Decades ago I bought a cheap wooden plane and my grandfather helped me restore it. He first had me make a working copy of it. After multiple attempts to make a copy of it, I finally got it right. He then asked me if I wanted to still restore the one I had bought that had cracks, a body twist, a broken mouth, and a wedge with bad legs on it. I said no and he asked me to explain why. After I went over all of the faults in the original purchase, he said "now you know what to look for when you purchase a plane." It was a sneaky, but valuable, way to teach me what to look for in a wooden plane. So for beginners looking to restore their first wooden plane I suggest that you make a working replica of it first and enjoy learning from the mistakes that you make along the way.
You make me wish I spent more time with my grandfather. He was a wood worker and we have inherited a lot of his old tools, but I only have a vague idea of what all of them are for. Your videos are wonderful in helping me understand what it was I used to see him working on as a small child.
My maternal grandfather was an amateur woodworker. The shop he set up in his basement was probably state of the art for the 1920s. Massive work tables that each had 2 or 3 bench top electrical power tools that were all driven by a central driveshaft on the table top. The driveshaft was driven by a leather belt directly connected to an electric motor under the bench. Unfortunately, my grandfather died in 1954, eight years before I was born. After my grandmother passed away 4 years later, I was happy to have my parents give me my grandfather's old wooden coffin plane, which I can imagine him using as a boy growing up on his family's farm. It's got his initials carved into the side. Rex's post has inspired me to sharpen the iron on my grandfather's plane and to use it on my next project. I'm not honoring his memory by letting it collect dust as a curio on a living room shelf. Thanks, Rex!
A word on CA glue: When you want to use it to repair cracks, sprinkle on a little baking powder. The baking powder instantly cures the CA glue and also acts as a filler, so you can fix even slightly wider gaps than with CA glue alone. You can sand off the excess. Maybe experiment a bit on some scrap wood. This little trick comes in handy quite often for my projects.
Rex, i have to disagree with you! You can fix EVERY wooden plane. Whith very good skills you can repair everything on a wooden plane. I take every used 1Euro plane home and restore them. I resole them, replace missing wedges, even forging new blades. There is no excuse to scrap a piece of history and craftmanship. Sure, not everybody wants to do this effort but i think it is worthy😊!
Rex, thank you so much for this. I just discovered your Chanel today while I was looking for bench videos. I have two planes that are very special to me, which I never thought about restoring until now. They belonged to my Great Great Grandfather in Laconia, NH. They are stamped with his name. They likely date about 1845 when he returned from the war with Mexico. I ran to my office where I have kept them and took them apart ( a joiner plane and a large Jack). All original. One iron has a maker’s mark. Cannot wait to bring them back. They look like I might be able to use them in my boat building. I will send pictures when I am done. One handle is slightly loose-I’ll use your veneer tip.
Suddenly, I have to go out and re-restore the set of Mathieson planes (Smoother, Fore and Jointer) that I got a year ago. Thanks Rex, I think this is best video on wooden plane restoration because you go into the details of what to look for BEFORE buying and AFTER initial restoration.
When they're cheap I don't analyze them too much before i buy them. It's just if I want to or not that's the deciding factor. Really if all you get is some parts for the bin you're still ahead of the game.
£4 for two wooden jack planes this weekend at a car boot sale, a few more pounds for wet/dry paper and boiled linseed oil from Amazon and I’m hoping to have some great tools for years to come. The streaks of paint on their underside suggest door trimming in their past. Keep up the your great work Rex 👍🏻👍🏻
Thanks for this video. My dad had a big wooden plane with a broken handle sitting on a shelf in his shop as decoration. I pulled it down, sharpened it a touch to get the rust off the iron, and gave it a try while I had the handle off for repair. It flattened a small table top I was making. This video brought a plane out of retirement and into use and likely will cause a new plane to be made.
Great video!!! I have 6 or 7 old wooden planes that I acquired very cheaply (I payed $10 for all of them), and really haven't known where to start on restorations of them. This is a great way for me to start. Thanks.
$10 for a pile is a score in today's market. What we're seeing here is about par for the course now. Even poor condition wooden planes seem to be commanding about $10 each on average lately to me. A couple decades ago it was more like $2 a piece. My price point is less than $5 unless it is something that looks really special to me.
Hey Rex, do you think you would ever take on the task of making your own wooden hand plane with all of the traditional abutments? That could be a neat thing to show how to do! As literally always, great work!!
After watching this on Saturday I went to a local Antique store, found an old wooden plane, and am going to put it back into service! Thanks for your help!
"That's either a great deal, or some very expensive firewood." OR... and hear me out on this... it's some bone-dry turning stock, probably beech. Not a bad deal, either!
The pandemic leading into this winter has possibly corrupted my mind... BUT I've started contemplating the weird possibility of building an "Adapter shoe" for a shorter plane to fill it out to something like a jointing duty... Might only be useful "in a pinch" or when "on too severe a budget to do better"... BUT I'm thinking (more and more) that it's likely feasible... if not quite eloquent as a solution for the need of a jointing plane once in a while (so can't justify a buy outright "yet")... ;o)
@@gnarthdarkanen7464 seems like a good idea, you might be able to grab an old beat up plane with a missing iron for free, and cut a hole to fit a smaller plane. suggestion to grab an old car battery, melt the lead into ingots and use them for extra weight to power through harder woods. though it might be easier to make a new plane with an existing iron you have instead of adapting the small plane.
@@satibel I happen to have a "hybrid" (combination iron frame set into a beech sole-plate) smoothing plane... I think... The thing's around 16 inches long, so up in that weird grey area between smoother and jointer... BUT it works well... It just got me to thinking, it shouldn't be too difficult to inlay... say... a Jack plane... into about a 3 x 5-ish with enough length to be a jointer and get reasonable results... Obviously, if one has the iron(s) and hardware resources, building a plane from "scratch" might be over-all beneficial, but for the one or two jobs a year s/he needs a jointing plane, an "inlay-kit" might do as well, and can then be kept in a cubby or on a shelf to release the Jack-plane for "regular duties" with everything else. I like your idea with melting the lead to add weight, but there's also fishing tackle and muzzle-loading supplies... I have a cast-iron lead-dipper exactly for pouring balls and bullets, so I can likely cast weights fairly easily. Currently, I'm narrowing a list of hearty woods to pick from... I'll probably do most of my "testing" for a proof of concept with regular pine... just something cheap, quick, and soft to get through the repetitive fitting and testing... Then I'll probably order a few pieces of the heaviest, densest, baddest of interesting varieties I can get my grubby mitts on... AND I'll at least build a short collection of interesting curios... At best, I'll have something together to maybe send to Rex for checking out and suggestions... OR maybe even something to add to my usual "form and function" inventory for market... AND of course, if you (or anyone) happens upon a winning method, it probably can't hurt nothing... It's just too much fun being "inventive" or "ingenious"... Even if I only manage to outsmart myself. ;o)
Thank you for all your hand planing videos from one Clevelander to another. I pulled out my grandfather's planers and have slowly (thanks to your videos) started incorporating them. What a difference it makes!
