Sliding Bevel Boot Sale Find

[Spindle]

Hi

I've been after a nice sliding bevel for a while and when I saw this seized example at a boot sale for £1 I thought I'd have a go at restoring it.

Here it is as bought and still seized:

And here's the blade on removal:

The blade was given treatment by electrolysis - my charger was running at 15 V and 1.5 A

And after one hour

The crud was sympathetically, (I hope), removed from the body which was then given three coats of wax, as was the blade and here's the result

Quite pleased with the results , but any pointers from you guys would be gratefully received.

Regards Mick

 

[matthewwh]

Great job Mick.

Anyone for tomato soup?

 

[Racers]

Good job there Mick, can't see any thing wrong with that, you haven't over polished the brass which is the usual mistake.

And made some Iron brew :shock:

Nice to see a bevel with out the screw slot mangled up.

Pete

 

[AndyT]

+1.

To my mind, that is putting it back into the state it would have been in, if well looked after by a careful owner. Not the same thing as stripping back to bare metal and wood.
It is once again a tool you would want to pick up and use.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

I won an almost identical one off Ebay about 18 months ago. The blade is 10 1/2" overall, and the stock 6" from base to centre of screwhole. About halfway down the rosewood on the screwhead side, there's a very faint maker's mark stamped on - 'I Sorby Sheffield' with the Mr Punch trademark between the two.

It's a lovely tool to use. Not too large, and it doesn't suffer the problem my 1980s Marples one with a wing-nut to lock it does - the wingnut seems adept at being in the way, and preventing the stock laying tight to the job. Having to lock the Sorby with a screwdriver is a small price to pay for it's all-round utility.

 

[matthewwh]

Does the wingnut stick out beyond the width of the stock?

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Does the wingnut stick out beyond the width of the stock?

Can't speak for today's production, but it does on mine. Keep meaning to make a knurled brass knob to replace it, but haven't got a 1/4" BSW tap in stock. I'll do it one day.

I don't often use a bevel, but have over the last few months. The Sorby has done all one could expect of it - firm-setting, nice size - just feels like a quality tool. The Marples, for want of a decent knob, languishes.....small details matter in tool design.

 

[Jacob]

If it's the single lever wing nut you will find that it's possible to take out the screw and turn it a notch or two in its octagonal housing, thus setting the lever to lie within the handle width. A clever small detail of tool design, often overlooked.

This is the one:

 

[G S Haydon]

A very handsome looking bevel. Kudos to you!

 

[Cheshirechappie]

If it's the single lever wing nut you will find that it's possible to take out the screw and turn it a notch or two in its octagonal housing, thus setting the lever to lie within the handle width. A clever small detail of tool design, often overlooked.

This is the one:

On mine it's a wingnut (two sticky-out ears), not a lever (one sticky-out ear).

It did cross my mind to just saw or file off the excess, but you end up with something a bit too small to grip comfortably to lock the tool. A knurled knob would be a much more elegant solution, and will only take ten minutes in the lathe when I finally get round to aquiring the taps.

Edit to add;

Actually, cancel that. I've just been out to the workshop and filed the excess bits off it's ears. It has cured the interference problem. Looks a bit odd, though, and it's not the most finger-friendly tightening device I've ever used. But it works.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Hi Mick

I have one that is identical to yours. It is a solid tool. What I don't like is the need to adjust it with a screwdriver, which is not as convenient as others that use levers and other thingies. This one requires the screw being tightened until it is just under tight so that it can be moved into position, then secured.

Regards from Perth

Derek