Woodworking Forum > Woodworking Forum
Hand Planes
Jim C.:
--- Quote from: RedVise on October 04, 2013, 12:49:12 PM ---
--- Quote from: Jim C. on October 03, 2013, 10:24:29 PM --- Even the DIYer should own one of these, and know how sharpen the iron, tune it up and use it efficiently and effectively.
--- End quote ---
I have seen this expression before, tuning a plane, would like to know the basics.
Thanks
Brian
Hi Brian,
Tuning a plane is term that basically means "perfecting" the plane so that it performs at its highest optimal level. Contrary to popular belief, most planes are not ready to use right out of the box. That was particularly true of the antique planes that I plan to show you in this thread. They were mass produced items that needed a little more work on the part of the final consumer to get them cutting and functioning correctly. One of the first things a new plane, and most garage sale/flea market planes need is a super sharp iron. A REALLY sharp cutting iron is half the battle. Although it might seem sharp, the irons on new planes are about half as sharp as they need to be in order to cut properly. Old plane irons usually need to be re-ground/re-shaped (depending on its intended use) and definitely re-sharpened. Then there's the matter of the plane's sole. Many were not actually flat from the factory, and may need some lapping to get them to where they are truly flat. Moving parts need to work freely. Sometimes that's just a few drops of oil to loosen things up. Other times it's more involved rust and crud removal. The union of parts, for example the joining of the cutting iron and the chip breaker on a bench plane, need to fit perfectly, so that wood chips don't jam between them. The same can be said of the union between the frog and the sole of the plane, sometimes some light filing is necessary. For more information about hand planes, I highly recommend checking out a book called "The Handplane Book" by Garrett Hack. It's a great book that discusses the various types of planes that were manufactured over the years, as well as how to "tune" them and use them.
Now, with all that being said, if you come across a collector quality plane, you would be GROSSLY de-valuing it if you did anything to it like I just described above. Leave it in "as found" condition. Don't try to clean it, never use a wire brush or wheel on it, do not try to enhance the japanning or finishes on it. Just leave it alone. There are soooooo many user quality planes on the market that it would be a shame (almost a crime) to destroy the tool's originality. The two planes I've depicted above are mint, collector quality planes. Using them at this stage of game would de-value them. Although they're very common planes and easily found in used condition, finding them in superior, NOS condition, is rare. If you plan on using planes, which I hope you do, go for the ones that are in "user quality" condition. You'll pay a lot less for them too. Just as an example, the Stanley #4 above, in the same NOS condition is probably worth approximately $75 - $100 to a collector. The very same user quality plane could be had at a flea market for $5 - $10. If a plane is super rare, even the user quality examples can command big money, just like any other collectible tool.
Jim C.
--- End quote ---
scottg:
Jim is absolutely right about "collector quality" planes.
There are people willing to pay a lot of money for 100% factory paint on a tool.
Not almost new, but perfy perf perfect, new new new. Nobody can explain why, but old things that are still new is the biggest appeal in the world to many people. These are also the people willing to spend far and away the most money to get it. They don't want to do anything with them. They just trade them back and forth as commodities of value.
Boxes are worth even more. A simple cardboard box meant to be tossed when you got home with the tool? These are often worth more than the tool inside, by a wide margin.
So if you find a crispy new looking box from 1860, that has never been opened, with a new plane inside, it will buy you a house.
Well almost that much.
90% paint? Not so much.
90% is not enough paint for them. It has to be 100% or nothing.
90% is often not worth a nickel.
Or any one of 100 other little things, that don't mean anything to a guy cutting wood, qualifies a tool for scrap, in the collectors' world.
Perfy perf perfect, remember. Nothing else counts.
This means only 1 in 1000 planes you see are tools that collectors might really go after.
The rest you get to have cheap. As many as you want.
999 to 1? I liked these odds. :) These were good odds for me for a long time.
Unfortunately the odds are changing as more and more people are starting to restore old tools and put them back to work and finding out how good they are to use.
I was once considered a felonious vandal for restoring old tools, in the collector's world. But that is steadily slipping away. Pretty soon the fine cheap tools will be gone. So get them now if you want them.
yours Scott
Jim C.:
--- Quote from: scottg on October 11, 2013, 12:55:55 PM --- Jim is absolutely right about "collector quality" planes.
There are people willing to pay a lot of money for 100% factory paint on a tool.
Not almost new, but perfy perf perfect, new new new. Nobody can explain why, but old things that are still new is the biggest appeal in the world to many people. These are also the people willing to spend far and away the most money to get it. They don't want to do anything with them. They just trade them back and forth as commodities of value.
Boxes are worth even more. A simple cardboard box meant to be tossed when you got home with the tool? These are often worth more than the tool inside, by a wide margin.
So if you find a crispy new looking box from 1860, that has never been opened, with a new plane inside, it will buy you a house.
Well almost that much.
90% paint? Not so much.
90% is not enough paint for them. It has to be 100% or nothing.