Hi Rex, excellent video. I have a wooden jack with a heavily cambered iron just as you showed. Perfect for “scrub” plane duties, rapidly flattened and dimensioning wood. I also have a 24” try plane that I’ve not used much yet. I’m now inspired to get it down off the shelf and finish “fettling” it. Cheers
One thing I found interesting while restoring a few older Stanley (metal) planes is that the grain direction on the tote is not parallel to the sole of the plane but rather perpendicular to the screw that goes down its center. This seems important for strength and the direction of force applied to the handle throughout its life, and might be worth mentioning on your own plans (assuming the same forces apply to the larger totes on wood planes). I believe that Veritas / Lee Valley still publishes a free template for a "stanley compatible" tote, which shows the "correct" angle.
I managed to get about a dozen old wood hand planes in pretty good condition for $20. The catch? They all need new handles. The irons are surprisingly rust free and all but one were produced by various tool companies sometime in the past 100+ years.
For me the hardest part of making new plane totes is just finding the stock to make them out of. Usually totes are over an inch thick. Common hardwood thickness is only 3/4". Actually cutting and shaping totes is pretty straightforward work. To speed it up I usually put a round over bit in a router table. That gets me most of the way there. But rasps work too. Rotary rasps work really good. The tree one. I am not a hand tool purist.
You have really made me look stupid, but now I go forward with the proper knowledge to make good decisions when looking at old planes that I think I might buy. Thanks Rex for sharing your knowledge.
Excellent video as always! This reminded me that I have to do something about the chip breakers in my cheap planes-and also what to do about them! Thanks, Rex.
Fantastic video. Fixing totes is a pain and the end result looked great. Love watching that try plane in action. These old wood planes have so much life left in them.
I know this is an older video, but just needed to say this is incredible valuable. Just yesterday this saved me from buying a plane that had some serious but not that obvious issues. I can keep my money and keep searching for a better choice. Thanks and keep up!
Yeah, some wooden plane love! :D Thankfully those English metal planes never really caught on here in Germany, and they never stopped making wooden planes. It is reasonable easy to find older ones for good prices. I just got a 24" double iron Raubank (jointer) for 50 bucks. Some shallow scratches in the hornbeam sole, but nothing to bad. That hing will probably outlive me. ^^ I'm looking forward to part two! :-)
@@RexKrueger Awesome! :D There are so many interesting types around. We even had the Reformhobel (reformed plane), wich was basically a traditional wooden plane body, but the iron was screw adjustable like in the Stanley planes. They are kind of rare though, people seemed to prefer their wedge planes for some reason.
@@hmpeter ECE is calling them Primus, right? Reform is the Ulmia System. i got myself a new Ulmia Rauhbank with the classy wedge system and to be honest, adjusting the iron back, to get a finer shaving is some pain in the ass bc, that thing is really heavy to hold onehanded :D still, if you´re comparing the premium iron planes with the premium wooden ones - they re priced very reasonable, even as a new one.
@@eliaswerner6443 I personally don't have the patience to tap the iron out carefully. I smack the iron loose with one or two rubber mallot hits and then adjust the iron/wedge to the depth I want. Yeah, price is ok. Under 300€ for a new ECE Raubank is resonable. The premium metal jack & smoothing planes are just crazy expensive. For me as a hobbyist, the 120€ Dictum copy of the Stanley No.4 is good enough. The 3-400€ one won't do any better for me. Still luxury, a 70 bucks brand new ECE wooden one would also do. I have even seen a reasonably well made Doppelhobel for around 45€ new. I'd get that one any day before trying a metal plane for the same money. ^^
@@hmpeter I got a 60cm Ulmia for like 12€, sole is pear wood. There are also jointers which go up to a meter, but those seem to be exceedingly rare. A lot of people don't know what they are selling, but also there is now this unfortunate trend of shabby chic where people take perfectly good old tools like wooden planes or workbenches and turning them into useless deco crap, drilling holes into them and such.
The amount of work you do in this video are unbelievable. The length of the video doesn't do it justice. I've tried to flat a plane blade once, it felt like a whole body workout by minute 15.
thanks Rex for taking the time to thoroughly teach how to restore these lovely old tools, will look out for them as there are a lot around here in England, I will know what to look for thanks to your video.
just wanted to say hi. rex you have inspired me to start woodworking and i am building my shop now. thank you keep up the great content, if you haven't already how bout a vid on starting your own woodworking business .thanks again.
Rex, I just bought an old 22" try plane from a UK flea market for £8 ($10.13) I got it home and inspected it and the tote has a little rattle at the front apart from that a single check in the front end... The plane ran true, with a broken shaving until the 3rd pass, on a rough planed 2"x1" batten; when it hogged out a 4' long single shaving. Being about the thickness of approx. 4 sheets of printer paper, it was thick enough to stay intact in one roll. I don't think I need to take this one apart just yet. I've still to watch your second video, on choosing and using wooden planes.
Great video, I just bought a pretty big wooden plane at an antique mall for 30$ It was in reallt great condition, the handle was just cracked in half. . It wasnt all wood either, just the body. everything else was cast Iron. I wanna say its a Stanley #3, it has the wierd curved blade. I was just gonna use the guts and make my own but I think im just gonna restore it myself
Rex you are the man !!! My favorite chanel by far you show me what tools will do what I want to do, without starving the family buying them hahaha two big thumbs up from Florida
This video inspired me to buy my first wooden plan. Scioto #21. I knew what to look for and how to clean it up and get it going. I get beautiful shavings on hardwood and it feels great. This quickly became my favorite tool. Thank you.
I caught your channel at the beginning of the pandemic, and it inspired me to build a bench, which I needed, and I just kept going from there. By the way, when you put a machinist’s square on the blade to draw a line, I recalled my experience regrinding a couple of irons for my planes: Not all of those irons have parallel sides. Check that before you use a square, or your iron will end up skewed; and not in a good way.
I've converted two trashed out jointers (truely trashed) into other tools. Handles for brass hammers, heads and handles for joiners mallets, and even new but smaller planes. That 100+ year old beech is awesome to work with. So not fire wood, but project wood.
