Oh Dear

[Harbo]

I was preparing a piece of softwood to repair a window cill.
Rather than use my router table I dug out my Marples 044 to cut a rain drip.

Things were going fine until I hit a knot then a metal hitting floor sound as bits fell down:

Don't think it is repairable?

Rod

 

[blackrodd]

A good welder will MIG weld that for you, even if it is cast iron.
One of My friends welded a block plane for me that I bought from E bay for £5.00. last year, it broke off along where you're thumb fits.
He's done loads of welding in his work place.
Regards Rodders

 

[Argus]

Sad news........

I'm not sure if it's an interchangeable fit in terms of rods, screws etc., but I have a spare Record 044 body and skate/fence that you can have for the cost of postage. I think that it's 'War Finish', so not as shiny as some of the later ones.

 

[Harbo]

That's a very kind offer and well worth a punt - I'll PM you.

Rod

 

[Argus]

That's a very kind offer and well worth a punt - I'll PM you.

Rod

I'm assuming that Marples and Record shared a bit more than the same foundry.
It does have all the bits and screws except for the rods, sliding depth stop and blade clamp.

Perhaps some of the other members will know about compatibility?

 

[bugbear]

Following another thread, where I pointed out that buying an incomplete tool and looking for parts
is expensive, you are in the relatively fortunate position of having the parts
and needing the main casting.

This should be solvable, although the Marples #44 is a good deal less common than the Record.

BugBear

 

[-Matt-]

A good welder will MIG weld that for you, even if it is cast iron.
One of My friends welded a block plane for me that I bought from E bay for £5.00. last year, it broke off along where you're thumb fits.
He's done loads of welding in his work place.
Regards Rodders

MIG'ing cast isn't usually the best way. Cast iron is porous and a MIG (typically unless set up for other materials) will be running steel wire which doesn't quite mix with the existing cast properly and sort of 'sits' on the parent metal. It doesn't penetrate the material as it would with steel.

A stick (arc/MMA) welder with nickel rods will acheive the best results, with a blowtorch to heat the surrounding area first (to take the stresses out) and another gentle 'feathering' heat after the welding followed by being buried in sand to allow the metal to cool down as slowly as possible.


-Matt-

 

[Vann]

I think (and I hope I'm wrong) that there are minor differences between the Record and the Marples, such as the rods are different diameters. I may be thinking of the 043. Anyway, nothing ventured, nothing gained - just be prepared for a bit of disappointment, or a bit of machining.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[bugbear]

This is where we need a collector - who own BOTH a Record and Marples #044 and can tell
us, with confidence, wether they differ at all.

BugBear

 

[Argus]

An interesting point.............. interesting enough to check what I have on the shelf.

Both the Record 043 and the Marples 040 equivalent have rods that are 7.1mm in diameter.

The Record 044, 045 and 050, plus the Stanley 45 and 55 that I can measure have rods that are a nominal 10mm. Individual variations are ranging from 9.68 mm up to 9.9. Effectively, size for size they seem to all fit. (Nominal 1/4" and 3/8" in old money)

If Harbo can mike the Marples rods we'll know for sure.

The mobile post office comes around the villages tomorrow so I'll post it then.

All best

 

[DTR]

Just a word of caution when comparing plough / combi planes.... I used to have two Record 050s. One has the common plain rods that are held by a lateral set screw. The other had fence rods that were threaded at the ends and screwed straight into the plane body. So it seems you can't even trust one manufacturer to follow a standard...

 

[Harbo]

My Marples measure 9.55mm (0.375") - nominal ⅜"?
Rods will not really be a problem as I can machine any to fit

Rod

 

[bugbear]

My Marples measure 9.55mm (0.375") - nominal ⅜"?
Rods will not really be a problem as I can machine any to fit

Rod

I'd be more worried about depth adjuster engagement, blade clamp, depth stop.

As you say, rods are easy!

BugBear

 

[Harbo]

The parts from Argus arrived this lunchtime and the good news is that they are all compatible!
It seems that all the Record and Marple bits, threads and sizes are the same.
The Marple doesn't have the fine adjustment mechanism though.

Many thanks Argus it's nice to have it working again.

Rod

 

[bugbear]

The parts from Argus arrived this lunchtime and the good news is that they are all compatible!
It seems that all the Record and Marple bits, threads and sizes are the same.
The Marple doesn't have the fine adjustment mechanism though.

Many thanks Argus it's nice to have it working again.

Rod

Good to hear.

I can't give you a date, but I don't think the Record always had the fine adjust, and that Record also added a sideways-clamping screw, since using the fine-adjust can actually move the blade sideways away from the body.

BugBear

 

[Argus]

Glad to hear that they all fit.

It came in a box full of bits and pieces donkeys years ago along with a complete Record 044 and it's good to see that it's back in employment.

I have never used it so you may care to have a look at the skate alignment for flatness and see if there are any machine marks that affect its performance; most Record / Stanley small combis that I've encountered benefit from some attention to the undercarriage.


Best regards

 

[n0legs]

=D> Argus.
Tell you what guys, we've got a brilliant little community here.

 

[Harbo]

Too true n0legs

Here it is back together again:

Rod