Bootsale Plane and Upgrade

[Richard T]

We went to Long Marston bright and early at half past nine yesterday morning and got a few bits; hacksaw, batteries, fruit and veg etc. and this plane:

This picture was taken post upgrade. The sharper eyed among you will have noticed that it does not have just any old iron - I spent yesterday afternoon sorting through my iron stash to find the best candidate and came up with this one:

An unfortunately half heartedly stamped Peace Eagle Works. I had settled on a Henry Taylor that was thinner than this one an more likely to fit but found it to be unacceptably soft when subjected to the file scratch test - so this one it was.

It just fits ... all I had to do was to file the slot wide enough to fit over the cap bolt head and over the lateral adjuster protrusion. The cap iron bolt just fits:

as does the yolk .... I though it wouldn't make enough contact for retracting but it does.

And no need to file the mouth out - sliding the frog back gives plenty of room.

It's the first time I've messed about souping up a #5 and it works really well. It's the best fore I've used (I gave it about a one in ten camber).

 

[jimi43]

Wow Richard...there seems to be a trend lately for putting parallel irons in woodies and tapered ones in Baileys....interesting indeed!

I'm not entirely sure what the lever cap will make of the forces to the point/line (see BB I'm learning) contact.

Moving the frog that far back so that there is a step is sure to raise some comment on this thread....(waits in anticipation...)

It's a beauty though...that's for sure.

I think you mentioned sending down a few 01 blobs to me sometime for hardening and I will be sticking some of my own in the kiln sometime this month so if you want to make a Richard T parallel for that plane complete with your own stamp on it I would be more than happy to fire it up for you.

The weather around here has been atrocious lately...I am having to resort to playing gambling games on FleaBay and then fettling in the workshop...but keeping entertained with the chamfer plane today. More on that later!

Nice to see you are keeping up the bootfair standards mate...how much may I ask?

Jim

 

[AndyT]

Nice one! There's many a beaten up old wooden jack that could yield what would now sell as a premium quality iron.
I can't remember the reason why metal plane irons have the hole for the cap iron at the bottom of the slot while woodies have it at the top - clearly in this case you have proved that it does not matter. I was looking at a similar swap on an old jack plane yesterday but the slot was too short for the parts to line up - but more on that later.

 

[Richard T]

Jim I think there is only a problem with tapered irons in planes with immovable mouths that need the mouth to stay tight. (Though I keep reminding myself that this is not the case in the wooden smoothers they might have been originally paired with, wide mouth to start with and getting wider with wear not just of the iron but the sole too )
The fact that it is higher from the frog at the front than it is at the back, is something that the lever cap is entirely ignorant of (ambivalent to and further more, couldn't give a monkey's about) ... as its two points of contact, governed by the hight of its fulcrum (cap screw) are on just the same, level surface they would be as with a parallel iron. At least I think so... And it is just the same to adjust the lever cap tension as with its normal parallel. Viz:

And the step caused by the frog being (nearly) right back is bridged easily by the ridiculously long, shallow bevel on this iron:

Not something of my doing btw; as far as I can tell, this was an untouched iron except by rust and was originally ground that way. (I wish I could focus this pinappling camera better)

Still, all said and done, it works lovely.

So I'm very pleased with it indeed.
I must stress though, that this iron is not a big old monster like the ones I have designs on for infills - it's really quite svelte for what must have been its original woodie purpose ... quite late I should think - '50s, '60s? My biggest and best would certainly not be anything like as easily adaptable.

Ooer Andy, there's a teaser ... I found that the slot was very easy to file wider; have you done drastic surgery to this short slot of yours??

 

[Richard T]

Sorry Jim; it was marked a £15 but was from dear old John so £14.

Yes - irons to heat treat; I haven't got me steel yet. Could you poss send me the details of your supplier? I have the rebate sides and sole together so won't be long now.

 

[MIGNAL]

I used an old Sorby blade on my Stanley No. 4. Unfortunately I was left with extending the yolk and filing the mouth.

 

[Vann]

What's the taper on that iron? 1° ? You may have just invented the new C-1 low-angle jack (C-1 = common pitch -1°). (hammer)

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Richard T]

I used an old Sorby blade on my Stanley No. 4. Unfortunately I was left with extending the yolk and filing the mouth.

Yup - this had put me off trying before but since I was presented with a box of about three dozen irons bought for me at an auction by my Brother out - law, I have quite a bit more choice.
As I said, I think this iron is relatively modern and quite thin compared to the usual suspects found in old woodies:

Not so wide at the business end to require mouth fiddling and quite a similar width to the Record where the yolk connects.

Both compared with a typical woodie 3/16" job.


Not quite Vann .... not quite ....