I am going to do it, it is done

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OK, I am going to rework one of my planes. I have it stripped and in a bath of evapo-rust. How long can I leave it set? Until morning? About 10 hours from now? Once out, how do I clean it? Just rinse it off with hot water and dry?

Once that is done, I am going to lap the bottom. Going to start with 120, then 180 and finish with 220. Sound good?

Give me pointers because this thing is a go.
 
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When I have done mine I have broken it down then let it soak in a bucket of very hot water for about an hour. (I have never tried chemicals) then I have used a small scraper to gently take off all the loose material and from there used a wire wheel on my drill press.
After I removed all the rust and got it back to the bare metal I mask off the sides and bottom and use duplicolor ford engine black. (I got this from another site. Ill post the link) you have to put the coats on every 10 minutes until you get it where you want. If you wait too long then you have to wait for the paint to fully cure before starting again.
After I have completed the paint and it is dry I remove the tape assemble it and then go about polishing and truing the body. I have an edge sander that I make sure the table is at 90 to the platen and depending on the amount of pitting will start as low as 100 but sometimes as high as 150 and go to 320 which gives an almost mirror polish. Sharpen the blade and chip breaker and clean up the knob and tote then she's ready to go.

http://www.rexmill.com/
 
Steve I have used the vapo rust and its fast acting. The thing to do is get your hands in there and work the tool over with a brush. I have used those cheapo brass imitation bristle brushes from $ store. The vapo rust needs some agitation to get at the rust while it works. Then when its done you done rinse it just wipe it dry. The vapo leaves a coating which will stop it from flash rusting again. Cause you know cast iron when its been stripped and air hits it :)
If you leave stuff in the bath to long it will go black as it carries on working. Let that happen too much and it will shorten the vapo life. When its all black then the vapo is used up. But i have re bottled mine, let it rest and the suspende stuff settles. But even the actual liquid eventually goes black and it looses its effectiveness.
As to what you do with your plane well i leave those choices to you.
I flattened mine on granite with water papee all the way to a polish. But i am crazy:) Then i use the lv waxlite stuff and coat it.

Enjoy and dont forget just cause pic police are lying low we still need pictures:)

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Overnight soak won't hurt the plane, but it really only need a few hours in the Evaporust. Use a red or gray Scotchbrite pad to remove residue, rinse well, and get some oil on it or else it'll re-rust pretty quickly.

As for flattening, first check to see if it really need flattening. many - maybe even most - of the oldies are flat enough 'as found.' Put a sharp blade in it and try it out. If it works well, then it don't need fixin'.

If it does need flattening, your proposed swquence will work well. I do mine on a granite slab, with wet/dry paper. Finishing at 220 is adequate, but I've sometimes gone on to 320 and 400. (overkill, actually).
 
Well she is out of the bath. Yep, over night was way too much. Live and learn. I wasn't planning on a coat of paint, but it will need to be done now. Not sure if the evapo-rust did it or it was just loose. Most Japaning is off or loose. I have most of the small stuff cleaned back up, as I did have some blacking. 4AM provides an early start.

Back to the salt mines:thumb:
 
Perfect timing on this question Steve:) since I have been acquiring a "few" planes lately, I have some that need a little resto also.

Watching with great interest:):lurk:
 
BLO and varnish on the knob and tote.

Use that engine paint for the body. It holds up real well and looks alot like the old time japanning
 
Yep, read about all I could find.

All the painting is done, might have done that out of step. The brass is in the ultrasonic being cleaned. Going to give the paint time to set before I go farther.
 
EvapoRust won't harm japanning that's sound, so yours likely had some rust or dirt under it.

As for the wood - I've used both shellac and varnish, but have ended up just using some BLO or Tung, and leaving it at that. I like the feel of the natural wood, and over time, it'll get a nice patina from the oils (and dirts) in your hand. The film finishes seem to bind to the skin a bit and are a bit uncomfortable (at least to me) after a few minute's use.

Being a farmer, I'm assuming your hands are a bit callused and 'work hardened,' but folks with soft hands might find the varnishes to be blister inducing - at least moreso than the natural wood.

For painting, I've found that Seymour's MRO industrial coating very closely matches the original japanning in colour & texture, and it's much more readily available and easier to apply. It was recommended to me about six or seven years ago by Terry Hatfield (anybody heard from him lately?), and I've not used anything else since.
 
Boy ol Steve has sucked you guys in hook line and sinker. :thumb::thumb:
He aint doing no plane restore, cause if he was there would be pics of it before during and after. :thumb::thumb::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
Steve, I've done a lot of planes. The finish I use on the wood is as follows. I smooth the wood to 320 or 400 grit. I spin the knob on a lathe. The tote is done shoeshine style holding one end in a vise. The knob gets shellac, first dewaxed, a friction polish, then waxed. Then some 0000 steel wool, and liberon wax. The tote gets the same, just not while spinning. The look I get is smooth, feels good in my hands and holds up very nicely.

For the body, if I have to repaint, I've used the Ford engine paint, that has been mentioned elsewhere, I forget the number, but can get it for you if needed. I'd like to try what Jim D. recommended too, but haven't gotten around to buying it. Usually though, I leave the partial japanning intact, and just use some paste wax on it.

For the sides of the plane, it depends what I'm after. I really like going to 320 or 400, but usually I get tired of sanding before I get there. Always hit the bottom of the plane with some rubs of plain paraffin wax as you use it.

This is what it looks like.

picture.php


Rex mill is a great resource. Practice is what I think teaches me the most.
 
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