Hi everyone,
This is my first post and I’m really excited about it. I’m in the midst of creating my shop in my two car garage, and naturally I’m envisioning great things for it, but perhaps that will be for another post, so I digress. I have recently purchased an old Stanley Bed Rock jointer plane and while it looks okay, I want to give it the once over to bring it back to like new performance. Any and all advice on the process of doing that would be greatly appreciated. One of my questions is regarding protection of the iron. Once the tune-up is completed and it’s given a through cleaning, to keep surface rust away and help it slide across the work pieces smoothly, should I use T9 and then some Renaissance wax or just wipe it all down with Jojoba oil?
Thank you all in advance,
Jeff
Replies
There are a lot of great resources here on restoring and tuning vintage planes. Roland Johnson just did a nice video workshop on that topic.
There are a few spots on planes that can use a very small drop of oil when you reassemble, but I don't like anything on the blade itself.
Check youtube. Plenty of vids on this topic. Start with Paul Sellers.
Fine Woodworking is doing a hand plane restoration/tune up video series right now with Roland Johnson, so your timing is good. I would just keep a thin coat of oil to keep the rust away.
I just use Jojoba oil on my planes. I am fortunate that I live far enough away from the ocean in a lower humidity environment where rust isn't too much of an issue.
Jojoba oil, camellia oil, all will work fine. Leave the T9 for the tool tables. Get a small applicator bottle from Lie-Nielsen or Amazon and just dab the metal surfaces occasionally, in high humidity areas it doesn't hurt after every use especially if, as a hobbyist, you may go weeks between uses of some tools.
Thank you everyone for your responses, greatly appreciated. I took the Bed Rock and another plane I also recently purchased and broke them down and rubbed Camellia oil on them. Now I will wait patiently for the new videos by FWW to come out.
One last question, because I don't expect this to be covered in the video. On both planes it appears that in the past people sharpened the leading edge of the chip breakers, one on the convex side, the other on the concave side. Is there a way to fix this, are they ruined or does it make a difference?
Thanks for your help.
I flatten the underside of the chipbreaker in order to insure it contacts the blade across the width. The goal is to prevent any material from getting between it and the blade.
Then I polish the upper surface for about 3/8" to help the chips flow.
Maybe I take it too far. I started this after working on a #5 that had a very small gap that caught thin shavings. No more.
Chipbreakers on antiques always need work. They need to sit absolutely flat and tight against the blade. That usually means removing some material from the back. Whatever it takes. And as the poster above, smoothing and polishing the front can help a lot.
Modern blades such as from Hock are much better than the originals. Hock chip breakers are wayyyy better than the flimsy originals.
You may also want to buy a thicker, brand new PM-V11 blade from Lee Valley. I have an old Bedrock 605 junior jointer from the early 1900s. I tuned it up and it worked well. Then I bought a PM-V11 blade and it was amazing. Paul Sellers disagrees, but I think a thicker, modern blade makes those old beautiful war horses come to life again.
I watched all of Roland Johnson‘s videos. What a great presenter and presentation! After Roland mentioned in his video, that people used to use the blades as a 2” chisel mangling them in the process, I checked the blades in the two planes I purchased and found that the BedRock’s blade was bent in the manner he described. So, I purchased a new Hock blade and chip breaker, love Lie-Neilsen, but thought I’d give the smaller tool maker a try and to my surprise he’s only a stones throw away. Now the BedRock gets a nice new thick blade and a new chip breaker to match.
I also recently purchased a Stanley 102 block plane. It was in fair condition with light surface rust, so I gave it a 2 week soaking in cola, followed by a soapy bath and a good rub down with Camellia oil. It too will now sit and wait until I’m ready to give the lot the tuneup of their lives. That comes after my shop’s remodel is completed, then the fun starts!
Thanks again.
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