I finally added a jointer plane to my small stable of planes, a Stanley #7. Wow, gotta do some weights or something, it’s a big sucker.
So, how versatile is this baby? Tell me about your adventures with same. Oh, and before you ask, yes it’s a Stanley Bailey and has the verticle “Stanley” on the adjustment lever. Type 19??
And, for Philip:
forestgirl — you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can’t take the forest out of the girl 😉
Edited 10/24/2007 12:35 pm by forestgirl
Replies
Ah yes, obviously Ginger Boy there is highly impressed...as he ought to be. Get him onto some cleaning and a minor fettle.*
Jamie, the number 7 is very versatile-the reasonable length makes it good for edge jointing for most furniture applications.Use it for a quick shoot when you have jointed an edge with your power jointer... Good for general straightening and smoothing work as well. And, dare I mention it , snap up some spare blades at the flea market, so you can CAMBER one or two to varying degrees....
You mention weight- I think the Stanley 7 is a bit heavier than the Bedrock 7-I have a Bedrock which is lighter than my Stanley 6. Not that it is crucial but if happen upon some gullible fellow with a Bedrock 7 tell him to swap.....
*Let us see some pictures when he has cleaned it up.
Hah! "Gullible fellow" -- I should hope! I don't get to flea markets more than once a decade, but I have a friend in S. California who'd probably watch out for blades for me. I'm feelin' pretty happy about this plane. Just need a shoulder plane to get the important basics filled in.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
FG,
Versatile???
Since I bought mine...the Red Sox are in their second World Series and the Pats won three Super Bowls. Of course, mines a 7C so i expect more...:)
"...mines a 7C so i expect more...:)" ROFL!! GO BOSOX!!! I'm so glad to see them in the WS! Our Mariners had a meltdown at the end of the season [youngster pitchers wore out :-( ] I was rooting for Boston. (a) when Boston wins, George is reallllllly mad; (b) I like Veritek (he used to be ours, ya know) and (c) I love Manny!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
congrats---------
not sure we have the same plane---mine says Bailey just in front of the front handle.
"inherited" it from my Grandfather--via my Dad about 10 years ago or so---along with a #5.
for me-- the #5 is more versatile-and travels with me to every job
the #7---lives at home,on the bench----and regrettably doesn't see much use.
that's no reflection on the #7--but more a reflection of the type of work i most commonly do.
Best wishes, Stephen
BTW--it IS kind of fun to find myself using the exact same tool my grandfather did-----working on theoretically the same houses--what 60-70 years later????
Stephen, yes it's the same. I didn't mention the Bailey stamped in the toe, but it's there. That is great that your 7 is a family friend.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Morning Jamie,
If you are going to rehab this plane and need help with the process, let me know. I have been rehabing about 10 planes lately and the techiniques I have been using are working very well. Just an offer if you need it!
Jeff
Thanks, Jeff. If I have any questions I'll drop you a note. I've done a couple. It may be a while before I get to it, my little Inca saw is first priority, to be fitted in when I have time.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Jeff,
There must have been movement in "The Force" last week, because I bought a Stanley Bailey #7, just like Forestgirl did. I got it home, and used some penetrating oil and got all the parts apart. Then I cleaned and oiled all parts and put them back together again. All went well. As with FG's the Japanning on mine is not what a collector would be after. I wanted a user. The frog works easily and well. There is some pitting on the blade and chip breaker. I went over both lightly and quickly with sandpaper. You offered advice to FG on fettling the beast. I'd appreciate some. A few months ago, I put a #5 into shape. Flattening the sole was a weight-losing experience. I used sandpaper on double sided tape on the bed of a long jointer that I checked for flatness. What advice do you have for flattening the sole of the #7?I put a flat edge to the sole for a cursory look. It seems that from the front tip to the blade hole looks to be flat and in the same plane, as is the rear tip of the sole. From behind the blade hole to almost the back, I could slip a piece of newspaper under it. Any advice on the fettling issues of a big #7 would be appreciated, especially with regard to flattening the sole, which is not corrugated. Thank you,
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Hey Mel!