90% is often not worth a nickel.
Or any one of 100 other little things, that don't mean anything to a guy cutting wood, qualifies a tool for scrap, in the collectors' world.
Perfy perf perfect, remember. Nothing else counts.
This means only 1 in 1000 planes you see are tools that collectors might really go after.
The rest you get to have cheap. As many as you want.
999 to 1? I liked these odds. :) These were good odds for me for a long time.
Unfortunately the odds are changing as more and more people are starting to restore old tools and put them back to work and finding out how good they are to use.
I was once considered a felonious vandal for restoring old tools, in the collector's world. But that is steadily slipping away. Pretty soon the fine cheap tools will be gone. So get them now if you want them.
yours Scott
--- End quote ---
I guess it's all a matter of opinion that I won't debate, but for the sake of clarity, I want to make sure that we're all on the same page when it comes to the actual finish on an antique hand plane. They weren't really "painted," but rather "japanned." The process involved coating some of the plane's surfaces with a black material consisting of natural asphaltum resins, dissolved in linseed oil and thinned with turpentine. The substance was then hardened onto a surface by means of baking it at high heat. The process of japanning falls somewhere between painting and enameling. It was very commonly used in the metal wares industry, and thus was an easily obtainable, relatively inexpensive way to provide a protective coating to a variety of items including hand planes and other tools. As a user and collector of old planes, I've found that various companies, like Stanley and Sargent, must have had their own secret recipes and processes for japanning tools. When comparing two planes that were manufactured in the same era, by the two different companies, I've found that the quality and consistency in their applications is different. Generally speaking, the japanning on the Stanleys seemed a little more durable in my opinion.
Jim C.
RedVise:
--- Quote from: Jim C. on October 10, 2013, 12:00:42 PM ---
Hi Brian,
Tuning a plane is term that basically means "perfecting" the plane so that it performs at its highest optimal level. Contrary to popular belief, most planes are not ready to use right out of the box. That was particularly true of the antique planes that I plan to show you in this thread. They were mass produced items that needed a little more work on the part of the final consumer to get them cutting and functioning correctly. One of the first things a new plane, and most garage sale/flea market planes need is a super sharp iron. A REALLY sharp cutting iron is half the battle. Although it might seem sharp, the irons on new planes are about half as sharp as they need to be in order to cut properly. Old plane irons usually need to be re-ground/re-shaped (depending on its intended use) and definitely re-sharpened. Then there's the matter of the plane's sole. Many were not actually flat from the factory, and may need some lapping to get them to where they are truly flat. Moving parts need to work freely. Sometimes that's just a few drops of oil to loosen things up. Other times it's more involved rust and crud removal. The union of parts, for example the joining of the cutting iron and the chip breaker on a bench plane, need to fit perfectly, so that wood chips don't jam between them. The same can be said of the union between the frog and the sole of the plane, sometimes some light filing is necessary. For more information about hand planes, I highly recommend checking out a book called "The Handplane Book" by Garrett Hack. It's a great book that discusses the various types of planes that were manufactured over the years, as well as how to "tune" them and use them.
Jim C.
--- End quote ---
Jim C. Thanks for that info!
Brian
scottg:
Again 1000% true
Japanning is a very early form of hardened enamel paint. Not quite the fused glass enamel jewelers use, but certainly harder than regular paint.
And its a pain in the butt!!
Its as thick as molasses in the wintertime.
You paint it on, air dry overnight, and then fire it. Not once, but at least 3 times to truly harden.
If you try to bake it all the way up to final heat in one pass, it bubbles on you..... (grrrr)
[Regular paint can be fired too btw. Any traditional oil based alkyd enamel (rustoleum etc).
But you have to fire even longer, and more times working up to final heat. (bake for 1/2 hour, ...cool it down. Bake again for an hour, ...cool again. and so forth, until final heat and hardness occurs)
It takes --a lot-- more coats because true japan paint is so thick.
But in the end it will harden to a very durable finish itself. I have done it a number of times and Wiktor does it everyday on his restored-better-than-new Millers Falls hand drills. ]
The factories did this by just dunking them (once for most companies, twice for Stanley, I think) and then firing after. The bright parts, or bare metal parts, were sanded off smooth afterward.
They used a form of precision sanding called linishing. Its still in use today.
If you drop off your cylinder head to get milled at the machine shop, they actually sand it.
True milling or high precision surface grinding takes too long, and its overkill.
Linishing is close enough and its a whole lot quicker.
The plane companies were going to machine these surfaces anyway, so why not just wait until after it had been painted?
I am pretty sure Stanley did all this twice. Nobody else comes close to the thickness of finish Stanley used before WW11.
I have some alphaltum japan, made to the original recipe (as good as could be anyway) and even though it is thick enough to stand a brush up in, it still takes at least 2 complete fired coats to make a finish as thick as Stanley used.
Neither Sargent, Millers Falls, Auburn or Ohio are anywhere near as thick.
yours Scott
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