cracked plane

[AndyT]

Nice one! As I expect you know by now, V&B are still trading, but used to make a respectable line of Bedrock copies not too common in the US and even rarer over here. Well worth bringing home from the fair!

 

[Unib]

Very nice find is that Scouse. Damn, looks like I'm going to have to start getting up early on Sunday morning

 

[Vann]

Not sure if it's cracked the rust is thicker than the body!

Probably not :!: Those things aren't cast iron, but drop forged steel. Nice find.

The sole/frog mating surfaces aren't the full "bedrock". More like a ribbed version (not dissimilar to the way Stanley & Record went from full machined frog faces to ribbed faces for the surface the iron sits on). A "budget bedrock" I guess...

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Scouse]

Thanks for the info, chaps; precious little online, and no idea when it was made, but I do remember someone having one on here last year, just can't remember who...

We need to see your bootfair haul...words don't cut it ya know!!! :mrgreen:

Done!

 

[ac445ab]

I had some positive experience with damaged plane bodies. Drilling holes along the fracture can help for welding it.

Michele, a friend of mine wrote this about the argument
http://woodworkingbyhand2.blogspot.it/2 ... ialla.html

Ciao
Giuliano

 

[matthewwh]

what plane is it ? you could offer it for sale here, if its a number 3 can i buy the lever cap :lol:

Here you go Greg.

stainless lever cap for no.3

 

[Unib]

That is a really impressive repair, and much prettier than screwing repair panels to the side! Unfortunately I've only got a mig welder otherwise I'd give it a go. This is the point where I start looking at tig welders, buy one, and then realise I've spent a fortune on something that initially cost me £10 - this is why I've got no money!! :roll:

I had some positive experience with damaged plane bodies. Drilling holes along the fracture can help for welding it.

Michele, a friend of mine wrote this about the argument
http://woodworkingbyhand2.blogspot.it/2 ... ialla.html

Ciao
Giuliano

 

[Vann]

what plane is it ? you could offer it for sale here, if its a number 3 can i buy the lever cap :lol:

Here you go Greg.

stainless lever cap for no.3

Hmm... I wonder how much for a Cliffie No.3 lever-cap?

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Unib]

I actually boiught one of the No.3 Quangshen cap irons the other day and mut say they're very well made, incredible for £7.50, as they don't effect the performance of the plane (as far as I know) you can't really go wrong.

Hmm... I wonder how much for a Cliffie No.3 lever-cap?

Cheers, Vann.

 

[heimlaga]

I would definitely give that plane a fair chance. Bring it to a skilled cast iron welder and have him weld it and watch if it did warp or not. If the weld is done with proper care there is a fair chance that the repair will outlast all of us.

A crack in a piece of cast iron is a serious illness indeed but the chance of a full recovery is good with proper treatment.

 

[jimi43]

There are regularly whole No.4 1/2 on Fleabay for about a score...and bodies turn up regularly for about £14.

I am willing to bet a welder wouldn't get out of bed for less than twice that so it just seems pointless...and will still leave an ugly brass coloured scar even if done perfectly.

If it wear an old rare infill or Bailey type then maybe...just maybe it might be worth it but for a common or garden No. 4 1/2 I simply don't see it.

There was a No.5 at the bootfair today for a couple of quid but sadly...no 4 1/2 yet....but it shouldn't take long. :wink:

If the OP is in a hurry then FleaBay is the answer...FOR EXAMPLE

Jim

 

[heimlaga]

Around here a repair would cost approximately 20 and 30 euros while finding another body for it or another 4 1/2 would likely take 10 or 20 years of flea market searching and cost at least the same amount of money plus time and petrol.
Good planes are in terribly short supply in most areas so each one that gets scrapped makes the shortage even worse. It makes me sick when I see good tools in restorable condition being scrapped only because the owner happens to live in one of those few and small geographical spots where that particular tool is abundant.

Who cares if there is an ugly scar from a technically well made repair? The tool does still work properly and the repair only shows that the owner cares for it.

 

[GazPal]

I would definitely give that plane a fair chance. Bring it to a skilled cast iron welder and have him weld it and watch if it did warp or not. If the weld is done with proper care there is a fair chance that the repair will outlast all of us.

A crack in a piece of cast iron is a serious illness indeed but the chance of a full recovery is good with proper treatment.

I agree 500%

I've an old Record 712 rebate plane which had snapped after a fall. I had it brazed after pre-heating and the welder jigged it straight throughout the process. A light regrind is all it needed to return this plane to true and - in spite of the repair - it cuts and handles as beautifully as it did before the accident.

Battle scars are simply evidence of a tool's working life and aesthetics count for nothing as long as the tool works and is capable of serving it's purpose well.

 

[Unib]

I can see both points of view here, Jim is quite right in suggesting the cost of repairing a Record 4 1/2 (if indeed I could find anyone to do it) would be more than even buying a half decent plane of Fleabay. But I also agree with heimlaga and Gary – I hate to see something that has such a history as an old Record Plane body getting trashed when it could be repaired, such a bad thing if I'm the one to condemn it to the trash! I have no problem at all with having a visible repair, as heimlaga says it shows that someone has cared about the tool. I'll keep hold of the cracked plane body for now; who knows if it'll get a new lease of life in the future!

 

[Vann]

It makes me sick when I see good tools in restorable condition being scrapped only because the owner happens to live in one of those few and small geographical spots where that particular tool is abundant.

Who cares if there is an ugly scar from a technically well made repair? The tool does still work properly and the repair only shows that the owner cares for it.

You've got to be practical though.

Here's my user Record 04. it's a wartime SS model. I paid too much for it (I wanted the SS) but i't turned out to be a great little well made plane. The damage doesn't effect it and I wouldn't even consider trying to repair it.

Next, two planes with brazed repairs down one side (carried out by previous owners). The Record 05 I threw together one day when I needed a jack. It has performed surprisingly well. The Record 4½ has been poorly repaired and is out of alignment. Considering there's also a chunk out of the other side, and that after surface grinding the walls and base will probably be very thin, I certainly won't bother. It's spare parts.

Then there's a Stanley No.3. It's a good well made plane, but unfortunately cracked. This is the one I considered epoxying a piece of sheet sheet to the side, but I've since aquired a couple of 03s (including an SS model), so it's going back into the spare parts box. If I was still at the railway workshops and could have it brased and surface ground as a perk job, I would. But I'm not, and it's just not worth the cost.

Finally, three more from the graveyard :shock: . Two Stanley No.4s and a Rapier 500.

These will probably go out in the next scrap drive - 'though I like the idea of using a dead plane as a lapping plate (too late to use as a tool rest a la Alf - I've got two LV tool rests ).

Oh, and in case you're wondering, I do have some planes that aren't broken :mrgreen:

Cheers, Vann.

 

[jimi43]

Stop it Vann!!!

You're giving me nightmares!!! :mrgreen: :wink:

Jim

 

[Vann]

It was hard work jimi, smashing all those planes just for the photographs... (hammer)

Cheers, Vann.