No problem, I will help where I can. Please note that the following is how I do it and works for me, I am not stating this is the only/best way but I have found success this way.
First Mel, you want to take a rule to the bottom and make sure the body is not twisted and is relatively flat. Big swings in the body of the plane are very difficult and could be fruitless.
What I do on my "users" is to start with 80 grit paper on float glass or the jointer bed. Take a majic marker and put lines across the body of the plane from the heel to the toe. By doing this, you will be able to see the high and low spots of the body and see how much work you really have. I continue to work up the grits to about 220 and by that time the sole is pretty flat. Remember, this is a jointer plane and not a smoothing plane as many think. The bottom does not have to be "dead" flat, just close. The main area you should be concerned with is the mouth area. That needs to be flat and not chipped out.
When you have the sole flat, make sure to put some paste wax on it to not only make it easy to push, but to also help with keeping it rust free.
When I rehab a plane that I want to use, I always replace the blade with a Hock Blade and Chip Breaker. The Stanley blade will work ok, but you will see MUCH improved performance with the Hock gear. Take the Hock blade to the jointer or float glass and flatten the back with 1200 / 2000 grit sandpaper. This will not take long and will produce a flat, mirror image. Then, what I do, is grind a hollow bevel on the blade. Then take the blade and sharpen it on the 1200/2000 grit sandpaper with a jig of your choice. The sandpaper will make it razor sharp with no mess of stones.
I always strip the jappanning off my "user" planes. I then use Asphaltum Pontypool to "paint" the plane. Pontypool is a very durable finish and will work better than regular paint...IMHO.
By this time, you will end up with one damn nice plane for very little money. If you have a rusty plane and you want to remove the rust, let me know and I will explain electrolysis to you, that process is VERY cool.
Hope this helps Mel, it works for me, and I am not a professional, just an "average Joe" or "average Jeff" in this case.
**Also, Bob I believe does quite a bit of rehabing so maybe he will chime in.
Jeff
Jeff,
From one average Joe to another, Thank you very much for the advice on fettling the big #7. You mentioned a possible twist in the sole. I will check tonight. I hope not. I will use sandpaper on the jointer bed. I put it down with double faced tape. Is that what you do? I will cut up some sheets of sandpaper. Can I just lay them end to end and put two strips of masking tape on them, one along each side? When I did the #5, it was a pain to get the doublesided tape up and then putting down another pair of strips for the next grit. I was very careful removing the sandpaper but "**** happens". Why remove the japanning and replace it with the Asphaltum? Is that for looks?You mentioned rust. There is a little where some of the japanning chipped off. I guess I could try the electrolysis. What is the set up that you used to do that?Thanks,
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
If you have a few extra dollars, go to your supplier of choice and buy belt sander sandpaper. I think the cost is about $4 for each grit. I would not tape together pieces of sandpaper because I want one continueous piece of paper. You don't need to use doublesided tape. Just take blue painters tape and tape the sides down and that will be fine. When you start with 80 grit, the process will not take long.
As far as the jappaning. I like the looks of new jappaning on planes. Therefore on my users, I like to replace the jappaning and Asphaltum Pontypool works very well and makes the plane look new and will also help it last for another 100 years.
Instead of making an extremely long drawn out post here, I have included the link below that will walk you through it, this is where I learned.
Any other questions, please ask.....Good Luck!
Jeff
http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/readarticle.pl?dir=handtools&file=articles_720.shtml
Jeff,
You have been great. I got the article on electrolysis. I will get the continuous sandpaper. Last questions. How did you remove the japanning? Just use regular paint remover?Thanks,
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
I use two machines to do that. One is my hand held drill with a round bristle attachment, and the other is my Dremel tool with a small round bristle attachment. This makes it go QUICK! Also, if you buy these little attachments, I always buy the ones made out of brass so you don't get any sparks. Make sure you do wear you eye protection though!
