I bought an estate sale Stanley #7. The patent date stamped on the back is Apr 19 10. While I’ve worked on many old (so called vintage) tools, this #7 is the largest and so far the most difficult I’ve taken on.
I’ve been working on it for what feels like days using 60 grit abrasives. I’m using the bed of my table saw with a 4″ sanding belt held down with spray adhesive. I can’t get the sole flat enough to get the center of the plane complete smooth. That plus both ends have yet to be completely scratched, there are areas with very deep scratches that haven’t gotten touched.
My question then:
1) Should I expect a plane of this era to be so far out of flat?
2) How far should I go to before I concede that it’s good enough for my use?
3) Should I admit defeat or at least truce and take it to a machine should to have it milled?
I can add pictures to the question, I figured anyone up here willing to read this overly long post to the end has seen a # jointer plane before.
Thanks everyone,
Rob A
Replies
I'm not a member of the Flat Plane Society, and probably would have sharpened it and tried it before doing any lapping. The guy before you was probably using it to make his living, scratches and all.
Question: Are you lapping with the iron in (retracted) and lever cap tensioned? It can change the shape of a plane a hair.
Since 60 grit is harsh enough to scratch wood I suggest working up through the grits to something smooth enough to use and try that puppy out.
Thanks. I do have the lever cap and a retracted iron in the plane. My plan is to work my way up the grits to 320 or so once I decide the sole is good enough.
It might already be good enough, I was just looking for other points of view beyond my own compulsive one.
Before doing more, put a straightedge on the sole. Your tablesaw may be the culprit.
There is always a mill if perfectly flat matters to you. There is always the possibility that the surface your working on is not as flat as you think ,as someone pointed out. There is a reason why those surface plates that millrights have cost more than my truck! If your removing a lot of material it is likely that you are not flat. What I mean by that is you may lean to one side or another and end up worse off than you are. I would think though if the edges come clean and you have flat forward and aft of the iron the slight concavity in the center and a small lift front and rear shouldn't matter to the functionality of the plane. Mission accomplished! The concave shape actually might help as there will be less surface drag on a large plane.
“[Deleted]”
I went back to this today intent on taking it easier and being less obsessed with perfection. After all, I took my #7 out for a purpose, not to spend a week polishing a 100+ year old piece of metal.
As a result I moved on to a 150 grit. Problem is I still seem to be hitting one side much more than the other. I don’t think it’s my table saw, I alternate by flipping the plane so it’s going both directions and shouldn’t have a spot that consistently hits or misses.
Seems like it should be closer to flat before moving to higher grits
I’m attaching a photo, just to add context to my question. Sorry for the poor photo.
I had a similar experience to you regarding a N0. 7, type 10. A straight edge revealed a skinny sliver of light under the back two inches of the plane relative to the rest of the plane's sole. No more than 1/64”. I brought the rest of the plane up to working order and edged a long board. It worked perfectly. The lesson I learned is that chasing perfectly flat on these long planes is probably not worth it if the plane functions as intended.
About seven years ago I purchased a #7 with a similar date on it. I sent it to a retired machinist who did an excellent job flattening the sole. I don't use it often, but each time I do I'm glad I paid him to do the work for me. Good luck with whichever method you ultimately choose.
Thanks for sharing the experience and the great advice. I could probably go forward the way it is. It will eat at me every time I walk past my tool cabinet but at some point I have some wood that needs to be cleaned up. Maybe some cold winter night I’ll give it another go.
It looks like the wear is angled across the plane's sole. The previous owner(s) might have used it habitually at a skew angle. I had a couple corrugated sole Bedrocks (#3 & #4) that were badly worn; they cleaned up fairly quickly being corrugated and shorter.
When the sole doesn't make good contact in front of the iron, it leaves more chance for tear-out when planing knarly wood. Otherwise your plane should be fine for jointing edges, as you can skew it slightly so the smooth part of the sole is contacting the wood. And it should work fine (barring tear-out) for flattening surfaces.
I have read that sometimes when flattening metal, coarser grits are actually slower than finer grits, as it takes an unproduceable amount of pressure to force the iron down on the large abrasive grit points, and there are more points doing the cutting on finer grits, requiring less pressure to get them to work.
Best thing is to see how it works, and only work more on it if it needs improving.
It's hard to tell from the picture, but make sure you have the blade installed (but pulled back) and lever cap under proper tension as you're flattening the sole.
I’ve been muddling along today, working on this plane between other work, it’s definitely still tall in the center near the mouth and it’s got a slight list to port. I’m now of the mind to put it to work and see if can flatten boards. If nothing else it will be rewarding to feel all that hard work as that plane glides across a few pieces of maple. Thanks for all your advice.
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