Background: I have been rehabbing about twenty British molding planes that someone gave me. They all needed cleaning up, adjustment, honing the cutter, and in a couple cases the boxing needed to be replaced or refitted. Gradually, one by one, they are coming back to life and able to cut a profile.
The question has been occurring to me: Do most people grind a scraper shape to match the finished profile and then scrape the finished surface? It would seem better than sanding, as you wouldn’t blur the details. If I did this, I could easily grind the scrapers out of old saw blades.
It seems like I should end up with one scraper for each complex molding profile. I guess I should make them a uniform shape because I should make some sort of handled wooden tool to hold them – something on the order of the “Buckhorn scraper” featured in FWW about 5-6 yrs ago. What do you think? Has anyone done this?
Edit: By “uniform shape,” I mean, make the part that fits into the holder tool uniform dimensions.
Edited 10/19/2007 10:39 am by EdHarrison
Replies
I don't touch my moldings after they are planed. I don't really think you can improve upon the planed surface with any abrasive or scraper.
When you rehab british planes, just make sure the sole matches the iron or vice versa. Its fairly common to find bodies that have shrunk relative to the blade. This can be a daunting problem on complex molders.
I usually fix the sole, thinking I'm restoring the intent of the plane. But any aggresive restoration will increase the size of the throat which can have unintended consequences (clogging for example). So you really have to go case by case and use careful judgement as to which part to fix.
Good luck with your planes. That was a nice gift!
Adam
>make sure the sole matches the iron or vice versa. Its fairly common to find bodies that have shrunk relative to the blade. This can be a daunting problem on complex molders<Yes, the process is time-consuming. Often one part of the iron projects too far out from the plane's sole compared to the rest of the iron, making it want to dig in or tear out or "skitter" when you plane with it. It's a matter of touching that part of the iron to the grinder, re-honing with slip stones, putting it all back together, sighting down the sole to try to get it perfect, testing it, then taking it all apart to start all over again with a very small amount of grinding. It is quite a good feeling to get one working correctly, though.
Ed,
By design, your molding planes, if in good condition, will take a pretty fine cut which should leave a finished surface. The problem is that molding planes will only cut in one direction so if you encounter some weird grain or if you have to plane against the grain you could end up with some tear out. This is one use for the hollows & rounds. These planes can work in either direction and can be used to clean up such areas. A scraper cut to the same profile should work as well.
So you see, Ed, now that you have that nice collection of molding planes nearly referbed, you need a set of H&Rs to compliment them.
I envy you. Most of the molding work I have done has been with a Stanley 55. When I get that thing set up it does a nice job, but getting there can really test your patience.
-Chuck
>So you see, Ed, now that you have that nice collection of molding planes nearly referbed, you need a set of H&Rs to compliment them. <Can't argue with that. A set with skewed cutters would be cool.Edit: Hey Chuck, I just remembered something. I've got the FWW #38 (January/ February 1983) issue in my desk bookshelf because last month I was interested in a good article on building a secretaire-bookcase in there. There's a couple articles on using a Stanley #55 in that issue. What I formidable piece of gear that thing is! I admire anyone who can use one.
Edited 10/20/2007 11:46 am by EdHarrison
We should all be so lucky to be chained to a rock and have our livers eaten daily by an organ-hungry raptor than to suffer the agony of this contraption. -Patrick Leach describing the Stanley 55
Ed,
It may not be quite as bad as that, but it does require a great deal of study, experimentation, and practice, and I still don't know the purpose of some of those gizmos on that thing. I think the 55 is best used to make larger runs of molding such as crown molding and baseboards. It is not as well suited for many areas of furniture making.
I for one would be interested in reading (seeing?) more about your rehab efforts, especially on the boxing repair. I've passed on a number of molding planes because the boxing was shot.
-Chuck
Okay, I will post photos of the one I'm doing now, which is a large ogee with a 'quirk' (?) I think you call it. Part of the boxing that helps to form the quirk is missing and needs to be replaced. Before, I used dogwood, but this time I'm going to use wood from a shrub that grows into a 25' tree called "Chinese Privet Hedge." This thing grows on my property in many places and seems close to boxwood, to me, in terms of hardness and density. Photo below is a chisel handle for a 1/4 inch Millers Falls chisel made with CPH, compared to a traditional British boxwood low angle shave. (Thanks to ALF of UKwoodshop Forum for the tutorial on turning octogonal "London Pattern" chisel handles).
Do you typically harvest this material from your own property? I don't suppose it would take much to dry small quantities like you need to repair a molding plane?
I love the chisel handle; I recall seeing that article. I have a hedge running up the side of my property that is about as ugly as a mud fence. I may have to look into the species of that thing, it may have some value after all.
BTW, the 55 almost took a trip across the shop last night. I'm trying to make some cove molding for a tea table I'm building. The worst part of that plane is the blade adjuster. In a quarter of a thread it will go from cutting nothing to hogging of so much material it jams the throat. After about an hour of fussing with it I went and chained myself to a rock :-)
-Chuck
"After about an hour of fussing with it I went and chained myself to a rock"
Doesn't count unless you also hire an eagle to peck out your liver.
-Steve
>Do you typically harvest this material from your own property? I don't suppose it would take much to dry small quantities like you need to repair a molding plane?<Sorry I missed this. Yes I do. I let it dry for about 6 months to a year, cut it into four sided pieces on the bandsaw, put chunks in the microwave for 2 to 4 minutes, let it cool down, then plane it back to square. By the time it's done with the microwave, it has twisted, split, checked, warped, moved, etc., all it's going to.Will post the photos of the repair to the molding plane in a week or so.Good luck with those cove moldings!
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