Post some pics if you get a chance. I am rehabing a Bedrock 606 I found and will post pics when I get done!
Jeff
Jeff,
Thanks to you, I now have enough info to go into the plane rehabbing business (yuk). I'll let you know how it goes.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
"I guess I could try the electrolysis." Waaaayyyyyyy too much work, IMHO. Use EvapoRust! AutoZone carries it, though they charge alot compared to internet gallons of the stuff. It won't hurt the japanning at all. Soak for 15 minutes to an hour, wipe off and you're done, unless the rust is really bad, in which case a little steel wool does the trick. If it's super-bad, soak longer, steel wool, another soak, etc..
I'm just about to post pictures of the first clean-up steps, so check back in about 15 minutes and you'll see the results of EVR soaking.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 10/25/2007 10:49 am by forestgirl
Jamie,
But the Electrolysis is so COOOLL!!!!! Also, if you are on a budget, you can do the electrolysis for about $2.99 or less if you have a Walmart coupon! : ) I also thought you said you didn't have time to rehab right now? I know, I usually cant wait either!
Jeff
Hi, Jeff. I needed something fun to do to break up the grim monotony of cleaning up the messy, messy shop. (Electrician needs some room to work, LOL!) Soaking a cleaning are super easy, as long as I don't have to document re-assembly like I did with the Inca.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Jamie,
I have been calling you "FG" for a long while. Someone referred to you as Jamie. I'll use that if you don't mind. Thanks for the advice. The Evaporust sounds much less trouble than the electrolysis, although the latter really does look cool. Nice set of pics! You are doing a great job.
Would you like to go into the "old plane rehab" business?
Just joking. Now you need to make yourself a fence to put on your #7. It can be done with a nice piece of hardwood and two rare Earth magnets. The fence will keep the edge square to the side.Then you need to add a motive force to push the plane. Right.Have fun.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Funny you should mention the shop-made fence, I was just thinking about that! I'd definitely need it, as my internal gyroscope isn't very accurate, LOL.
FG/Jamie/Gurl I answer to all of those. Kinda partial to FG, for some reason. ;-)forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
FG,OK, "FG" you are.Mom and Dad named me "Melvin David", not a typical moniker for an Italian-American kid in Connecticut in the 40s. Growing up, I was "Mogen David", or "Melvin Cowsnowski" (remember Mad Magazine). The nuns in Catholic school always called me by my full first name. Mom used "Melvin" when she was angry. As time went on, "Mel" stuck. If I ever get to Portugal, I will use something else. I believe the word "mel" in Portugese means honey (the stuff that bees make).I asked my kids to call me "Lord and Master", or simply "My Liege". No such luck. After Star Wars, they just referred to me as Darth. Before dinner, my wife refers to me as "PourTheMilk". I think that is a "term of endearment", and is her way of showing great affection. For a while, I thought that Paul would be a good moniker, but then I figured too many people would get Newman and me mixed up, so I dropped that idea. What did he do before he made salad dressings? Names are important. Our secretary, in at the office, lost over 150 lbs. (bypass surgery) I started calling her "Brittny" (before the infamous one got in so much trouble). Well, she loved that, so it stuck. OK, so from now on, you are FG and I am Mel.
Now that we have that straight, and I have wasted 15 minutes, it is time to go do something productive.
Have fun.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mevin,
Mogen David, that's pretty funny. I read that the founder of the Boy Scouts, Robert Baden-Powell, used to be called Baking-Powder, and Bathing-Towel by his chums at school.
The late country singer/stand-up comedian, "Tennessee" Ernie Ford, used to say that til he was 14, he thought his name was "Fetch the firewood". He also said, "You can call me anything, except late for supper."
Don't have to tell you what a kid named Pine, got called on the playground.
Ray
David Raymond,Names used to be important on the playground.
