Restoring a wooden handplane - some questions

[GLFaria]

Hi everybody

I’m in the process of reconditioning a rather battered 15” wooden jackplane I recently bought with the purpose of making an acceptable working tool from it.

I am not familiar with wooden planes, so I must ask for your help on a number of details.

I believe the wood to be holm oak (Quercus ilex). Very hard, heavy, difficult to work not so much because of its hardness but mostly because of its texture.

Some tearout is almost impossible to avoid even with the utmost care in tuning my handplanes. And I must keep honing whatever tools I use.
Question: am I right about the wood identification?

Nasty surprise - a large knot on the inside of the body, right where the iron is supposed to lie. I know I should have disassembled the plane before buying, but then the price was only 5 euros (£3.5)…

Q.: should I line or otherwise cover this surface to make it flat? Wood or metal for the lining, if such must be the choice?
What may the narrow slot on top of the plane body, at the front of the opening (see picture above), have been intended for? May it have been just a manufacture mistake? I am thinking of filling it up with a sliver of hard wood, but anyway would rather ask beforehand. Opinions, please?

Lining the front of the mouth with an insert will also be necessary, as in its present condition it is much too open. I presume any of the small pieces of the hard tropical woods I have around will do.
Q.: should the grain of the insert be parallel to the plane body, or transversal to it, i.e. parallel to the mouth opening?

I must also make a new wedge, as the present one is too soft (chestnut, I believe)
Q.: which wood to use?

I want to insert a strike button.
Q.: metal or wood? After all, I’m not going to pound it with a hammer. If wood, any suggestion about what wood to use?

As for finish – I am thinking of Danish Oil, some three or four coats depending on the results, followed by wax.
Q.: Would Danish Oil be ok for this species of wood? If not, what finish should I apply?

Sorry for all the bother. I may still have some more questions to ask as the reconditioning goes on, so please be patient.
I am taking some pictures as I go along, in case someone is interested in a WIP when this is finished. Just say so.

Thank you for any help.

G.

 

[D_W]

I believe that is a craftsman-made plane. I would scrape the bed if it needs it, but not if it doesn't (the iron should have a bias in it such that it is bedding at the bottom of the bed and at the top of the bed, but not much between).

Beech for a new wedge - quartered if possible.

The strike button can be anything, but it looks best if it's not contrasting at all or it's very contrasting (you could use beech again for that and stain it dark).

Any oil should be fine. Danish oil, linseed oil, etc. Mix it with wax if you'd like - that's what I do. One coat of oil (heavy), then a second coat and then follow with paste wax. Then oil and paste wax again. Within a week or two, the whole thing is dry and slick, despite the initial messiness.

Aside from the wedge and cleaning up the iron and cap iron, I wouldn't do much more cleaning.

 

[bugbear]

I believe that is a craftsman-made plane. I would scrape the bed if it needs it, but not if it doesn't (the iron should have a bias in it such that it is bedding at the bottom of the bed and at the top of the bed, but not much between).

Yes - any number of texts from the age when hand tools were the tools use a piece of leather either at the top of the bed, to slightly open the mouth of a new plane, or at the bottom of the bed, to close the mouth of an old plane.

In both cases, of course, the blade is only bedded top 'n' bottom.

BugBear

 

[bugbear]

Yes, I think that is holm oak. An excellent hard timber, and very beautiful.

Can you see if the body is quartersawn?

BugBear

 

[bugbear]

Q.:
What may the narrow slot on top of the plane body, at the front of the opening (see picture above), have been intended for? May it have been just a manufacture mistake? I am thinking of filling it up with a sliver of hard wood, but anyway would rather ask beforehand. Opinions, please?

I think that the mouth, including the line, is intended as a decorative crown design;

BugBear

 

[MIGNAL]

Don't line it or close the mouth, unless you really want to use it as a smoother. At 15" it's a good size for preparing timber, use it as a Jack plane. This is what I call a 'fast' Jack, you'll soon realise why when it's up and running correctly. Not sure about the rear handle, you'll have to try it to see how it fits the hand. For this size of plane I prefer the pistol type grip.

 

[bugbear]

Don't line it or close the mouth, unless you really want to use it as a smoother. At 15" it's a good size for preparing timber, use it as a Jack plane. This is what I call a 'fast' Jack, you'll soon realise why when it's up and running correctly. Not sure about the rear handle, you'll have to try it to see how it fits the hand. For this size of plane I prefer the pistol type grip.

The rear handle looks quite large (which is good for vigorous use), but a little more square than I'd like to see.

post911633.html?hilit=%20remove%20the%20corners%20#p911633

I think this is another indicator that it may be craftsman made.

BugBear

 

[MIGNAL]

Yes, it looks a bit uncomfortable. A bit of minor reshaping would fix it. This plane might need a bit more effort than many but there's no reason why it shouldn't turn out to be a perfectly fine plane, fit for purpose. In fact I think everyone should have a 14" or 15" wooden Jack. It's not as though old examples cost a lot of money.

 

[thick_mike]

Love the grain pattern on that close up

 

[AndyT]

Well that's interesting! An exotic visitor from an unknown tradition! I'm assuming this plane is Portuguese, though the iron is French.

Over the years we've seen a few French, German or Dutch planes discussed on here, but I can't remember seeing anything else from Portugal. Do you know of any websites that illustrate the history and range of similar tools?

As for the question of finish, if it was mine I would just give it a once over with some reviver mixture.

 

[bugbear]

Well that's interesting! An exotic visitor from an unknown tradition! I'm assuming this plane is Portuguese, though the iron is French.

