Popular Post Llama Posted February 27, 2018 Popular Post Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 As I dive deeper into the restoration of vintage tools, I have come across a few tips. Thought his would be a good place to share them Probably the best advice I have is that if you don't know how to take something apart, try looking up the patent for the thing. Alot of times, you won't find the exact thing, but similar things that will help you out. Also, take it slowly! Let the oils do their job to break parts free. There are more, but I don't want to shoot my load on one post... add you tips below 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Jfitz Posted February 27, 2018 Popular Post Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 Take pictures - all during disassembly. You never know when you need to look back to see which part goes where, or which end goes in which direction. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Immortan D Posted February 27, 2018 Popular Post Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 I use a white vinegar bath to remove the rust from cast iron bodies, after fully disassembling the plane. Just make sure the entire body of the plane is covered in vinegar, because the parts exposed to the air will rust quickly. I check every hour or so and use a tooth brush to remove the rust from the plane then dip it back in for a total of 4 or 5 hours. After that, I give it a bath of water with a spoon of baking soda for about 5 minutes. Next step, I spray it with isopropyl alcohol to help remove the humidity. Finally, sanding and polishing will get rid of rust spots and bring the plane back to its glory. This process works for iron bolts, frogs and other parts too. Not for brass, copper or aluminum parts though. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmize Posted February 27, 2018 Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 Elbow grease 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilgaron Posted February 27, 2018 Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 More expensive than vinegar, but safer if you want to let it soak a long time without checking on it, is Evaporust. You can save and reuse it by running it through a coffee filter. Eventually it stops working and is black with what I assume is chelated iron. When repairing saw handles, cherry is a good match for apple. When repairing plane totes, East Indian Rosewood matches the old Brazilian stuff pretty well. Use the rods to clamp the pieces together. Not sure how hard it is to get East Indian now, though? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted March 1, 2018 Report Share Posted March 1, 2018 Adding salt to the vinegar will speed up the process of rust removal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfitz Posted March 1, 2018 Report Share Posted March 1, 2018 10 hours ago, Isaac said: Adding salt to the vinegar will speed up the process of rust removal. This is a good low cost solution for cast iron, but be careful because it's not a good option for aluminum. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted March 1, 2018 Report Share Posted March 1, 2018 Enough cannot be said about not exceeding a few hours with acid like vinegar. Cast will take on a dull gray that seems to be alloy stripping if you get past 12 hours. It really does not take more than the 4 to 5 mentioned. Don’t soak it overnight like in Evaporust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattF Posted March 1, 2018 Report Share Posted March 1, 2018 On 2/27/2018 at 3:27 PM, Gilgaron said: More expensive than vinegar, but safer if you want to let it soak a long time without checking on it, is Evaporust. You can save and reuse it by running it through a coffee filter. Eventually it stops working and is black with what I assume is chelated iron. When repairing saw handles, cherry is a good match for apple. When repairing plane totes, East Indian Rosewood matches the old Brazilian stuff pretty well. Use the rods to clamp the pieces together. Not sure how hard it is to get East Indian now, though? I will second Evaporust. I have used it on roughly 10 old tools that handed down to me from my dad. Some were my great grandfathers and grandfathers ranging from a spokeshave to a no8. Stuff works great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 10 hours ago, Jfitz said: This is a good low cost solution for cast iron, but be careful because it's not a good option for aluminum. I've never done any restoration of aluminum, but good to know. I've removed rust primarily from old Stanley plane bodies and blades, and not had issues with excessive removal, despite soaking overnight. In my experience, I still have to do some sanding or scrubbing, the vinegar + salt solution just helps get things loosened up. I find it most effective to scrub intermittently, every few hours while it is soaking, to continuously expose the next underlying layer of rust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 Dang it i blame you guys for wasting my last hour searching ebay for a #4 and a #3. Found a nice #4 but couldn't pull the trigger. Found a couple nice #3s and set reminders to check them when they have 30 min left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Immortan D Posted March 2, 2018 Popular Post Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 14 hours ago, Isaac said: I've never done any restoration of aluminum, but good to know. A friend wanted help in restoring an old Swedish plane that belonged to his father. Oddly the lever cap was made of aluminum. Here's the thing after restoration: 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 54 minutes ago, Immortan D said: A friend wanted help in restoring an old Swedish plane that belonged to his father. Oddly the lever cap was made of aluminum. Here's the thing after restoration: I do know Stanley made some aluminum planes along the way, just haven't encountered any yet... and to be clear I'm not restoring planes on a daily basis or anything, I've probably done about 5 or 6 now. I'm also only concerned with getting them functional, not pristine. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortan D Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 Yeah, my friend wanted it pristine... just for display, he's not into woodworking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmize Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 2 hours ago, Chestnut said: Dang it i blame you guys for wasting my last hour searching ebay for a #4 and a #3. Found a nice #4 but couldn't pull the trigger. Found a couple nice #3s and set reminders to check them when they have 30 min left. Haha yea I find myself doing that a lot. I love my #3 it's a lil small for my hands to use all the time as a smoother but I set it up super tight mouthed. An use it primarily for end grain. Hell I even shoot with it most of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 21 minutes ago, Tmize said: Haha yea I find myself doing that a lot. I love my #3 it's a lil small for my hands to use all the time as a smoother but I set it up super tight mouthed. An use it primarily for end grain. Hell I even shoot with it most of the time. I'd love to get a #5, #4, and #3 all in the same type as the #7 i have but i have a feeling that'd take a while and cost quite a bit. Luckily the type 11s are really easy to spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfitz Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 37 minutes ago, Chestnut said: I'd love to get a #5, #4, and #3 all in the same type as the #7 i have but i have a feeling that'd take a while and cost quite a bit. Luckily the type 11s are really easy to spot. Just curious....why type 11? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 My #7 is a type 11. I'd be open to type 12 as well beings that the difference is minimal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfitz Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 Ah...I thought maybe there was a functional difference but it sounds like because that's what you have Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 3 minutes ago, Jfitz said: Ah...I thought maybe there was a functional difference but it sounds like because that's what you have I have a post war #4 can't remember the type but it's corrugated and i fudging HATE the corrugated bottoms. It was in great shape and snagged it for $30 after shipping. I didn't know I'd detest the corrugated bottom until after i used it. My #5 is a type 15 but the sole isn't square to the sides and if i'm going to replace to all the same type why not right? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 Ok, I'll bite, what's the difference between a type 11 and a type 12 ? I have several old planes but they mostly just sit on a shelf, well they did for years until I moved the shop. Now they are in a box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 1 minute ago, wdwerker said: Ok, I'll bite, what's the difference between a type 11 and a type 12 ? I have several old planes but they mostly just sit on a shelf, well they did for years until I moved the shop. Now they are in a box. Adjustment knob is larger on the 12s and something else but despite being a pedant i don't really care that much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmize Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 I have a Stanley 3,4,5 an all different types. But my Miller falls #9 i like the adjustment an feel of it better it's a 50's model from what I can tell. I'm looking for a #71 router plane with all three blades Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted March 3, 2018 Report Share Posted March 3, 2018 1 hour ago, Tmize said: I have a Stanley 3,4,5 an all different types. But my Miller falls #9 i like the adjustment an feel of it better it's a 50's model from what I can tell. I'm looking for a #71 router plane with all three blades They're on ebay, you just have to look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmize Posted March 3, 2018 Report Share Posted March 3, 2018 Yea I know just haven't pulled the trigger yet. I just got my Stanley 45 last weeks. So I'll have to put it off couple weeks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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