take care to qualify the parity of the planes as being for the undemanding woods.  After all I was merely responding to a suggestion that a Bailey no. 4 was best used as a paperweight, not making any sort of case against the L-N or Lee Valley, or C&W. 

   I have a C&W York pitch smoother that works rather well doing the last smoothing of tougher woods, and a couple of Bedrocks.  And, as I am mostly interested in reproductions of 18th c. American furniture, just about the toughest situation is curly maple, and the C&W laughs at that. 

   I also think there is some benefit in learning to fettle a plane since it adds a lot to the understanding of what is going on.  After all, we aren't talking about a week of hard labor. 

1. 
   roc | Jun 13, 2009 06:04am | #20

   >overkilloooh kill me !>Paper weightMy; I do get wound up . . . Don't take it too seriously please.When I have money $215 seems cheep for a hand plane. When I don't have money well it might as well be the world.I sincerly hope you enjoy making the old plane nice ! And that it goes well. It is a worthy thing to do.I was just getting my frustrations out because of what I said earlier; that I spent the bucks and still had to make the "nice" tools into something usable. Not including Veritas; they were great.rocGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )