Received 3 hand planes in the mail today! - Woodworking Talk

Dwillems26 · 02-22-2012, 04:54 AM

I've been wanting to get some planes and get into the groove of using them. I've heard a lot of good things and am a bit jealous of these great woodworkers that use these and many other hand tools. But they're soooo expensive, so I've been researching older ones thinking I can revive them, but even then I didn't want to pay the money to see if I can hopefully fix it lol. Then I realized that my dad had a few while I was growing up, one that sat in one spot my whole life... until now! He gave me 3 planes! Two of these planes were in the house/garage when he bought it somewhere around 1980. The shed had a small cabinet that I had no idea why someone would even bother putting it there, and all it had was one plane sitting there, never moved. It turned out to be a Bed Rock plane. Even though these are in rough shape I am excited to get them and hopefully can fix them enough to use them well.

The bed rock plane I've figured out is Stanley's first versions of planes, and through the rust I find it says No. 604. Reading through some other posts I believe it is a #3C plane. But still unsure of it's date. It's 9" long, 2 7/16 wide, and the iron is 2" wide. The back handle is missing but I can replace it, everything else is there, I don't see any cracks and the knobs/screws turn freely, off to a good start. But the bottom is slightly pitted so I'm hoping it's not that bad and I can sand it down some.

The second plane in the middle is a Stanley No. 220. I haven't researched this one yet, plus I haven't measured it, but it's in decent shape besides needing some cleaning up and sharpening.

The third plane I have no idea what it is, all I can find on it is "Made in USA". It's the one my dad bought I think, a cheapo one. And I think he's only used it to scrape the paint off the house lol. If anyone recognizes this last plane on the right of the picture please let me know.

It's going to take me some time to get them cleaned up since I have so many other things going on, but I'm pretty ecstatic right now!

Dwillems26 · 02-22-2012, 04:56 AM

here's another picture of the unknown plane

tcleve4911 · 02-22-2012, 06:43 AM

I'll be watching this one

Please do a restoration thread with some shaving results.

Thanks for sharing

joesbucketorust · 02-22-2012, 08:53 AM

The one on the right does look like a generic stanley knock-off. They were made in the millions so without a name it's really impossible to tell more. The design is standard, so if the iron is decent or if you find a good replacement blade then it will be a decent user.

The bedrock is a great version of the 4C. The numbering is the same as the regular 2-8 bench planes but run 602 to 608 so if the body says 604, it's like a 4. Great score! The 604C was made 1900 to 1943. If you can get a pic of the logo on the iron we can probably narrow it down to a 5 year period for you.

Dwillems26 · 02-22-2012, 01:36 PM

I've never done electrolysis before but am intrigued so I started the process with the smaller cheapo hand plane. I just used stuff I had around the house, baking soda, a bucket, rebar, and bailing wire. I zip tied the rebar to the side of the bucket so they won't shift around, and tied them together with bailing wire. Then am suspending the parts in the water with a block of wood and the bailing wire attached to them. My measurement for the baking soda wasn't accurate, I just dumped some in until it looked to be about half a cup, then added water to just below the holes for the zip ties holding the rebar. Put everything in, hooked up my car charger, and.... nothing. Apparently my car charger won't put out any current unless it reads the continuity or charge from the battery. I heard about people using phone chargers, computer power units, etc. So I scrounge through my mess of cables and found a charger for who knows what. But it puts out 12VDC and 1.3 Amps. Perfect. I stripped the wire ends, read which is positive on my multimeter, soldered alligators to it, and plugged it in. The bubbles started forming seconds later as you can see in the picture. It's been soaking now for 10 minutes so I'll have to sit and wait, I have no idea how long but I think I'll pull it out in an hour to see how it's progressing.

A note on the charger I'm using, (I'll get a picture of it later) but be advised that it holds current after you unplug it. I don't think it's enough to hurt you, but as a safety precaution, keep the cable ends from touching you or each other until you ground them out.

Dwillems26 · 02-22-2012, 01:38 PM

Here are a few pictures of the bubbles

Dwillems26 · 02-23-2012, 03:03 PM

Well it's been over 24 hours and a few of the parts were ready to be cleaned, but the body and the adjustment wheel still have a lot of rust on them. I think it's mostly because my power supply is putting out a small amperage, I read somewhere that you want over 2 Amps. But they are cleaning up and still getting better. So I pulled out the chip breaker, Iron, and screws, and cleaned them up. I found a stamping on the Iron reading "Shapleigh's". Shapleigh's is very hard to find info on on the web, but apparently Shapleigh and Simmons founded Keen Kutter, and Shapleigh was established in 1843. I did however find a catalog, with my plane in it! I believe the catalog is dated 2-25-59, as in 1859? I'm unsure. But my plane sold for $1.89 at the time. I wonder if there's a way to find the date of mine? Any suggestions? At first I thought this plane was the cheapest of the 3 I had, and now I'm thinking it's the rarest? I may start another thread on just this plane later when it's all cleaned up, but in the mean time I'll keep pressing on and hopefully get some replies on this thing.

Oh, here is the website where I found the information about Shapleigh and Keen Kutter. If you scroll down they have a lot of catalogs scanned in that you can download, I found this plane in catalog #4 on page 1! http://www.roseantiquetools.com/id42.html

joesbucketorust · 02-23-2012, 04:32 PM

That's a nice find, but no it's not 1859 it's 1959. If you look on the very top right below the date you'll see the advertisement for Keen Kutter - established 1870. That ad would be just a few years out of place for 1859.

Just like Stanley had the great (bedrock) the good (Bailey) and the average (Handyman) so did Shapleigh/Simmons Hardware stores (and all their variations). Keen Kutter was a top line, Diamond Edge was a lower end, and just plain Shapleigh's was the average. I don't think you see them as much as the others because by that the time they were introduced (mid 1940's?) Keen Kutter was a such a good seller.
They sold a lot of other ones too. One year I kept tripping over Oak Leaf stuff, now I never see it.
But it is a nice plane.
For the power fleamarketer here's a quick tip for judging the era of that style plane: The earliest ones had the tension knob (the round thing between the cutter and the top that you turn to put pressure on the cutter) made of solid metal. Sometimes it was round with scalloped edges but solid, usually it was solid with holes in it like on an oldtime faucet handle. Newer ones were either stamped out of a piece of metal so if you took it out and held it upside down it looks hollow like a very small bundt cake pan or they were like a faucet with the holes but of obviously thin pot metal.

Dwillems26 · 02-23-2012, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joesbucketorust

That's a nice find, but no it's not 1859 it's 1959. If you look on the very top right below the date you'll see the advertisement for Keen Kutter - established 1870. That ad would be just a few years out of place for 1859.

Just like Stanley had the great (bedrock) the good (Bailey) and the average (Handyman) so did Shapleigh/Simmons Hardware stores (and all their variations). Keen Kutter was a top line, Diamond Edge was a lower end, and just plain Shapleigh's was the average. I don't think you see them as much as the others because by that the time they were introduced (mid 1940's?) Keen Kutter was a such a good seller.
They sold a lot of other ones too. One year I kept tripping over Oak Leaf stuff, now I never see it.
But it is a nice plane.
For the power fleamarketer here's a quick tip for judging the era of that style plane: The earliest ones had the tension knob (the round thing between the cutter and the top that you turn to put pressure on the cutter) made of solid metal. Sometimes it was round with scalloped edges but solid, usually it was solid with holes in it like on an oldtime faucet handle. Newer ones were either stamped out of a piece of metal so if you took it out and held it upside down it looks hollow like a very small bundt cake pan or they were like a faucet with the holes but of obviously thin pot metal.

Shucks, I skipped right by that ad for Keen Kutter. So the plane isn't as old as I thought, but timeline wise, when were these Shapleigh planes discontinued? From what you're saying I have a newer one, the knob is stamped steel like the bunt cake pan like you mentioned. Thanks for that great info!

joesbucketorust · 02-23-2012, 05:43 PM

It could be anywhere from WWII-1963. It's still a nice plane. Hopefully there won't be so much pitting on the blade that it can't be sharpened. Keep the clean-up pics coming.

Here's a link to a rundown of the Shapleigh hardware businesses in all their variations:
http://www.thckk.org/history/shapleigh-history.pdf

firemedic · 02-23-2012, 08:00 PM

Great info, Joe, as usual. I was unaware of the other lines of planes from keens. I've seen them and assumed it was an off brand... Not that I would have bought them otherwise, but still, thx.

~tom "Ignorance is not a lack of intelligence - it's a lack of know-how"

Murphy's Law · 02-24-2012, 06:37 AM

I'm glad you started this thread dw. You reminded me of my father's old barn/workshop in 1955 as he had an old kitchen cabinet stuffed in a dark corner. In the bottom cabinet there were maybe 6 or 8 very old planes. I once got into them and pulled them out to inspect. Two were very large (to a 10 yr. old boy) maybe 18" to 20" long made of wood and the others were steel and got progressively smaller. I had them laying on the dirt floor and a hawk got into mom's chickens and I was distracted from the planes. Two days later my dad found the planes in the dirt and I got a terrible whipping with a leather belt. It turned out that these planes had been handed down from his grandfather who was a furniture maker from around 1840 to 1870 in E. Kentucky. There were many other hand tools in that old cabinet, too. Oh! the fond memories.