Thanks for this Rex. I have bypassed so many wooden planes at antique stores because I was afraid I'd be in over my head. I think now that I could take on one of these projects.
Great video, incredibly helpful. I bought 5 wooden planes at a yard sale yesterday and hope to begin rebuilding them today. My instincts on what makes for a good/bad plane seems to be in line with what you described so I think I made good choices with the ones I passed on failing several of your key indicator tests. As for chemical cleaners, I use Evaporust in a tiny plastic bag which when placed in a heated ultrasonic cleaner removes the rust in about 10 minutes with a super clean surface...well clean rough bare steel anyway. Great for complicated parts but for parts like this indeed a magnetic hold down plate made from tool magnet bars and a top layer of aluminum fascia along with a angle grinder does wonders with some care.
Awesome video !!!!! Honestly ,, I've overlooked and bypassed so many wood planes because of things that you just fixed !!! I could have saved so much money ,,,,, now I know !!!! Thank You !!!!
Rex, thanks for making the plans for the handles available for free. Once you have a drawing, making a handle is surprisingly easy. Much easier and quicker than you would expect.
I started trying out all wood planes recently and I've suddenly started using the coffin smoother more than the no. 4, the thing just glides over wood. Next stop is restoring a Sargent 613 1/2 Razee jack plane. The tote is broken, but repaired and in the process of making and fitting a new wedge. Thank goodness for Stavros Gakos' planemaking videos. In hindsight, I should have gotten the slightly longer English fore plane with an equally nearly unused 2 1/4" Sorby iron for like 5 bucks more (didn't have much money on me at that estate sale) and no broken tote or undersized wedge, but I'm actually not that fussed about it because I'm learning so much about planemaking doing this.
I've learned more in the last two weeks since subscribing then in the last 10 years. Thanks Rex! I'm retiring in about a year and plan to run a small woodshop for fun and profit (lots of the former, probably not much of the latter).
I just received two 22" woodies, and one was in every bit as bad a state as the one in the fixed image trailing this video. Whilst a bit too far gone to make a decent shooting plane, it makes an absolutely excellent scrub plane after just a little clean up and adjustment, and with a re-grind of the iron.
I have a half dozen wood bodies, one 130 or so years old singing like the best metal I own. I have metal bodies from all over the world and from the turn of the century to last year. I love using the woodies any chance I have, they just feel right.
I am a strong believer in all wood worker's should atleast try wood plains because thairs something next level satisfying about them . grate vid keep up the good work.
Hey Rex! Always a treat to see a notification from you! I recently did a wood plane restoration and "re-shoed" the entire bottom surface with a 1/4 veneer. That also provided an opportunity to close up the mouth. It's a pleasure to use now. Thanks for all the great info, and I look forward to hearing about how you tune your planes.
lovely work! i only bought antique wooden planes once so far and i did it online. cannot recommend that :D they were full of worm holes and literally bursted in my hands... anyways- great job on these to!
You don't have to tell me about buying tools online. I'm fortunate because I live close to a good market for used tools. A lot of folks bring tools from there to here. But sometimes I head up there to the source to pick myself. If you want to score big game you have to head to the happy hunting grounds.
Not a big wooden plane fan but I've had an old wooden plane on a high pegboard in my shop for the last several years (just for decoration) Think I'll get it down and see if there's any potential; now that I know what to look for. thanx Rex
Old planes that are too far gone to rebuild are great for lapping your granite surface plate. You can also flat lap good planes, levels, squares, etc to restore their flatness. Use any hard grit or diamonds. Some grit works better dry, some with soapy water.
I did get a plane made by Smith & Lyon, Cincinnati, Ohio circa 1851-1859 Missing the tote but in great shape otherwise, original blade too. It was thrown in on an auction with a Bailey #5 that I was really going for Got both for 13$ . And I did get some curls with both of them , but now they’re on the shelf👍
am I special or has part 2 disappeared? just bought a wooden plane at local market for $20 (aussie...I've been looking around for literally 1-2 years for cheap planes and they just dont exist over here so I am honestly thrilled to have found a cheap wooden plane that is in very good condition, and has original wedge; iron will need a bit of work but I was expecting that). Also cheers, Rex! I've been watching your vids for a year or so now and they're next level. TBH I've probably spent more time watching vids than actual wood working at the moment, but when I do get in my shop (which until recently was 7 x 7 feet or less) I'm so much more confident about what I'm doing. First thing I built was the Roman work bench, I moved interstate and brought it with me, I like it that much. Cheers! If anyone's interested I think the second thing I build was a dovetail box and it was just amaz..awful, it was truly awful. The second one however, surprised even me with how honestly ok it turned out.
I recently bought a large box of mostly wood hand planes of different sizes along with some rarer steel planes off of Craigslist for only forty dollars. So now I have a lot of work to do getting them going but I bought the box for those rarer steel planes not realizing how many wood planes the seller was including. So I am pretty happy and a bit excited about my purchase
The greatest things about old wooden planes is learning what makes a llane good and sometimes you get some really nice laminated steel that taught me the kmportance of the right kind of steel for the job.
I've made new totes and wedges for wooden planes. It is not the end of the world. As far as cleaning wooden planes goes I've found cleaning products works best for doing that myself. I use stuff called Purple Power but any cleaning agent for cutting grime would work. Simple Green etc. Makes the wood come up kind of like driftwood. Then I oil them. I prefer using a Scotch Brite scrubbing pad on wood too. If you're into hand planes some wooden planes are good to have. They're planes but different.
Is there anyway you could do a quick video on your tool collection? We always get a small idea but I'm interested in seeing all of it. I love old tools and I love your videos! You an awesome guy Rex and keep it up!
Those planes ended up great! Amazing job Rex!! :) I will admit I was secretly hoping one of the bodies was so bad that you rebuilt it in your shop... but maybe next time :D
Great video on the restoration and explaining condition considerations. I'd like to share a clean up tip. Use turpentine for your clean up, it's lighter, penetrates deeper and has better solvent action. Won't bleach, but will remove more deep grime than linseed. It's also beneficial for the wood. I like to follow that with 1 part turpentine to 2 parts linseed oil for a finish. This carries your linseed oil deeper into the wood, as the volatiles in the turpentine and linseed oil dissipate it leaves behind a durable finish that that old thirsty wood loves. I'm sure your friend had to be amazed at how well you restored his thrift store finds, they started pretty rough.
Went antiquing last weekend and the owner was selling the wooden planes for more than the cast iron Stanley's! I walked out with 3 of the iron ones and I have finished fixing up the No 5!