Is Knots not a playground?Melvin "Mogen" David
PS, since we are friends, you can call me "Mog"Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
PS: Those whitish areas on the bed of the plane aren't missing Japanning, but some kind of junk that got on the plane. There's a splat of glue also. At least the owner before me was using it! I'm going to use mineral oil to loosen the debris. The red stuff on the bottom seems to be rust, but it's different somehow. Very light, not really "attached" as firmly as rust usually is. A mystery.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
OK, I started the easy part -- cleaning up the plane. Fettling will have to wait awhile. Here are some before and after pictures, and explanations of the less-than-rocket-science process:
Before -- not really too bad, just some light rust.
View Image
The body has some discoloration, and "gunk" on the sides. I think I'll soak in mineral sprits to get this stuff off (and the base too, see next pic):
View Image
View Image
The sole has a little rust too. Have to get a bigger trough for soaking this.
View Image
Soaking in EvapoRust. Left them in there maybe an hour while working on shop clean-up. Threaded items come out soooooo clean and it's sooooo much easier than using steel wool!
View Image
After the soak, wipe with paper towel, and a little #0000 steel wool rubbing. These pieces were no challenge at all for the EvapoRust. I could accomplish the same thing other ways, but find this the easiest.
View Imageforestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Hi Mel,
From what you're describing it sounds like it isn't that badly out. I have one that is similar and another #7 donation that I haven't had a chance to check out yet.
Anyway, if you decide to flatten it by hand using sandpaper on a flat substrate, you will need strips at least half again as long as the sole. I should think that you could glue the typical sheets that are 9½ x 11 on a flat substrate, working the plane back & forth.
I have roles that I got from the landfill for 80, 120, 180 & 220. Each one is 250' long! FREE! Haven't used it as the longes plane I have is 200' long. :-)
I take a magic marker and make X's the length of the sole, then start with 80 and work the plane till it's flat; also do the sides. Check it every so often with your straightedge. Pretty simple stuff really, but can be a lot of work.
On another note, just for grins I called a local machine shop and they told me that they could surface grind mine for about $25-$40/ea. Hmmmmmmmm, that's not much. Might want to give that a try.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
"I have roles that I got from the landfill for 80, 120, 180 & 220."
You get your sandpaper at the landfill? Um, what else do you get from the landfill?
"Each one is 250' long! FREE! Haven't used it as the longes plane I have is 200' long."
Wait a minute.... If we apply your "half again as long" rule, you're going to need 300' of sandpaper for your 200' plane.
-Steve
Hi Steve,
Oh just a few thangs.
forestgirl is going to be mad at me for this but yesterday I got 2 solid core doors! There is a truck that brings in all kinds of sandpaper, from rolls 2" to 4" wide to 9½ x 11 sheets in various grits, emery cloth by the box. Brings it in from somewhere down state.
Have gotten all kinds of framing timbers, mucho insulation, plywood, 8' wide rolls of Tyvek; even a 2" thick by 3' x 5' glued slab of maple benchtop. Also got 20 2½ x 8" x 12' red oak planks! It's amazing what people (Contractors) throw out!
Kinda like Forest Gump, "Ya never know what ya gonna get"!
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
It sounds like if you waited long enough, you could build a house. You could then put up a plaque:
This home furnished
courtesy of
Mt Carberry Landfill
-Steve
The 7 is extremely versatile.
It'll joint edges of course, but is also great for truing faces of boards, leveling glued up panels and tops, cleaning up dovetails, fitting drawers, etc.
Wow, gotta do some weights or something, it's a big sucker.
Congratulations, Forest Girl!
When I asked for advice on purchasing a #7 or a #8, a number of people commented on the side benefit of the upper body workout that these planes provide. True.
Being new to hand tools, far be it from me to advise on the versatility of a large plane, but I can recommend Chris Schwarz' video, "Coarse, Medium, Fine". I like his description of jointer planes as joining the "Flat World Society".