A lightening strike burned that old barn down in 1968 +/- and I never saw those tools again. I was in Viet Nam at the time. Wouldn't it be interesting to turn back the hands of time?

Dwillems26 · 02-24-2012, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murphy's Law

I'm glad you started this thread dw. You reminded me of my father's old barn/workshop in 1955 as he had an old kitchen cabinet stuffed in a dark corner. In the bottom cabinet there were maybe 6 or 8 very old planes. I once got into them and pulled them out to inspect. Two were very large (to a 10 yr. old boy) maybe 18" to 20" long made of wood and the others were steel and got progressively smaller. I had them laying on the dirt floor and a hawk got into mom's chickens and I was distracted from the planes. Two days later my dad found the planes in the dirt and I got a terrible whipping with a leather belt. It turned out that these planes had been handed down from his grandfather who was a furniture maker from around 1840 to 1870 in E. Kentucky. There were many other hand tools in that old cabinet, too. Oh! the fond memories.

A lightening strike burned that old barn down in 1968 +/- and I never saw those tools again. I was in Viet Nam at the time. Wouldn't it be interesting to turn back the hands of time?

Great story, I'm sorry to hear that the tools were lost though, and about the whipping haha! I've had my share of those as well for the same reasons. But instead of old tools, it was always my dad's tools that I left scattered around. But now I know how he feels. If my wife gets something out and I can't find it I get pretty ticked off. It wouldn't go over very well though if I whipped her for it lol. From what I heard the old man that lived in the house, before my dad bought it, was a woodworker, or at least a weekend woodworker. He passed away at the house and they auctioned off everything in the house. The only things that were left behind were these two planes, and an old small box with a fishing rod you can break down to travel size with some lures in it. I remember seeing the box in the basement, but never thought anything about it. I only heard this story after I asked dad if I could have his planes.

After two days of sitting in the bucket I decided to pull the body out and clean it up to see how much further it had to go. It surprised me that whatever was left on it was coming right off with the scotchbrite pad. So I cleaned it all up as well as I could with a wire brush and that pad. It turned out great! There's a little bit of residue left in the corners where I couldn't quite get to. I might get a small wire wheel for my dremel, the nylon wheel I have isn't getting all of it out. The sole on it looks great, not much pitting and it's actually really flat. I'm still going to sand it down though on glass, then I have to get a sharpening stone and try to revive the old iron. Right now everything is just coated in WD-40 to keep it from rusting again, but I want to get a better oil/wax for it. What do you guys recommend that I can find at a local store? HD, Lowes, HF, Sears, or Ace? I think I'm going to just leave the wood handle alone, maybe a very light coat of sanding and stain, but it's in good shape and I like the aged look it has.

Dwillems26 · 02-27-2012, 12:31 PM

All done! Mostly. I sanded down the sole and sholders of the body with emory cloth on a pane of glass. Started with 80 grit and finished with 150 grit. I could of gone more to get more pitting out, but it's pretty flat and smooth, and frankly I was tired of sanding lol. Then I flattened out the back of the iron edge, and sharpened it on a DMT wetstone, 325 coarse. I don't have anything finer for it. But later on I will probably get a 600 coarse and get the edge sharper. I could have sharpened the edge more, you can see the iron bevel isn't fully smoothed out, but on the back I was really close to a pit, and I didn't want that on the edge so I would have kept going until it was gone. Again I didn't feel like doing that much filing lol. I need a roller guide though to help me out. As you can see I still need to fine tune the iron in the plane, but it's making shavings pretty easily for me so I am pretty happy with it. It leaves the wood pretty smooth too! I still need to find a good oil to keep it from rusting again, but for now the WD-40 will work until then. So here are the last few pictures I have of it, and if someone wants any more info on what I accomplished just ask, I'll try to answer any questions as best as I can. Now I need to finish my other two planes!

joesbucketorust · 02-27-2012, 03:43 PM

Nice save of an old tool. That's a lot of pitting. There should be a couple or a dozen threads on this forum about back-beveling. It's not something I personally use, but in the case of a pitted back it is a way to salvage an otherwise unusable iron. I'll leave the details to the other threads, but basically once you've sharpened the one side, you flip the cutter and put a miniscule bevel on the other side, leaving you with a double-sided bevel like a knife.