Over the years we've seen a few French, German or Dutch planes discussed on here, but I can't remember seeing anything else from Portugal. Do you know of any websites that illustrate the history and range of similar tools?

As for the question of finish, if it was mine I would just give it a once over with some reviver mixture.

Ah. Just remembered something.

Don't use steel wool on oak items.

Oak + Steel = black.

BugBear

 

[MIGNAL]

I think he has already removed wood from the original surface. I don't have a problem with that given that it's not a collectors piece that happens to be in near pristine condition. Better that it's restored and put back to use. Danish Oil, Shellac, wax. Anything that stops the wood becoming too grubby too fast.

 

[ac445ab]

Well that's interesting! An exotic visitor from an unknown tradition! I'm assuming this plane is Portuguese, though the iron is French.

May be it is French. Tath type of wood is quite common in vintage French planes.
I have got a plane I think made of same wood. It had a Goldemberg iron too, before I changed it with a toothed one.

Of course, if it is self-made, could be been made by a Portuguese woodworker by using that wood and a Goldemberg blade.

Ciao
Giuliano

 

[GLFaria]

Wow, thanks for all the replies in so short a time.

This is most certainly a craftsman's plane, and it must have seen heavy use if the grove it had on the sole is anything to go by.

The man who made it obviously cared much more about having a working tool than having a showroom piece. And this is why I have no qualms about removing wood from it na putting ir straight and in good working order - I have never been a collectionist.

I believe that is a craftsman-made plane. I would scrape the bed if it needs it, but not if it doesn't (the iron should have a bias in it such that it is bedding at the bottom of the bed and at the top of the bed, but not much between).

Yes - any number of texts from the age when hand tools were the tools use a piece of leather either at the top of the bed, to slightly open the mouth of a new plane, or at the bottom of the bed, to close the mouth of an old plane.

In both cases, of course, the blade is only bedded top 'n' bottom.

BugBear

And indeed it had a bit of card or something similar inserted at the bottom, between the iron and the plane. Thanks for the tip.

Can you see if the body is quartersawn?

Still didn't get to that, the ends are too rough and grimmy.

The rear handle looks quite large (which is good for vigorous use), but a little more square than I'd like to see.

The size fits my hands rather well (but I still didn't spend any time using it...), but it does need a little reshaping for comfort.

Well that's interesting! An exotic visitor from an unknown tradition! I'm assuming this plane is Portuguese, though the iron is French.

Over the years we've seen a few French, German or Dutch planes discussed on here, but I can't remember seeing anything else from Portugal. Do you know of any websites that illustrate the history and range of similar tools?

As for the question of finish, if it was mine I would just give it a once over with some reviver mixture.

I searched and searched, but until now couldn't find anything specifically on Portuguese planes. I was most interested by the shape of the opening on top. Why would a craftsman go to that trouble when he intended this plane as a working tool? I seem to remember having seen something similar to it in the past, but cannot recall where. It may be a specifically local feature, like the shape of the upper "horn" on the handle. I will have to go on searching and asking.

Don't use steel wool on oak items.

Oak + Steel = black.

Thanks for remembering that. I usually dont like using steel wool for cleaning wood - at times I've had the residue get into the pores of the wood and eventually rust - but didn't remember the effect in oak.

I think he has already removed wood from the original surface. I don't have a problem with that given that it's not a collectors piece that happens to be in near pristine condition. Better that it's restored and put back to use. Danish Oil, Shellac, wax. Anything that stops the wood becoming too grubby too fast.

Just my line of thinking. It might be otherwise had I the space for keeping a tool collection, but in my case space is at a premium.

Thank you all

 

[Bedrock]

Fascinating plane. Has anyone any ideas as to how old this might be, or where Mr. Goldenberg may have worked? It has obviously lacked for TLC, but the decorative horn on the handle is potentially somewhat fragile, yet appears not to have been repaired.
The wood is beautiful. Does Holm Oak produce the same tannin/steel problem?

 

[AndyT]

Fascinating plane. Has anyone any ideas as to how old this might be, or where Mr. Goldenberg may have worked?

Even if you can't read German the dates in this summary at Wolfgang Jordan's site show a long and distinguished history

http://www.holzwerken.de/museum/hersteller/goldenberg.phtml

 

[Sheffield Tony]

Goldenberg were from Alsace. Absorbed into Peugeot Freres and eventually Stanley IIRC. I have 2 of their axes and a drawknife, I like them all.

Got a good link about them on my work computer which I could post tomorrow, but I expect someone will beat me to it !

 

[Trafalgar]

Re: Goldenberg

Usually see at least a few of these with this search:

http://www.ebay.fr/sch/i.html?_from=R40 ... n&_sacat=0

Here's one:

http://www.ebay.fr/itm/Outil-ancien-gra ... SwKrhVXBWO

 

[GLFaria]

I don't believe Goldenberg had anything to do with this specific plane, apart from supplying the iron and cap-iron. The quality of the craftsmanship just isn't there.

Holm oak is a very common tree in large areas of Portugal and Spain; it is as one of the best firewoods available, long-lasting and burning very hot.

The handle and the body of the plane seem to be of one piece. If so, and considering the kind of wood and the fact that this is a razee, my hat is off for the craftsman who carved it. I will be able to take a closer look later in the reconditioning process.

G.

 

[MIGNAL]

It certainly looks like a user made plane to my eye. The whole thing could be further refined, should you deem it worthwhile. In fact you could turn that into a very handsome plane. Alternately just do enough to get it functioning well.