Preston Infill Smoother

UKworkshop.co.uk

Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
That plane iron certainly looks to me as if it has been rusty and has been cleaned up (nicely) with acid or commercial rust remover. The upper parts of an iron, exposed beyond the shelter of the body, are often the first to succumb to rust when left in a shed. Yours has the tell-tale black specks where rust had started to eat pits into the steel. Acid turns them black, but it's impractical to get the black out of the pits, where abrasives etc won't reach.
I wouldn't worry about it. You might be able to find a new old stock iron, but that could have rust by now, after sixty years or more in storage.
 
You could try grinding the edge back a mm or 2. And sharpen at a higher angle. Up to 35 degrees or so. That helps edge life too.

How do you sharpen, oilstones, or something else? And how does the edge fail, chipping or folding?
 
In my experience, tapered irons are a few clicks softer than parallel irons. Not necessarily true for every single one, but on average.

My preferences are ih sorby, Ward and Mathieson parallel irons, but new are ok. They just look very bad in an old plane. If it's very soft, save it for a wooden plane that does heavier work where that softness won't matter.
 
Thanks for the replies. I think it is just a bit soft and dulls quite quickly - it doesnt chip. I have ground it back a bit and could try the steeper angle - it is 30 degrees at the moment. I use a fine diamond stone then a waterstone..4000 grit I think (and I still use a honing guide!). I noticed this http://www.jimbodetools.com/PRESTON-Thi ... 58121.html It is a bit wide (could grind off 3 mm) but looks a bit worn anyway. I understand that a new iron might look a bit out of place but if it held an edge better, that is the more important thing. The alternative is another non-preston parralel iron - there must be a few about. Could always get a new one and leave it in the rain for a week to look more the part :)

Cheers
Richard
 
Lots of sorby and others. Ward are tough to get reasonable because people need them to fit in old Norris planes that have lost their original irons.
 
AndyT":3ok4703h said:
That plane iron certainly looks to me as if it has been rusty and has been cleaned up (nicely) with acid or commercial rust remover. The upper parts of an iron, exposed beyond the shelter of the body, are often the first to succumb to rust when left in a shed. Yours has the tell-tale black specks where rust had started to eat pits into the steel. Acid turns them black, but it's impractical to get the black out of the pits, where abrasives etc won't reach.
I wouldn't worry about it. You might be able to find a new old stock iron, but that could have rust by now, after sixty years or more in storage.

Interestingly, its just the same on the top back of the iron where the rust rarely gets.
 
My experience with the old tapered irons is that if they're soft, they're soft. That's all there is to it, and you'll need to replace it.

I'll give you my thoughts, which you can ignore.

If you want hard, ward double irons (tapered or not) are usually hard. If you can find one tapered, it should be good. Ward parallel irons are also generally very hard (out of half a dozen, I have one that's "normal" hardness for the era). The last time I bid on a nice ward parallel iron, it went for the equivalent of 100 pounds, so that's probably out (it was for me - I. Sorby in a set will go for a third or 40% of that).

Later norris and other R. Sorby irons abound , but they are soft, I'd avoid them for a smoother of that caliber. Later would have to be recent to guarantee hardness (hock, iles, etc).

I. Sorby and Mathieson parallel irons seem to me to be very good, but you'll have to do a little looking around to find one. The fact that you shouldn't need a cap should be helpful.

In tapered plane irons, I've found hardness as follows (in case you want to replace with another tapered iron due to cost and ease in finding):

Ward (harder than all others on a consistent basis, but once in a while, one is "normal")
Mathieson - older laminated - suitably hard, very nice. Not as hard as their parallel irons, but usually good enough for a smoother
All others - grab bag, could be anything. Later solid steel sheffield irons (pre WWII still, probably) are often softer than most early laminated irons. No clue why, but perhaps because they thought people wouldn't like to hand grind a full thickness all-steel iron. they're often thin, too, and would leave you with a large mouth gap.

A smoother is the only plane where the iron really is a lot nicer if it's hard. The rest of the planes that we have shouldn't be taking feather shavings, which is the only place harder really has it on softer for edge holding.
 
Hi D_W

thanks for your helpful suggetsions. I did find this one, as mentioned before http://www.jimbodetools.com/PRESTON-Thi ... 58121.html it could be ground to fit, its only 1/8 to grind off, widthways, and is 3/16 which I think is the correct thickness for the plane. Presumably it would be of a suitable hardness. What do you recon?

I tried a Clifton iron, at 3 mm thick, it left a big mouth (but worked well).

Ive asked Ray Iles whether he does thick irons and I'll keep a look out for a Ward, Preston or Mathieson but there doesnt seem to be much available at the moment on e-bay. Geting a new one has the advantage of being sure it'll be of a good standard and will be relatively quick. I'd like to use this plane on my next guitar build.

Cheers
Richard
 
That iron from Jim Bode looks ideal. I've never had a preston infill iron, so I can't comment about its hardness, but that is a superb looking iron.

If you don't buy it, let me know.