Yeah when people have insane prices you always have to remind yourself that the road is long. There'll be someone somewhere down it that is reasonable too. You have to just spend your time on that road to gain the perspective it offers. I don't say nothing to them I just keep on going.
Tip for quickly flattening the backs of plane irons ... Firstly use a block of wood and screw the iron to the block of wood via the chip breaker slot , this way you can grip it very well , your fingers will thank you ... Use 80 grit sandpaper not higher grits as you need a rough grit to flatten the back , and use some fluid on the sand paper like a bit of mineral spirit ... I find it really helps the sand paper not to dull ... After this process go to 220 grit then 400 , 600 then a piece of flat wood with metal polishing compound ... The grits after the 80grit will take only a few minutes because you only need to remove the scratches of the previous grit , the flattening was already done with the 80 grit
Interestingly Rex..if you allow the ends of the plane to go over the ends of the sand paper when flattening the sole you will actually put a very slight concave curve in it. Effectively you are sanding the middle more than the ends. Its a principle used to great effect for acoustic guitar neck resets by Luthiers. Love the channel Rex! :o) xx
I have been enjoying the wooden planes I have... there is some learning curve involved. In some cases I can take solace that at least I got an iron. When I finally learn how to reliably adjust my wood jointed plane I will be using that more often than my Stanley number 7. The reduction in friction is a huge factor.
Great timing for this video. I have an old 22" plane I got for $8 at a thrift store. Figured I could either restore it or make it a display item in my workshop. Now after watching the video, I'm going to be restoring it. The wedge is a bit tight going into the throat, so I'm thinking it's not the original. I'll need to tweak it some to make sure it holds the iron in place properly. I do have my eye on an old tri-plane (~16" long) at the same thrift store. I need to try to talk the seller down in price (they have it listed for over $20 - too expensive). They have it listed as "a wooden thingy", so I don't think they know what it really is. Going to try to get it for under $10 (assuming it's in decent shape). I need to look over it again with the tips you provided. **Just checked that one at the antique store. It's a Matheson (stamp was upside down), but it's in really bad shape. No iron or chip breaker, lots of cracks around the tote handle hole, in the throat, deep gouges on the sole, etc. Not worth what they are asking.
Man this is such a jungle! A couple of things to help you out: 1) You're totally right about that being too much money. Walk away! 2.) a 16-18" plane is a jack (although it would work as a try in a pinch if you just set it up like one.) 3.) Matheson was a hardware dealer, so their blades show up EVERYWHERE and people think that a Matheson blade = a Matheson plane. Not true.
sometimes its better to walk away. i have seen old wooden or transition planes at pretty much every antique or flea market store in my area. keep your eyes peeled and before tou know it, a nice one at a good price will present itself
Rex, I have to say, you are an inspiration. After years, I will finally have the space and means to start woodworking this summer. I was trying to find out what I would need, and how to budget for it - I was fully prepared, like you said in one of your previous videos, to go and "drop a few thousand on a bunch of power tools". I was just very unsure about how to go about it both budget and space-wise (my shop area is not really big). Then I found your videos. Now, the plan is to just go and buy a few good hand tools, a bunch of chisels, and a few good hand planes. Power tools can come later (though a drill press will probably be happening sooner than others). You made an uncertain hobbyist into a committed one. So, you can expect to be tagged on the Instagram about my projects sometime soon - though that will probably depend on my ability to make poplar look good. That is the cheapest and most abundant hardwood around here, and I don't have that many options.
YES! By all means get a few power tools. No need to be a hero, but use them to do things you can already do by hand. Get the skills first and the power later. Drill-presses are great. A nice bandsaw is hard to beat. Saves a lot of time.
I've never done that yet myself. I think I want to try resoling some wooden planes someday. As in replacing the whole bottom. Using notches like European planes have. I have a CNC machine and a mill. I wouldn't be adverse to using either doing it. Dovetails look really good. I got a whole set of dovetail end mills too.
I wish I saw this video before my trip to the Flea Market today. I picked up a couple of planes for $15 each and one was a long wooden plane. It looks like it was a transitional model that has iron components like a vintage Stanley plane. There are a couple of shallow cracks on either side of the mouth.. Anyway I'll try to use the tips in this video to restore it.
I’ve purchased many planes with defects that you would call “done.” Many were missing parts and in terrible shape. They’re no longer collectible, but the wood is alway repairable, and the parts can be manufactured. I’ve brought each of these plane to beautiful working condition with lots of TLC and a full woodworking and metalworking workshop. It’s been a labor of love, and I put more money into the planes than they’re worth. Great video!
Great video, i have been looking into getting a wooden plane after i got to use the one from my old timer workshop chief. it glides over the wood like butter and it is suprisingly easy to adjust. definetly looking forward to next weeks video to see if i can learn something more about these wooden wonders. keep em coming Rex!
Decades ago I bought a cheap wooden plane and my grandfather helped me restore it. He first had me make a working copy of it. After multiple attempts to make a copy of it, I finally got it right. He then asked me if I wanted to still restore the one I had bought that had cracks, a body twist, a broken mouth, and a wedge with bad legs on it. I said no and he asked me to explain why. After I went over all of the faults in the original purchase, he said "now you know what to look for when you purchase a plane." It was a sneaky, but valuable, way to teach me what to look for in a wooden plane. So for beginners looking to restore their first wooden plane I suggest that you make a working replica of it first and enjoy learning from the mistakes that you make along the way.
Brilliant!
So... The real plane restoration were the friends we made along the way?
I will show myself out.
@Chris Wilson, love this story.
Your Grandfather was a wise man.
Cris, what kind of wood did you use to make your plane with your grandfather?
Rex’s channel is second to none. Fantastic information and well presented. Easy to understand and follow.
Certainly
I've been binge watching his content. It's making me want to start woodworking.
Cherry: I am fully figured and reversing grain in multiple directions. Just try and plane me, weakling
Rex: "This isn't even my final finish"
You make me wish I spent more time with my grandfather. He was a wood worker and we have inherited a lot of his old tools, but I only have a vague idea of what all of them are for. Your videos are wonderful in helping me understand what it was I used to see him working on as a small child.
You’re slowly making me fall in love with hand tools...
My maternal grandfather was an amateur woodworker. The shop he set up in his basement was probably state of the art for the 1920s. Massive work tables that each had 2 or 3 bench top electrical power tools that were all driven by a central driveshaft on the table top. The driveshaft was driven by a leather belt directly connected to an electric motor under the bench. Unfortunately, my grandfather died in 1954, eight years before I was born. After my grandmother passed away 4 years later, I was happy to have my parents give me my grandfather's old wooden coffin plane, which I can imagine him using as a boy growing up on his family's farm. It's got his initials carved into the side. Rex's post has inspired me to sharpen the iron on my grandfather's plane and to use it on my next project. I'm not honoring his memory by letting it collect dust as a curio on a living room shelf. Thanks, Rex!
