Plane restoration job, getting better

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tobytools

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Evening gent,
Here's a job I did last week or so.
I picked this spires up off eBay cheap, i think most where put off from the amount of work needed or the fact it was over cleaned (scratched brass)
When I received this plane, once the iron was sharpened it worked... But the old repair was dreadful brass screw through tote vertically and the worst joining ever. so I had in mind to replace the old repair but keep the top original rosewood of the tote.
There is a vertical screw going from the underside of tote upwards (like most of the design) for strength.
Trying to unscrew this was impossible :s and I couldn't think why. "Maby it's a super hard glue" so after some advice I boiled the kettle, "not for tea" and poured over the areas in question to soften the bond, this worked! Only with the top half of the tote and what I saw shocked me, the reason I couldn't unscrew as because it was in fact a bolt with the nut!! The top of the tote was hollow with poxy filing it. Not a bad idea originally but for me this sucked, the top I the tote was cracked and just not going to do. The bottom section couldn't be removed in the same fashion so I cut the lower part off and morticed out the remaining wood (oak I think) to allow me to fit new part.
I even had a suitable piece of wood to replace the lower portion.
I'd like to say I carved and crafted the "now" replacement but I didn't. A previous infill job I did I replace both infill and kept them as templates and spares, you've guessed it, I used that tote. I had to shape the tennon to a tight fit and sand of old finish, the wood was mahogany. once again using my powder stains I coloured it to replicate rosewood and I'm very happy with the end result.
The new coloured tote was then glued into the now morticed slot. I may add a screw for extra support horizontally through the tote into the rear infill.
For now it's fine and works a treat, I tested it on some cherrie and it worked beautifully.
There is some damage to the front infill but this I will leave as I don't want to change to much.
Hopefully this repair will be classed as a craftsman repair and not a bodge job.

Please feel free to share advice or anything. I'm always looking for ways to improve.
Thanks guys.
Sorry i blabbed on and on.

TT
 

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Glad it worked out as you intended Toby....and the idea of using infill spares proves that you should never throw anything away because you never know when you're going to need them!

It will be good for another hundred or so years now and looks superb!

You may want to turn your pictures around and repost them though. I have a crook in my neck now!

Jim
 
Nice to see one of those brought back to life. Oddly, just an hour ago I was using the identical tool which sits on my bench and is the "go to" plane most of the time.
 
Thanks for your kind words Jimi and you advice through out this restoration, it's most appreciated :)
.cheers dickm, I love these types of plane and now that's she up and running properly, I've put my 4.5 away. With the higher angle these beasts can tackle any job at smoothing.
Once you know how to adjust this type of plane they are a joy to use, same with woodies.

Without giving much away....I believe Stewart had a twin ;)

Cheers
TT
 
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