I kind of like my irons to fit without modification (for looks), but in this case, you're looking for function so it's not that big of a deal. I also have a lot of irons, so I can be picky. that iron would look good in a future infill project and it's in a size that I like, but I will concede for sure that I have no preston infills (it's the one hole that I have), so I don't need to be a pig.
 
Hello Richard & DW, please be aware that I believe the iron in your link above is not EDWARD PRESTON Birmingham but a MARPLES and retailed by G P PRESTON tool merchant, as marked on the back.
Surely the seller must know the difference?
All said and done though should be a good iron but what of the price?
Cheers
Andy
 
Oh, well spotted. I didnt look much at the name - it does look different to the standard Preston markings. You have to wonder for the price, as its not the right size and its not a E Preston, whether it is the best best.

Thanks
Richard
 
Thanks, Andy. I know little of the Preston's from here in the states, but I agree with you. If it's marples, I'd pass and keep looking. Most marples I've had have been on the soft side, but I've not had a parallel iron that I've used yet, though I have one or two that just haven't made it into planes.
 
Hi again, I've scoured the internet for a suitable iron for the Preston without any luck so far. I've e-mailed Ray Iles a couple of times but reading through other posts, it appears I might be waiting an indeterminate time for a reply. Has anyone had any luck contacting him recently? As I'm at the other end of the planet, phoning is a bit tricky, otherwise, has anyone had success with snail mail to Ray?

I was also wondering, were all the irons for this sort of infill 3/16 - I cant find the specifications in info on Prestons? It leaves a very tight mouth and very much a dedicated smoother (which is fine) - that’s the thickness of the sharp end of the tapered iron currently in the plane. I wondered if a 5/32 (4 mm) might be more versatile though.

The last option is that I could make my own from D2 and get it properly heat treated to 61-62 Rockwell. It might be the easiest option at this rate! :roll:

Thanks
Richard
 
I spoke to him about a month or so ago, I don't think he is very webbed up but he is always there when I have phoned. I did get an O1 4.5 mm blade for my Norris #1 off ebay although I can no longer find the listing, I believe they did 4 mm as well. Measuring up some of the parallel irons I have they seem to vary between 4.0 mm, Norris original, and 4.54 mm which is a Marples 2 1/4 iron. If you want to smooth using the cap iron then I would guess a 4.0 mm iron would be better depending how tight the mouth is. Unless you are using Aussie type timber then I would go for a blade made from O1 I have a D2 blade and do not like it.
 
Thicknesses are all over the place. I'd bet that some that I have aren't much more than an eighth, and others more than 3/16ths. Irons of the same make aren't even consistent.

Having one custom made to your thickness and hardness specs is probably your safest option. That is, assuming your thickness wants are a standard size, like 3/16th.
 
essexalan":y3pf64fk said:
I spoke to him about a month or so ago, I don't think he is very webbed up but he is always there when I have phoned. I did get an O1 4.5 mm blade for my Norris #1 off ebay although I can no longer find the listing, I believe they did 4 mm as well. Measuring up some of the parallel irons I have they seem to vary between 4.0 mm, Norris original, and 4.54 mm which is a Marples 2 1/4 iron. If you want to smooth using the cap iron then I would guess a 4.0 mm iron would be better depending how tight the mouth is. Unless you are using Aussie type timber then I would go for a blade made from O1 I have a D2 blade and do not like it.

Thanks. A 4.5 mm iron would be a perfect thickness, 3/16 is 4.76 which is borderline. My Cliftons are O1 and they work well, so I guess that would be fine. I might try phoning but if he isn't 'on line' I don't even know how I'd pay.

Cheers
Richard
 
D_W":2lbg2ern said:
Thicknesses are all over the place. I'd bet that some that I have aren't much more than an eighth, and others more than 3/16ths. Irons of the same make aren't even consistent.

Having one custom made to your thickness and hardness specs is probably your safest option. That is, assuming your thickness wants are a standard size, like 3/16th.

I'm sure I could get a bit of 4.5 mm guage plate - Ive got some 5 mm but that is too thick and I think 3/16 (4.76 mm) would also be just a bit tight. I've tried heat treating smaller irons for block planes with some success but not so confident with a bigger iron, however, I could get it heat treated properly for 15 quid so it may be cheaper and easier to make my own. And, of course, 'making your own' is what we are all about.

Cheers
Richard
 
If you can get a weed torch and a couple of refractory bricks, you'd have plenty of heat to do an o1 iron, but they are definitely a little harder to do than small irons. Paying someone 15 quid would also be cheaper.

Slotting them by hand is a bit of a pain, though.
 
Slotting them by hand is a bit of a pain, though.[/quote]

Yep, I'm a glutton for punishment. :wink:

I have seen a comment that, due to the possible slight warping of the steel during heat treatment, Ray Iles selects the convex side to grind the bevel. So that means all the grinding is done after heat treatment, which risks ruining the heat treatment unless one is rather careful.

Cheers
Richard
 
You can cheat and cut part of a bevel and then heat treated. Most of the time mine warp to a hollow in the back if I've made a bevel before hardening. I may just be getting lucky, though.
 
Back
Top