A word on CA glue: When you want to use it to repair cracks, sprinkle on a little baking powder. The baking powder instantly cures the CA glue and also acts as a filler, so you can fix even slightly wider gaps than with CA glue alone. You can sand off the excess. Maybe experiment a bit on some scrap wood. This little trick comes in handy quite often for my projects.
Rex, i have to disagree with you!
You can fix EVERY wooden plane. Whith very good skills you can repair everything on a wooden plane. I take every used 1Euro plane home and restore them. I resole them, replace missing wedges, even forging new blades. There is no excuse to scrap a piece of history and craftmanship. Sure, not everybody wants to do this effort but i think it is worthy😊!
Rex, thank you so much for this. I just discovered your Chanel today while I was looking for bench videos. I have two planes that are very special to me, which I never thought about restoring until now. They belonged to my Great Great Grandfather in Laconia, NH. They are stamped with his name. They likely date about 1845 when he returned from the war with Mexico. I ran to my office where I have kept them and took them apart ( a joiner plane and a large Jack). All original. One iron has a maker’s mark. Cannot wait to bring them back. They look like I might be able to use them in my boat building. I will send pictures when I am done. One handle is slightly loose-I’ll use your veneer tip.
Suddenly, I have to go out and re-restore the set of Mathieson planes (Smoother, Fore and Jointer) that I got a year ago. Thanks Rex, I think this is best video on wooden plane restoration because you go into the details of what to look for BEFORE buying and AFTER initial restoration.
I want to see those when they're done!
When they're cheap I don't analyze them too much before i buy them. It's just if I want to or not that's the deciding factor. Really if all you get is some parts for the bin you're still ahead of the game.
£4 for two wooden jack planes this weekend at a car boot sale, a few more pounds for wet/dry paper and boiled linseed oil from Amazon and I’m hoping to have some great tools for years to come. The streaks of paint on their underside suggest door trimming in their past. Keep up the your great work Rex 👍🏻👍🏻
Thanks for this video.
My dad had a big wooden plane with a broken handle sitting on a shelf in his shop as decoration. I pulled it down, sharpened it a touch to get the rust off the iron, and gave it a try while I had the handle off for repair.
It flattened a small table top I was making.
This video brought a plane out of retirement and into use and likely will cause a new plane to be made.
Great video!!! I have 6 or 7 old wooden planes that I acquired very cheaply (I payed $10 for all of them), and really haven't known where to start on restorations of them. This is a great way for me to start. Thanks.
I'm delighted that it will help!
$10 for a pile is a score in today's market. What we're seeing here is about par for the course now. Even poor condition wooden planes seem to be commanding about $10 each on average lately to me. A couple decades ago it was more like $2 a piece. My price point is less than $5 unless it is something that looks really special to me.
Fantastic video brother. I hate to see vintage tools become decoration. Love to see them brought back to service. Very well done instruction
27:07 I Can't wait! I Love the 2 'parters' where you delve into long forgotten woodworking arts!!
Hey Rex, do you think you would ever take on the task of making your own wooden hand plane with all of the traditional abutments? That could be a neat thing to show how to do! As literally always, great work!!
After watching this on Saturday I went to a local Antique store, found an old wooden plane, and am going to put it back into service! Thanks for your help!
That piece of Cherry would sure make a fine looking acoustic guitar body
"That's either a great deal, or some very expensive firewood."
OR... and hear me out on this... it's some bone-dry turning stock, probably beech. Not a bad deal, either!
Oh, I hear you! You're totally right.
The pandemic leading into this winter has possibly corrupted my mind... BUT I've started contemplating the weird possibility of building an "Adapter shoe" for a shorter plane to fill it out to something like a jointing duty... Might only be useful "in a pinch" or when "on too severe a budget to do better"... BUT I'm thinking (more and more) that it's likely feasible... if not quite eloquent as a solution for the need of a jointing plane once in a while (so can't justify a buy outright "yet")... ;o)
Its only had 100 years to dry!
@@gnarthdarkanen7464 seems like a good idea, you might be able to grab an old beat up plane with a missing iron for free, and cut a hole to fit a smaller plane.
suggestion to grab an old car battery, melt the lead into ingots and use them for extra weight to power through harder woods.
though it might be easier to make a new plane with an existing iron you have instead of adapting the small plane.
@@satibel I happen to have a "hybrid" (combination iron frame set into a beech sole-plate) smoothing plane... I think... The thing's around 16 inches long, so up in that weird grey area between smoother and jointer... BUT it works well...
It just got me to thinking, it shouldn't be too difficult to inlay... say... a Jack plane... into about a 3 x 5-ish with enough length to be a jointer and get reasonable results...
Obviously, if one has the iron(s) and hardware resources, building a plane from "scratch" might be over-all beneficial, but for the one or two jobs a year s/he needs a jointing plane, an "inlay-kit" might do as well, and can then be kept in a cubby or on a shelf to release the Jack-plane for "regular duties" with everything else.
I like your idea with melting the lead to add weight, but there's also fishing tackle and muzzle-loading supplies... I have a cast-iron lead-dipper exactly for pouring balls and bullets, so I can likely cast weights fairly easily.
Currently, I'm narrowing a list of hearty woods to pick from... I'll probably do most of my "testing" for a proof of concept with regular pine... just something cheap, quick, and soft to get through the repetitive fitting and testing... Then I'll probably order a few pieces of the heaviest, densest, baddest of interesting varieties I can get my grubby mitts on... AND I'll at least build a short collection of interesting curios... At best, I'll have something together to maybe send to Rex for checking out and suggestions... OR maybe even something to add to my usual "form and function" inventory for market...
AND of course, if you (or anyone) happens upon a winning method, it probably can't hurt nothing... It's just too much fun being "inventive" or "ingenious"... Even if I only manage to outsmart myself. ;o)
Thank you for all your hand planing videos from one Clevelander to another. I pulled out my grandfather's planers and have slowly (thanks to your videos) started incorporating them. What a difference it makes!
the hide glue is repairable.
thanks for the rabbit hole. whooow...
I have no intention of restoring a plane, but as a introduction to planes in general this did really well!
Thanks for this video. This will enable me to restore the wooden plane my grandfather made and brought with him to America in 1897.
