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Spent the afternoon in the shop, finishing up a refurb on a #4, Type 17 (WWII MODEL) Stanley plane. I really like the Type 17's, mainly for their much heavier castings. Their finish isn't as good as earlier ones - better than post war types, though - but everything else about them is just fine. Not too many 'collectors' are interested in them, so prices still aren't too bad.
Case in point: I recently picked up the #4 I refurbed, plus another #4 and a #3, all for $15.00 at a local flea market.
The one in the center is the one I finished today. It was a real dog to start. It spent overnight in the electrolysis tank, then got a lot of work with Scotchbrite and SOS pads to get it clean and relatively shiny. Interestingly, the sole was virtually dead flat, and only needed a few passes over each grit on the granite block - 120 ~ 400 - to be ready to go.
The wood was completely shot, so I made a new knob and tote from cherry. I like the contour of the tote on my LN 85, so I more or less used that as a pattern for the new one. Finished it with Watco Natural.
Cleaned and sharpened the origina Stanley blade and I was in business, as you can see from the sample shavings.
The other 17's in the picture are: Left - a refurbed #4 I got from Steve Clardy in a trade for some Bedrock parts; and Rear - a #4 and #3 that are original and waiting their turn for refurb.
The other members of the 17 family are: (L ~R)
The #4 from Steve; a #3 with new Rosewood tote and knob and a Spehar Tool Works prototype blade; the newly refurbed #4; a refurbed #4½ with LN blade and new Rosewood knob and tote, and; in the rear, the as yet unrefurbed #4 and #3.
These bring the total number of planes currently on hand up to somewhere aroung eighty. Yep, that slope sure is slippery!
Case in point: I recently picked up the #4 I refurbed, plus another #4 and a #3, all for $15.00 at a local flea market.
The one in the center is the one I finished today. It was a real dog to start. It spent overnight in the electrolysis tank, then got a lot of work with Scotchbrite and SOS pads to get it clean and relatively shiny. Interestingly, the sole was virtually dead flat, and only needed a few passes over each grit on the granite block - 120 ~ 400 - to be ready to go.
The wood was completely shot, so I made a new knob and tote from cherry. I like the contour of the tote on my LN 85, so I more or less used that as a pattern for the new one. Finished it with Watco Natural.
Cleaned and sharpened the origina Stanley blade and I was in business, as you can see from the sample shavings.
The other 17's in the picture are: Left - a refurbed #4 I got from Steve Clardy in a trade for some Bedrock parts; and Rear - a #4 and #3 that are original and waiting their turn for refurb.
The other members of the 17 family are: (L ~R)
The #4 from Steve; a #3 with new Rosewood tote and knob and a Spehar Tool Works prototype blade; the newly refurbed #4; a refurbed #4½ with LN blade and new Rosewood knob and tote, and; in the rear, the as yet unrefurbed #4 and #3.
These bring the total number of planes currently on hand up to somewhere aroung eighty. Yep, that slope sure is slippery!