Aw Nooo!!!!

[Sawyer]

My lovely Record fore plane of late 1940s vintage fell on the concrete floor of the workshop.
Since I use the fore plane a lot, I have already procured a replacement no. 6 on Ebay (Woden/Record, 1960s). Not as nice, but should do the job alright.

Meanwhile, a mate has offered to try welding it for me, but I suspect this will be a waste of time trying. Any ideas folks?

 

[Biliphuster]

You have a mighty chisel plane there!

From what I understand, welding cast iron is a little tricky, I think I have seen broken plane bodies brazed, perhaps that is an idea? The thin brass line also looks great when ground flat.

 

[n0legs]

Crying shame mate, always the best ones.

 

[t8hants]

Its ruggered already you have nothing to loose!

 

[AndyT]

This picture of an old No 4 in my possession proves that a "cold" repair can work ok for a good many decades:

 

[MIGNAL]

Many years ago someone once welded a cracked Plane for me. The weld was OK but it sure distorted the metal (i.e. the flatness).
I removed the plane parts and threw the plane body away. It just wasn't worth bothering with.
Pity about that plane. I have a Record one of a very similar vintage.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

You have a mighty chisel plane there!

Judging by the prices that "special chisel planes" sometimes fetch on ebay, you may find you've increased its value by dropping it :lol:

 

[Argus]

Welding seldom works and usually looks awful but you may be able to obtain a good spare body and transfer the frog, handles etc.
I did that with a web-cracked Record No 4 and I now have a good worker for the outlay of about 8 quid.

Alternatively why not try to make a wooden base, a la Marples transition type planes.

Shame to waste some very good parts.................

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Don't toss the plane. The sole of that body will make a good lapping plate for diamond paste.

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/WoodworkTe ... paste.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[dickm]

Would be very wary of welding (Brazing is probably better) but, as others have said, you've not got anything to lose and the bits will still be useful should it all go pear-shaped.
There must be folk out there who can do the relevant welding to a high standard, or at least high enough to pass me by when I bought an early US Stanley No 5 and didn't spot the weld until some time of using it! Given what I paid for it, it would have been a labour of love for the welder. (OK, given it was cheap, someone should have looked carefully to see what was wrong )

 

[lurcher]

make a very nice personal transitional plane you might just like it and you got all the parts , or when your woden comes swap all your record parts to it and use the woden parts to make a plane.

 

[rafezetter]

Don't toss the plane. The sole of that body will make a good lapping plate for diamond paste.

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/WoodworkTe ... paste.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

What a damn good idea!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I gave a friend a plane which he used every day until he died. It was his favourite. It was a total Frankenplane - at least five donors.

 

[MIGNAL]

It's a prime candidate for one of those rather fashionable transitionals. :wink: Best to keep up and join in with the brotherhood, otherwise you shall end up being cast off into the woodworking wilderness. You'd be surprised what great things come out of such adversity. In fact consider it a message from the our almighty leader Sellers, the one true leader amongst the many false celestial woodworking beings.

 

[Biliphuster]

Don't toss the plane. The sole of that body will make a good lapping plate for diamond paste.

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/WoodworkTe ... paste.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

Very clever indeed.

You have had the plates for a few years now, are they still flat?

 

[Tony Zaffuto]

Too bad you're not here in the States (only saying because of my familiarity of nearby shops). I would not be bashful in seeking out a machine shop, one with a bit of "vintage", both in machinery and workers. In such a shop you would probably come across someone with sufficient skills to weld and then grind the sole true again.

I have done this to a metal Stanley Gage I dropped. A local fabricating shop had an older gent said "no problem" and welded it up. Took it to my plant and one of my machinists fixtured and ground it true. Works as good as it ever did.

How does this translate into costs? Welding would incur minimum shop charge or about $50.00 US/hr. for that style shop. Grinding would involve about 1-1/2 times that amount, or about $125.00 US. Pretty pricey, however, for a treasured tool, and in my case, inherited from a family member, it would be worth it (but I do have to add, I had no dollars out of my pocket, as the welding shop contracts other work from me and my machinist's time was between other jobs). Yes, it can be done successfully, but at a cost.

 

[custard]

one of my machinists fixtured and ground it true.

I've noticed that American woodworkers still follow engineering convention and routinely distinguish between "fixtures" and "jigs", where as British woodworkers have tended to drop the word "fixture": and use "jig" as a catch-all expression.

This is a pity as having fixture as a separate word is useful, clarifying our thinking when designing and building. Do we need a fixture to help hold the workpiece in a particular aspect, or a jig to help guide a tool? As well as expressing our thoughts words also shape the way we think, so it's not just pedantry to say that abandoning them risks dumbing us down.

 

[Racers]

Have it welded with preheat and a nickel rod and it will be good to go.

My go to plane is a Record 5 1/2 with a welded cheek.

Pete

 

[Tony Zaffuto]

one of my machinists fixtured and ground it true.

I've noticed that American woodworkers still follow engineering convention and routinely distinguish between "fixtures" and "jigs", where as British woodworkers have tended to drop the word "fixture": and use "jig" as a catch-all expression.

This is a pity as having fixture as a separate word is useful, clarifying our thinking when designing and building. Do we need a fixture to help hold the workpiece in a particular aspect, or a jig to help guide a tool? As well as expressing our thoughts words also shape the way we think, so it's not just pedantry to say that abandoning them risks dumbing us down.

In my case, fixture is to hold the plane in such a position to grind the sole square to the sides on a large surface grinder.

In all honesty, even here in the states, I rarely hear the word "jig" used much. Regarding machinery, it seems to have been replaced with a phrase going something like "the machine set-up is.....".

Must amend my earlier post! While perusing a "Woodcraft" catalog while sipping (gulping) my morning coffee, I noticed that many items are noted as "jigs". These are primarily items used for holding wood, that will be worked with a router (power tool) to machine cut dovetails, mortises, box joints, etc.

I guess what Custard has written about happening in the UK is also common in the US!

 

[Baldyhippy]

I know its a bit late but I have foam exercise tiles on the floor of the garage where I work. I have lost count of how many things have been saved by these beauties. They are also warm underfoot when the weather starts to cool.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/df920-floor- ... 24362.html