Hi Rex, excellent video. I have a wooden jack with a heavily cambered iron just as you showed. Perfect for “scrub” plane duties, rapidly flattened and dimensioning wood. I also have a 24” try plane that I’ve not used much yet. I’m now inspired to get it down off the shelf and finish “fettling” it.
Cheers
One thing I found interesting while restoring a few older Stanley (metal) planes is that the grain direction on the tote is not parallel to the sole of the plane but rather perpendicular to the screw that goes down its center. This seems important for strength and the direction of force applied to the handle throughout its life, and might be worth mentioning on your own plans (assuming the same forces apply to the larger totes on wood planes). I believe that Veritas / Lee Valley still publishes a free template for a "stanley compatible" tote, which shows the "correct" angle.
I managed to get about a dozen old wood hand planes in pretty good condition for $20. The catch? They all need new handles. The irons are surprisingly rust free and all but one were produced by various tool companies sometime in the past 100+ years.
For me the hardest part of making new plane totes is just finding the stock to make them out of. Usually totes are over an inch thick. Common hardwood thickness is only 3/4". Actually cutting and shaping totes is pretty straightforward work. To speed it up I usually put a round over bit in a router table. That gets me most of the way there. But rasps work too. Rotary rasps work really good. The tree one. I am not a hand tool purist.
You have really made me look stupid, but now I go forward with the proper knowledge to make good decisions when looking at old planes that I think I might buy. Thanks Rex for sharing your knowledge.
Excellent video as always! This reminded me that I have to do something about the chip breakers in my cheap planes-and also what to do about them! Thanks, Rex.
My pleasure!
Wow. Those planes look really nice. Very characteristic.
Fantastic video. Fixing totes is a pain and the end result looked great. Love watching that try plane in action. These old wood planes have so much life left in them.
Thanks for another great video. Your style of teaching is one of the best on TH-cam
"Believe it or not, this is a piece of cherry." 😆 Turned out to be quite a diamond in the rough.
I know this is an older video, but just needed to say this is incredible valuable. Just yesterday this saved me from buying a plane that had some serious but not that obvious issues. I can keep my money and keep searching for a better choice. Thanks and keep up!
Yeah, some wooden plane love! :D
Thankfully those English metal planes never really caught on here in Germany, and they never stopped making wooden planes. It is reasonable easy to find older ones for good prices. I just got a 24" double iron Raubank (jointer) for 50 bucks. Some shallow scratches in the hornbeam sole, but nothing to bad. That hing will probably outlive me. ^^
I'm looking forward to part two! :-)
I will cover some lovely German planes. Promise!
@@RexKrueger Awesome! :D There are so many interesting types around. We even had the Reformhobel (reformed plane), wich was basically a traditional wooden plane body, but the iron was screw adjustable like in the Stanley planes. They are kind of rare though, people seemed to prefer their wedge planes for some reason.
@@hmpeter ECE is calling them Primus, right? Reform is the Ulmia System. i got myself a new Ulmia Rauhbank with the classy wedge system and to be honest, adjusting the iron back, to get a finer shaving is some pain in the ass bc, that thing is really heavy to hold onehanded :D
still, if you´re comparing the premium iron planes with the premium wooden ones - they re priced very reasonable, even as a new one.
@@eliaswerner6443 I personally don't have the patience to tap the iron out carefully. I smack the iron loose with one or two rubber mallot hits and then adjust the iron/wedge to the depth I want. Yeah, price is ok. Under 300€ for a new ECE Raubank is resonable. The premium metal jack & smoothing planes are just crazy expensive. For me as a hobbyist, the 120€ Dictum copy of the Stanley No.4 is good enough. The 3-400€ one won't do any better for me. Still luxury, a 70 bucks brand new ECE wooden one would also do. I have even seen a reasonably well made Doppelhobel for around 45€ new. I'd get that one any day before trying a metal plane for the same money. ^^
@@hmpeter
I got a 60cm Ulmia for like 12€, sole is pear wood. There are also jointers which go up to a meter, but those seem to be exceedingly rare. A lot of people don't know what they are selling, but also there is now this unfortunate trend of shabby chic where people take perfectly good old tools like wooden planes or workbenches and turning them into useless deco crap, drilling holes into them and such.
The amount of work you do in this video are unbelievable. The length of the video doesn't do it justice. I've tried to flat a plane blade once, it felt like a whole body workout by minute 15.
thanks Rex for taking the time to thoroughly teach how to restore these lovely old tools, will look out for them as there are a lot around here in England, I will know what to look for thanks to your video.
just wanted to say hi. rex you have inspired me to start woodworking and i am building my shop now. thank you keep up the great content, if you haven't already how bout a vid on starting your own woodworking business .thanks again.
Rex, I just bought an old 22" try plane from a UK flea market for £8 ($10.13) I got it home and inspected it and the tote has a little rattle at the front apart from that a single check in the front end...
The plane ran true, with a broken shaving until the 3rd pass, on a rough planed 2"x1" batten; when it hogged out a 4' long single shaving.
Being about the thickness of approx. 4 sheets of printer paper, it was thick enough to stay intact in one roll.
I don't think I need to take this one apart just yet.
I've still to watch your second video, on choosing and using wooden planes.
Great video, I just bought a pretty big wooden plane at an antique mall for 30$ It was in reallt great condition, the handle was just cracked in half. . It wasnt all wood either, just the body. everything else was cast Iron. I wanna say its a Stanley #3, it has the wierd curved blade. I was just gonna use the guts and make my own but I think im just gonna restore it myself
Excellent video. Just finished making the tic tac toe game with my 6 year old son. Really awesome videos
Rex you are the man !!! My favorite chanel by far you show me what tools will do what I want to do, without starving the family buying them hahaha two big thumbs up from Florida
Very informative! Have 5 - 6 planes I'm going to restore if i can, and your video has helped me alot. Thank You!
This video inspired me to buy my first wooden plan. Scioto #21. I knew what to look for and how to clean it up and get it going. I get beautiful shavings on hardwood and it feels great. This quickly became my favorite tool. Thank you.
I caught your channel at the beginning of the pandemic, and it inspired me to build a bench, which I needed, and I just kept going from there.
By the way, when you put a machinist’s square on the blade to draw a line, I recalled my experience regrinding a couple of irons for my planes: Not all of those irons have parallel sides. Check that before you use a square, or your iron will end up skewed; and not in a good way.
I've converted two trashed out jointers (truely trashed) into other tools. Handles for brass hammers, heads and handles for joiners mallets, and even new but smaller planes. That 100+ year old beech is awesome to work with. So not fire wood, but project wood.
I have about 10 planes to restore. Your video came at the right time. :)
Thanks for this Rex. I have bypassed so many wooden planes at antique stores because I was afraid I'd be in over my head. I think now that I could take on one of these projects.
