My very recent aquisition:
Not quite as pristine as that picture suggests. No markings on the plane. It obviously saw very little use. In fact I don't think any sort of finish had ever been applied to the plane. It came with a Marples iron (not very accurately made) and an I.Sorby chipbreaker that looked like it was made yesterday. The chipbreaker needed a bit of work, it had a slight twist and the angle of deflection of the shaving was much too steep. That was a relatively quick fix. The blade needs much more work, largely because the chipbreaker won't lie flat at the top of the keyhole section. The blade is effectively introducing another twist on the chipbreaker and it's quite a large one. This is all obviously from the time when British manufacturing sank down into the gutter (otherwise known as the late 60's). Either that or too many of the workforce had discovered what their psychedelic rock star heroes were smoking.
Fortunately I had an I.Sorby blade to go along with it's friend the I.Sorby chipbreaker. This blade obviously made from a time of sobriety.
There was more bad news.
Quite a few end grain cracks, front, back and in the chute of the plane. Yet even more bad news when I looked closely at the sole of the plane: woodworm. It had obviously been stored in damp conditions, which is why the plane felt very furry to the touch. At least the woodworm damage was very shallow and confined to a very small area. Out came the superglue to fill the cracks and the woodworm damage.
After all that it works! but it did take some effort to get there. The Marples blade is going to take a bit of serious filing. It's a good size for rough dimensioning. I don't find the hand cramped at all but then again my hands are probably the size of the next American president. :shock: . . . and no jokes please.
Not quite as pristine as that picture suggests. No markings on the plane. It obviously saw very little use. In fact I don't think any sort of finish had ever been applied to the plane. It came with a Marples iron (not very accurately made) and an I.Sorby chipbreaker that looked like it was made yesterday. The chipbreaker needed a bit of work, it had a slight twist and the angle of deflection of the shaving was much too steep. That was a relatively quick fix. The blade needs much more work, largely because the chipbreaker won't lie flat at the top of the keyhole section. The blade is effectively introducing another twist on the chipbreaker and it's quite a large one. This is all obviously from the time when British manufacturing sank down into the gutter (otherwise known as the late 60's). Either that or too many of the workforce had discovered what their psychedelic rock star heroes were smoking.
Fortunately I had an I.Sorby blade to go along with it's friend the I.Sorby chipbreaker. This blade obviously made from a time of sobriety.
There was more bad news.
Quite a few end grain cracks, front, back and in the chute of the plane. Yet even more bad news when I looked closely at the sole of the plane: woodworm. It had obviously been stored in damp conditions, which is why the plane felt very furry to the touch. At least the woodworm damage was very shallow and confined to a very small area. Out came the superglue to fill the cracks and the woodworm damage.
After all that it works! but it did take some effort to get there. The Marples blade is going to take a bit of serious filing. It's a good size for rough dimensioning. I don't find the hand cramped at all but then again my hands are probably the size of the next American president. :shock: . . . and no jokes please.
