Getting Stuck Rear Handle Off of a Old Record Plane?

[MrDavidRoberts]

Got an old no4 record, wanted to sand the handles and refinish them , however.. This is the first time I have a plane which only has 1 screw ( actually just a Nut) for the rear handle.
Question- Is there any special technique to getting the handle off? I took the retaining nut off but it doesn't comes off, maybe comes 1mm but that's it. Is it just stuck or I'm doing something wrong?

Did not wanted to use brute force just in case I could damage something.

 

[AndyT]

You just need to wiggle it a bit. Inside the handle there is a threaded rod, with the bottom end screwed into a boss on the plane sole. It will be a tight fit and may be rusted in. Sometimes, if the plane has been used with the handle loose, the rod can get bent, which makes it tight.
There is also a little stud forward of the rod, which fits in a recess under the handle to stop it twisting.
Try knocking the handle down the 1mm it has moved and it should come free. You could also try wedging or levering between the bottom of the handle and the casting, avoiding denting the wood or scratching the metal. And remember that it won't be lifting up vertically, but in line with the angled rod.

 

[Racers]

A pull and a twist should free it, I scrape the varnish off and stain and wax.

You should make sure the frog is fitting well to the sole, the machining on the bit visible is terrible.

Pete

 

[Chris152]

If it's that solid does it need to come off? I cleaned a couple using Paul Sellers' technique of scraping gently with the side of a chisel, the old varnish comes off easily and then just needs some oil or whatever.

 

[D_W]

light taps with a rubber mallet or dead blow hammer if it's actually stuck on something. If it doesn't come off without significant force, then you might be better off leaving it in situ. If it's gotten small and the boss can't reach the top of the handle cavity, then trim a few cheap hardware store washers (and drill them out if needed) to fit.

Perhaps vigorous work will help it to loosen.

 

[ED65]

Try knocking the handle down the 1mm it has moved and it should come free.

I think once you've 'broken the seal' you're generally home free, it's then only a matter of getting past the mechanical lock formed by the geometry of the rod, which may be bent as you say, the drilled hole (sometimes not straight!) and the stud engaging in the recess at the toe.

It is possible to find handles which seem to be almost glued down from the original wood finish sticking to/melding with the paint. Had this lift a big flake of paint from the sole once.

If it's that solid does it need to come off?

I think it really does if you want to do any sort of full refurb, which would include refinishing the handles. But of course neither handle has to come off just to get a plane working again.

I cleaned a couple using Paul Sellers' technique of scraping gently with the side of a chisel, the old varnish comes off easily and then just needs some oil or whatever.

I have a cheap (read: poor quality) old chisel that I keep especially for this purpose, the steel is soft enough that I can easily raise a burr along the long arrises with a knife steel.

 

[MrDavidRoberts]

Cheers, got it off after completely soaking it in wd40 + LOTS of force/wiggling + actually there was a special kind of twist and turn you had to do to manoeuvre it off. So much Gunk which had just glued itself together..

After sanding it and finishing with a coat of oil, came up really nice.

 

[ED65]

In terms of work needed to put a plane into service, I haven't found that coarser machining necessarily causes any sort of issue as ugly as we find it. With the frog's mating surfaces as long as they're flat/coplanar that's what really matters, so I would hold off on lapping the frog and/or its mating surfaces until you've tested how the plane works. This goes double for lapping the sole in case that was the plan.

In case it's of interest there's this thread, Re-commissioning old planes, what's worth your time?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

None of this is worthwhile, of course. Just buy a LN or a Veritas.