Beautiful work, Rex! Both the planes look fantastic! 😃
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
Thanks to you, I just signed up with the MWTCA. Another great video.
Great video, incredibly helpful. I bought 5 wooden planes at a yard sale yesterday and hope to begin rebuilding them today. My instincts on what makes for a good/bad plane seems to be in line with what you described so I think I made good choices with the ones I passed on failing several of your key indicator tests. As for chemical cleaners, I use Evaporust in a tiny plastic bag which when placed in a heated ultrasonic cleaner removes the rust in about 10 minutes with a super clean surface...well clean rough bare steel anyway. Great for complicated parts but for parts like this indeed a magnetic hold down plate made from tool magnet bars and a top layer of aluminum fascia along with a angle grinder does wonders with some care.
Awesome video !!!!!
Honestly ,, I've overlooked and bypassed so many wood planes because of things that you just fixed !!!
I could have saved so much money ,,,,, now I know !!!!
Thank You !!!!
Rex, thanks for making the plans for the handles available for free. Once you have a drawing, making a handle is surprisingly easy. Much easier and quicker than you would expect.
I started trying out all wood planes recently and I've suddenly started using the coffin smoother more than the no. 4, the thing just glides over wood.
Next stop is restoring a Sargent 613 1/2 Razee jack plane. The tote is broken, but repaired and in the process of making and fitting a new wedge. Thank goodness for Stavros Gakos' planemaking videos.
In hindsight, I should have gotten the slightly longer English fore plane with an equally nearly unused 2 1/4" Sorby iron for like 5 bucks more (didn't have much money on me at that estate sale) and no broken tote or undersized wedge, but I'm actually not that fussed about it because I'm learning so much about planemaking doing this.
Awesome stone board, I will be building one. thanks for the video
Wooden planes are just the best.
I've learned more in the last two weeks since subscribing then in the last 10 years. Thanks Rex! I'm retiring in about a year and plan to run a small woodshop for fun and profit (lots of the former, probably not much of the latter).
Great Restoration
I just received two 22" woodies, and one was in every bit as bad a state as the one in the fixed image trailing this video. Whilst a bit too far gone to make a decent shooting plane, it makes an absolutely excellent scrub plane after just a little clean up and adjustment, and with a re-grind of the iron.
I have a half dozen wood bodies, one 130 or so years old singing like the best metal I own. I have metal bodies from all over the world and from the turn of the century to last year. I love using the woodies any chance I have, they just feel right.
I am a strong believer in all wood worker's should atleast try wood plains because thairs something next level satisfying about them . grate vid keep up the good work.
Hey Rex! Always a treat to see a notification from you! I recently did a wood plane restoration and "re-shoed" the entire bottom surface with a 1/4 veneer. That also provided an opportunity to close up the mouth. It's a pleasure to use now. Thanks for all the great info, and I look forward to hearing about how you tune your planes.
That's a good technique to save the worst planes. I might want to do that in a future video. I bet it came out great!
lovely work! i only bought antique wooden planes once so far and i did it online. cannot recommend that :D they were full of worm holes and literally bursted in my hands... anyways- great job on these to!
It's so difficult to buy these sight-unseen.
@@RexKrueger just say stupid :/
You don't have to tell me about buying tools online. I'm fortunate because I live close to a good market for used tools. A lot of folks bring tools from there to here. But sometimes I head up there to the source to pick myself. If you want to score big game you have to head to the happy hunting grounds.
Not a big wooden plane fan but I've had an old wooden plane on a high pegboard in my shop for the last several years (just for decoration) Think I'll get it down and see if there's any potential; now that I know what to look for. thanx Rex
Old planes that are too far gone to rebuild are great for lapping your granite surface plate. You can also flat lap good planes, levels, squares, etc to restore their flatness. Use any hard grit or diamonds. Some grit works better dry, some with soapy water.
I did get a plane made by Smith & Lyon, Cincinnati, Ohio circa 1851-1859
Missing the tote but in great shape otherwise, original blade too.
It was thrown in on an auction with a Bailey #5 that I was really going for
Got both for 13$ . And I did get some curls with both of them , but now they’re on the shelf👍
a few days ago i bought 3 wooden planes for under 10$. Hope this video can help me restore it :D
am I special or has part 2 disappeared? just bought a wooden plane at local market for $20 (aussie...I've been looking around for literally 1-2 years for cheap planes and they just dont exist over here so I am honestly thrilled to have found a cheap wooden plane that is in very good condition, and has original wedge; iron will need a bit of work but I was expecting that). Also cheers, Rex! I've been watching your vids for a year or so now and they're next level. TBH I've probably spent more time watching vids than actual wood working at the moment, but when I do get in my shop (which until recently was 7 x 7 feet or less) I'm so much more confident about what I'm doing. First thing I built was the Roman work bench, I moved interstate and brought it with me, I like it that much. Cheers! If anyone's interested I think the second thing I build was a dovetail box and it was just amaz..awful, it was truly awful. The second one however, surprised even me with how honestly ok it turned out.
Awesome video, Rex. I look forward to more info about wooden planes. I really, really want one!
I recently bought a large box of mostly wood hand planes of different sizes along with some rarer steel planes off of Craigslist for only forty dollars. So now I have a lot of work to do getting them going but I bought the box for those rarer steel planes not realizing how many wood planes the seller was including. So I am pretty happy and a bit excited about my purchase
Thank you , this is one of your best videos, in my opinion
Clear and informative, good stuff. Greetings from the UK
Bridgeport and a fly cutter works amazing to flatten a sole.
Thanks Mate this is great even after we have restored a couple of wooden planes. A refresher is always good
The greatest things about old wooden planes is learning what makes a llane good and sometimes you get some really nice laminated steel that taught me the kmportance of the right kind of steel for the job.
I've made new totes and wedges for wooden planes. It is not the end of the world. As far as cleaning wooden planes goes I've found cleaning products works best for doing that myself. I use stuff called Purple Power but any cleaning agent for cutting grime would work. Simple Green etc. Makes the wood come up kind of like driftwood. Then I oil them. I prefer using a Scotch Brite scrubbing pad on wood too. If you're into hand planes some wooden planes are good to have. They're planes but different.
Awesome per usual. Thanks so much for all of your time and knowledge. You keep me inspired to make new stuff.
THANKYOU! I have been running into wooden planes but wasn't sure what to look for. Now I am not totally clueless.
Is there anyway you could do a quick video on your tool collection? We always get a small idea but I'm interested in seeing all of it. I love old tools and I love your videos! You an awesome guy Rex and keep it up!
I Bet a Video like that could not be quick just for the sheer amount of tools in that Shop...
On these old planes, I find just steaming the wiping with a rag is a great way to clean out the old hide glues.
Those planes ended up great! Amazing job Rex!! :) I will admit I was secretly hoping one of the bodies was so bad that you rebuilt it in your shop... but maybe next time :D
Great video on the restoration and explaining condition considerations. I'd like to share a clean up tip. Use turpentine for your clean up, it's lighter, penetrates deeper and has better solvent action. Won't bleach, but will remove more deep grime than linseed. It's also beneficial for the wood. I like to follow that with 1 part turpentine to 2 parts linseed oil for a finish. This carries your linseed oil deeper into the wood, as the volatiles in the turpentine and linseed oil dissipate it leaves behind a durable finish that that old thirsty wood loves. I'm sure your friend had to be amazed at how well you restored his thrift store finds, they started pretty rough.
Went antiquing last weekend and the owner was selling the wooden planes for more than the cast iron Stanley's! I walked out with 3 of the iron ones and I have finished fixing up the No 5!
Yeah when people have insane prices you always have to remind yourself that the road is long. There'll be someone somewhere down it that is reasonable too. You have to just spend your time on that road to gain the perspective it offers. I don't say nothing to them I just keep on going.
Tip for quickly flattening the backs of plane irons ... Firstly use a block of wood and screw the iron to the block of wood via the chip breaker slot , this way you can grip it very well , your fingers will thank you ... Use 80 grit sandpaper not higher grits as you need a rough grit to flatten the back , and use some fluid on the sand paper like a bit of mineral spirit ... I find it really helps the sand paper not to dull ... After this process go to 220 grit then 400 , 600 then a piece of flat wood with metal polishing compound ... The grits after the 80grit will take only a few minutes because you only need to remove the scratches of the previous grit , the flattening was already done with the 80 grit
Interestingly Rex..if you allow the ends of the plane to go over the ends of the sand paper when flattening the sole you will actually put a very slight concave curve in it. Effectively you are sanding the middle more than the ends. Its a principle used to great effect for acoustic guitar neck resets by Luthiers. Love the channel Rex! :o) xx
I have been enjoying the wooden planes I have... there is some learning curve involved. In some cases I can take solace that at least I got an iron. When I finally learn how to reliably adjust my wood jointed plane I will be using that more often than my Stanley number 7. The reduction in friction is a huge factor.
Great timing for this video. I have an old 22" plane I got for $8 at a thrift store. Figured I could either restore it or make it a display item in my workshop. Now after watching the video, I'm going to be restoring it. The wedge is a bit tight going into the throat, so I'm thinking it's not the original. I'll need to tweak it some to make sure it holds the iron in place properly.
I do have my eye on an old tri-plane (~16" long) at the same thrift store. I need to try to talk the seller down in price (they have it listed for over $20 - too expensive). They have it listed as "a wooden thingy", so I don't think they know what it really is. Going to try to get it for under $10 (assuming it's in decent shape). I need to look over it again with the tips you provided.
**Just checked that one at the antique store. It's a Matheson (stamp was upside down), but it's in really bad shape. No iron or chip breaker, lots of cracks around the tote handle hole, in the throat, deep gouges on the sole, etc. Not worth what they are asking.
Man this is such a jungle! A couple of things to help you out: 1) You're totally right about that being too much money. Walk away! 2.) a 16-18" plane is a jack (although it would work as a try in a pinch if you just set it up like one.) 3.) Matheson was a hardware dealer, so their blades show up EVERYWHERE and people think that a Matheson blade = a Matheson plane. Not true.
sometimes its better to walk away. i have seen old wooden or transition planes at pretty much every antique or flea market store in my area. keep your eyes peeled and before tou know it, a nice one at a good price will present itself
Thank you Rex for that great video!
See ya next time
Great video Rex. Thanks for the insight.
Hmm kinda tempting to pick up wood plane.... maybe once the flea markets are back open I might pick me up a little project. Great video man
Great info. I have some old wood planes that I got from my Opa. I need to clean them up and see if I can put them to use.
My Opa was a machinist.
Just picked up a jack like the one you had here just no handle this will be my second restoration the first was a Stanley#4
Really enjoyed this excellent video. Thanks
Wow that cherry was GORGEOUS
Rex, I have to say, you are an inspiration. After years, I will finally have the space and means to start woodworking this summer. I was trying to find out what I would need, and how to budget for it - I was fully prepared, like you said in one of your previous videos, to go and "drop a few thousand on a bunch of power tools". I was just very unsure about how to go about it both budget and space-wise (my shop area is not really big). Then I found your videos. Now, the plan is to just go and buy a few good hand tools, a bunch of chisels, and a few good hand planes. Power tools can come later (though a drill press will probably be happening sooner than others).
You made an uncertain hobbyist into a committed one. So, you can expect to be tagged on the Instagram about my projects sometime soon - though that will probably depend on my ability to make poplar look good. That is the cheapest and most abundant hardwood around here, and I don't have that many options.
YES! By all means get a few power tools. No need to be a hero, but use them to do things you can already do by hand. Get the skills first and the power later. Drill-presses are great. A nice bandsaw is hard to beat. Saves a lot of time.
I have four wooden planes that need the mouth replacing. I’d love to see a video on how you would do that, what wood to use etc...
I've never done that yet myself. I think I want to try resoling some wooden planes someday. As in replacing the whole bottom. Using notches like European planes have. I have a CNC machine and a mill. I wouldn't be adverse to using either doing it. Dovetails look really good. I got a whole set of dovetail end mills too.
This is a great video. Rex you are the best!
I wish I saw this video before my trip to the Flea Market today. I picked up a couple of planes for $15 each and one was a long wooden plane. It looks like it was a transitional model that has iron components like a vintage Stanley plane. There are a couple of shallow cracks on either side of the mouth.. Anyway I'll try to use the tips in this video to restore it.
I’ve purchased many planes with defects that you would call “done.” Many were missing parts and in terrible shape. They’re no longer collectible, but the wood is alway repairable, and the parts can be manufactured. I’ve brought each of these plane to beautiful working condition with lots of TLC and a full woodworking and metalworking workshop. It’s been a labor of love, and I put more money into the planes than they’re worth. Great video!
Great video, i have been looking into getting a wooden plane after i got to use the one from my old timer workshop chief. it glides over the wood like butter and it is suprisingly easy to adjust. definetly looking forward to next weeks video to see if i can learn something more about these wooden wonders.
keep em coming Rex!
Jesus that's the nicest piece of wood I've ever seen.