Tuning a No.7

[TobyT]

Sorry, another thread on tuning an old plane. General ideas I have picked up from other threads and links. Couple of specific questions though.

I picked up this Stanley No.7 (Made in the US, seller was very particular about his point) at a bootfair back end of last year. It has since sat in my shed waiting for me to find some time and temperatures above freezing.

General overview


As you can see from the next couple of photos the blade is a little corroded. Am I going to have problems with this, or is it better just to buy a replacement blade?



Finally, this picture shows the mouth. The back (towards the right) is a little scored and nicked. Will this affect it at all? Shall I file it out (perhaps I need to anyway to fit a thicker replacement blade)? Or shall I just leave it?

 

[mickthetree]

Hi Toby

First thought is that the mouth looks skewed. Is it just a trick of the camera? If so you will probably have to file it square which will mean opening it out anyway.

You'll need to make sure the mouth is square to the edge of the sole as well.

I'm sure that blade will clean up just fine, but if you do have to open the mouth you would be better off with a Clifton blade or something of similar thickness.

I'm looking for a number 7 again as I sold a couple I had to buy my clifton. Missing one since though! Hope this one works out for you.

How flat is the sole over its length?

 

[TobyT]

Mick,

Mouth is square, or as far as I can see by eye. Camera trick is making it look skewed in the photo.

Sole, as best as I could measure it using a cheapo aluminium rule, seems flat.

Toby

 

[mickthetree]

In which case I would sharpen up the blade and see how it performs.

 

[Racers]

Hi, Toby

The back of the mouth isn't important, the front is as it holds the wood down before the blade. I wouldn't bother doing any thing to it.
The blade looks well worn there isn't much distance to the slot, so I would buy a new one and a new cap iron (clifton ones are good), plus it will take loads of time to clean the old one up.

Pete

 

[mickthetree]

eh? nothing wrong with that blade! Load of life left in it.

I concur on the clifton blade though. My number 8 is a dream to use with one.

 

[Racers]

Hi, Mick

Its just that the pitting under the cap iorn can take some removing if its deep, so a new blade and cap iron might be less hassle.

Pete

 

[bugbear]

Back of the blade looks pitted beyond redemption, which is sad when there's so much depth of blade left.

Replacement blade time, methinks.

Many out there - just depends where you're ordering from. Clifton, Ray Iles, Smooth Cut (Samurai) are all damn fine.

BugBear

 

[mickthetree]

point taken. the pitting does look bad.

There you go toby, your mind made up, you'll have to replace it!

 

[Harbo]

You can check the sole if you have a good flat surface like a piece of glass. Coat the bottom with a permanent marker (or Engineers Blue).
Fix some wet and dry with some thin oil to the glass and plane away (blade retracted). That will soon show up the bad spots.

Rod

 

[Racers]

Hi,

Dont forget about Ron Hock http://www.hocktools.com/

Pete

 

[Alf]

I picked up this Stanley No.7 (Made in the US, seller was very particular about his point)

I do hope you counteracted this by pointing out the lever cap was made in Sheffield? :wink:

Looks okay to me. I agree with my learned colleagues that the iron is as good as toast - looks like someone kept it in a shallow puddle for a while. Don't worry about the mouth unless your replacement iron needs more room, in which case it makes sense to file the back of the mouth rather than the front anyway. As for which iron, I've just worked out I've used Cliftons, Hocks, and Iles as replacements over the years - all fine. Wouldn't sniff at Quangsheng either, on the basis of the one in my #3. Might as well use a pin to choose really. Must admit to havering over the Lee Valley ones for my recently acquired M-F jack though, simply 'cos the idea of that already lapped back is so darn appealing. What can I say? I'm a lazy blighter. :lol:

 

[bugbear]

Wouldn't sniff at Quangsheng either, on the basis of the one in my #3.

Good point - that one's not on my mental list, but should be.

Hock are good, but end up being rather expensive in the UK.

BugBear

 

[jimi43]

All the above plus I agree with changing the iron..I'd change it anyway to a QS...which, for me is something I want to try anyway this summer...when I can afford the luxury of one.

At present my No.7 still has the original iron and it is fine for what I do.

I would change the lever cap as ALF points out it belongs to a Record...IF you are wanting to get back to originality. Otherwise...I wouldn't bother...there are plenty of perfectly good hybrids out there!

Jim

P.S....look at rocksteadyeddy's thead at your peril!!! :mrgreen: :wink:

 

[CroppyBoy1798]

By chance would the frog be a Record also? Looks like those pre 1960/70's solid frogs? Stanley got rid of them a lot sooner, right? Plus it looks to have a bit of blue in the screw recesses?

 

[Racers]

Hi,

Looks like a Record or an old Stanley, what does it say on the lateral lever?


Pete

 

[mtt.tr]

My personal thought are that the iron makes the biggest amount offf diffrence by boss proved this to me. If you can afford it i would a ray isles thick blade in they are fantastic

 

[Vann]

By chance would the frog be a Record also? Looks like those pre 1960/70's solid frogs?

As far as I can tell Stanley UK never made those solid frogs. So it's either a pre mid-1930s USA frog (to match the sole) or a pre-1960s Record one.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[TobyT]

Oops, until Alf pointed it out I had not noticed that it had a Record level cap! Oh well, its a user not a collectable so I will stick with it.

I've just had a quick look in the shed. Despite the photos showing it as blue the paint on the frog is a black. A quick dating using the interweb suggests it's a 1929/1930 sole, so based on Vann's comments I would say that the frog is original with the sole.

Thanks for the advice. As the plane only cost £25 I will try a QS blade and see how that goes.

I'm not going to go down the line of the No7 in the other thread, it's glorious but I don't have the time/patience/skill to achieve the same result. I'll just fettle and go.
Toby

 

[Alf]

Wouldn't worry about it, Toby. I bought a #10 once and took three days to notice it was a Frankenplane. Still works, which is the important thing.