Worth fixing ?

[Sheffield Tony]

I have just acquired a largish wooden plane by Sims of London. It is about 26" long,with a 2 3/8" wide iron. I bought it on a whim to have a go with a larger woodie.

The bad news is that the carrier managed to screw up badly, and burst the packaging, losing the wedge. All the other bits made it though. Condition wise, it has been adjusted rather heavy handedly and had some heavy hammer dings on both ends. It looks like the wood has moved a bit and there is some cracking along the grain of the plane body. There are also maybe half a dozen worm holes. The iron has some pitting, but it looks avoidable by strategic grinding back.

So, what to do with it ? I could:

Make a new wedge (suggestions how to blend it with the patina of the plane would be much appreciated)
Grind back the iron to clean metal
Treat the wormholes
Squeeze glue into the cracks
Check/flatten the sole, if themovement has affected it,

- and attempt to use it, or:

Take a large crosscut saw, make three cuts, put it in the stove and keep warm for an evening, saving the irons for a future project.

Or more likely, the third way - leave it on a shelf for a while whilst I consider/forget it. Any suggestions ?

 

[MickCheese]

Always worth trying to save it first.

Mick

 

[MIGNAL]

First option. Forget trying to blend the wedge with the rest of the plane body unless it happens to be valuable, rare or have some historic significance. Just get it going as a working Plane.

 

[AndyT]

Fourth way - I have a similar size plane in even worse condition - more woodworm, and it had been used as a chopping block. It came in a box of more interesting tools and I'm only looking on it as a source of donor beech if I can find a good bit left inside. You're welcome to have the wedge which isn't too bad. It won't fit exactly but it might be possible to adjust it well enough to decide if your plane is a keeper.

If you want it, pm me your address; if you don't, that's fine too.

 

[GazPal]

I'd do all you've said, but avoid gluing cracks until you've re-humidified it, because the cracks may close. Another option - as a means of closing cracks - is to soak it with raw linseed oil, but the downside is the heightened risk that the sole may distort.

You may be able to steam out the dings in each end of your plane by using a hot iron on a damp cloth.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Sims is quite an early maker - 1817-1829 according to Goodman BPM II.

I think I'd take up AndyT's generous offer, and have a go at refurbishment. Nothing ventured....

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I somehow thought you wouldn't have me burn it. I'll have a go at getting it useable again. And I will take up that very kind offer from AndyT !

 

[Aled Dafis]

I'm afraid that I'm in the other camp, if it's badly cracked and missing the wedge and full of worm holes, I'd burn it and either make a new body, or just pick another up at a car boot/ebay. There's loads of them out there!

Aled

 

[Corneel]

A Sims benchplane? Send it to me!

No of course, just joking. But early bench planes are not so common, so I really would try to save it.

 

[jimi43]

The only planes you burn are those made of witch hazel...and only then if they don't float when ducked in a pond!!! :mrgreen:

I'd stick some linseed on it too...watch it come back to life then use it for a bit...you may come to love it Tony.

Jim

 

[Sheffield Tony]

A huge thank you to AndyT - the replacement wedge arrived in the post yesterday. And it looks just the part - it is just the right width. I haven' t tried it in the plane yet - the plane is at work, waiting along with a Record 043 to be smuggled home when the OH isn't looking ...

Looking closely, the woodworm holes are mostly old and filled with wax, only one looks fairly fresh - is it worth treating ? I have permethrin and a syringe ...

 

[Corneel]

Yes. Flood the holes with the vermin and after repairing the plane keep it waxed to prevent new worm invasions.

 

[ColeyS1]

I wonder if putting it in a couple of carrier bags, then in the freezer overnight would kill any of the remaining nasties ? :???:

 

[Corneel]

I understood that just freezing isn't good enough. The worms will be killed but the eggs might survive.

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I know some of the green woodworkers stick things in the microwave for a little while to see them off. But I would need rather a big microwave for this plane ! Perhaps I'll inject some permethrin into the fresher holes as a precaution.

 

[Carl P]

Thought you might like this picture with new wedge/new but stained side by side, just in case you need to do any touching up. Obviously the plane wedge is well, plain (just boiled linseed oil), and the gauge wedge has been given a false patina (looks slightly better in the photo). I stained it with dark walnut first (twice), then with Peruvian mahogany, then walnut again, and finished it off with an unbleached shellac, I've found that varying the proportions between these three allows for a lot variation - if anyone has any other methods I'd love to hear them.


Cheerio,

Carl

 

[Corneel]

Thanks for the picture Carl. Patinating is a job I have to do on my jointer too. I had to plane the wedge to get a better fit, but it looks rather ugly now.

Do you have more pistures of the plane? I am curious how it looks.

 

[jimi43]

I find that leather dyes work really well for progressive darkening...mottling and deep staining....

The reason why I'm dressed like a surgeon is that this stuff goes on and doesn't come off for ages on skin....

Mixing different browns, reds hues, and yellows will give you a close match to the colour of the aged wood...

Here we see the same dye...bottom one layer...top multiple layers. The key is to get the hue right...then it's just a case of darkening....I'm a little on the red side here...

Mahoganys tend towards the red...beeches towards the yellow/orange. With light and dark brown, yellow and light red you can get virtually every shade in wood you need.

Before:

And after...

You can always tune it later as the repair itself ages.....and keep the swatch and notes on colour mixes...I keep them with the rest of the mix and just as meths if it dries out....you will need to mix it again for another job...trust me!

Jim

 

[Carl P]

Here's some more pictures - the smaller is 18" long with a 2 1/2" iron, I got it in a box of planes I bought a while ago, it had no iron or wedge at the time, eventually an iron turned up so I made the wedge to fit, no makers name, but the previous owner liberally stamped his name (J. Morrison) which gives me an irrisistable urge to hum 'Riders on the Storm' - little things please little minds I guess. The only problem is the sole is not flat, it cuts beautifully and then stops and I haven't got round to sorting it out yet.

The larger is 22" long with a 2 1/2" iron, no makers name but a James Howarth iron, interestingly the handle is offset to the right, a patch has been let into the sole which means the mouth is very tight - I haven't had time to try this one yet.

If you're interested in a photo of something more specific I'll do my best to oblige, but as you can see the mediocrity of my equipment is matched by my inability to use it!

Thanks Jim for the tips on leather dyes - I will investigate, especially thanks for the rubber gloves tip - that's saved me from walking around with oddly coloured fingers for a while!

 

[Corneel]

Nice planes Carl. Offset totes seem to indicate earlier date in English planes. This one surely has just a little bit of offset? I can't quite make it out in the picture. The handles also look like they have been set back quite far to the rear. There was a discussion lately that the handle was much closer to the iron on the 18th century planes.

And now I am also very curious how Tony's Sims plane looks like. :wink: