Coopers plane saved.

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

This was used by the last barrel cooper at Ushers Brewery. He was long gone when the brewery went.

It was in a very sad state.

Those 4 dark brown rings are steel screws that have all but rusted out.

The hole is what's was the front handle.

The blade was work soft.

The steel screws were drilled out with a hole saw. The dowels are cut from another dead wood plane.
The for end had the old handle hole drilled and filled. The wedge is used to hold in the block repair.

Hand scraped true.

The front end repairs were then re drilled to take a suitable old fore handle.

The blade was hardened and tempered. The line you see is were the steel was hand forged onto soft steel.

The sole was very nice to work.
The meths took the dirt into the crack and stained it.

7

This side showes the old screw and nail holes.

It does cut well. The weight is nice to handle.

 

[steve355]

Nice. Great to save these old things. What finish did you use?

Was the knob on the toe originally a handle, or strike button? I don’t have any knowledge of cooper‘s planes. I guess a knob would double as a strike button.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Nice. Great to save these old things. What finish did you use?

Was the knob on the toe originally a handle, or strike button? I don’t have any knowledge of cooper‘s planes. I guess a knob would double as a strike button.

The finish was French polish, then a good lavender Bee's wax.

The front knob was copied from a similar plane I saw in a Local museum.