Monte
If you're look for someone gullible to trade up to that Bedrock, find the guy who traded Varitek to the Sox. Varitek AND Derek Lowe for Heathcliff Slocumb, a steal for the Sox and undoubtedly the dumbest deal in Mariners history. . .
Oh, I also have a Stanley 7 (from eBay). Without a power planer or jointer, I use it as a got-to tool for flattening and squaring up boards. I love working with it, though in the summer I occasionally need to steel-wool off the little rust stains from my sweat dripping onto it as I work.
Enjoy,
Norman
Edited 10/24/2007 1:41 pm ET by nboucher
Edited 10/24/2007 1:42 pm ET by nboucher
There was an article in the Seattle paper awhile back about the worst trades in Mariners history -- I couldn't find it today, but the Google search spawns hits that seem to indicate not only was that trade the worst in Mariners' history, it's one of the worst in baseball history! That GM's gone now, good riddance!
Wow, the Sox put a hurtin' on the Rockies last night!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Forestgirl,
When I read your opening, I had to chuckle...That Jointer plane has a wide bite and mainly used for long and wide surfaces...if you can get the curl thin enough and keep up the muscle power it takes ....;>)
In the early 70's, I taught Woodshop to Middle Schools kids. Back then, there wasn't a law in Texas to required girls to have the same sports/classes as the boys could have.
I was scheduled for "Independent Study" for one class hour which had girls. I went to my Principal and asked if we could turn it into a Mixed class of Woodworking. After notifying and getting support of the parents, we started the FIRST Woodworking Class for girls, too.
Much of Middle school woodshop is handtools, and other than an "Ag Teacher" trying to teach woodshop in passed years, there were only basic powertools. In making chopping/bread boards, handplaning them flat really took its tole on the girls. They just didn't have the muscle strength to keep a jack plane going, but their strength in patience and detail evened out the edge the boys had. The next year I was approved for a 13" heavyduty Delta thickness planer....a true present from Heaven.
In the nine years of teaching, I still see some of my students, now and then, and they always tell me what they built and "Still Have". In those woodshop years, I always had a wait list for getting into my classes. The third year, we went to a "Shop II"a, higher skills class for those that had the 7th grade class. So, using the handplane and the thickness planer, advanced projects like aromatic cedar Hope Chests and Chess boards really got the kids going, much to the pain of dropping numbers for the Band, Choir, and Art teachers.
Keep working on those muscles...and blend your strength with "Power Tools".
Thanks for the memories,
Bill
Edited 10/24/2007 9:15 pm ET by BilljustBill
Bill, when I was in junior high, the beginnings of my adventures into the horse world, I wouldn't wear sleeveless or short-sleeved dresses because my biceps were so dang big (and I was incredibly skinny, so they really stood out, so to speak)! Over the period of my 20's and 30's, I moved, loaded, unloaded, stacked (etc., etc.) untold tons of hay and grain. I'm nothing like as strong as that now, but the arm muscles have some memory left and are used to being called upon. I just have to rest them more frequently than in the old days, LOL!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Oh, yeah, "wide bite" -- yes it does! But from what I've read, it's common to joint two boards simultaneously, no? Seems just right for that!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Oh, yeah, "wide bite" -- yes it does! But from what I've read, it's common to joint two boards simultaneously, no?
You won't appreciate the wide bite until you are planing the face of your workbench or other wide glue-up....
Yes, with it's length, joint the boards' edges at the same time so if you tilt the hand plane the angled edges will glue together without a gap. Just remember to pick the best two faces of the boards then make sure each one faces outward. If you'll do that, then when you glue them together your best side on each board will be on the same side of the bigger glue-up.
Both Jointer planes I have came from both grandfathers....One was an Irish constable/furniture maker and the other was a German farmer.
Flea markets and Ebay are great places to find the rest of your collection or replacement parts for certain hard-to-find Stanley-Victor-Bailey models.
Good luck and use your Stanley try square to see if you are tilting your plane as the wooden ribbons float away...,
Bill
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled