Refurbishing

[GEPPETTO]

Hi All,

In these days I'm trying to refurbish an old plane (Stanley). I think it's a type 9 or 10. It arrived with a broken tote in the middle. I have glued it with epoxy and finished with shellac. I must say that the job is great: the crack is almost visible and the shellac finish is very beautiful (unfortunately I haven't a digital camera to share).
Now I'm in doubt whether japanning or not. I don't know if it's right to re-japan a tool which is remained the same for almost a century. It's true that the plane has a lot of rust... I don't know again.

What would you do?

 

[MikeW]

Hi Gabriele!

Being that I am slightly lazy, I only remove rust, make sure the frog mates properly to the main casting, fix the wood bits--like you did--and then call it enough.

I have seen really good re-jappaning jobs and there is some good information on the web. I have also seen some planes that have the old jappaning removed and the casting masked off and painted. Those looked good also.

Restoration, however defined, is a subject that can bring out strong emotive responses in other people. I would say to restore to the point you alone are comfortable with.

Take care, Mike