Vintage woodworking hand tool restorations

aggierailroad · Nov 13, 2013

Nothing too fancy here, just a semi-thorough restoration of a Millers Falls No. 23 coping saw and a Dunlap hand brace.

Picked them both up for $5 at an estate sale.

Didn't think I would like the bit and brace, but man is it sweet to use. So quiet and is quite fast.

Here's where we started:

And using the cheapie Harbor Freight pedestal buffer, here's what you get:

And in use:

Just some pressure treated 2x4 with the bit set at 1". I bought the whole kit just because of the bit; I've never seen an adjustable bit before and thought it was neat.

I forgot to get a pic of the coping saw, but you can probably use your imagination. Thanks for looking

DoghouseForge · Nov 13, 2013

Sweet!

I got a bunch of old hand tools like that, definitely gonna clean them up now.

That buffer is gonna make you wanna polush all kinds of stuff.

Congrats!

Jp

balane · Nov 13, 2013

DoghouseForge said:
That buffer is gonna make you wanna polush all kinds of stuff.

That is definitely and understatement. I've spent a lot of time in front of my buffer.

OP did a great job!!

balane · Nov 13, 2013

Here's a couple of old planes I recently finished with. One is a 1902 Stanley Bailey No. 5 and the other is Millers Falls block plane that is about 20 years younger.

.

rusty_ratchet · Nov 13, 2013

Wow! @aggierailroad and @balane, your projects turned out great! Do you either of you use polishing compound with your buffer?

balane · Nov 13, 2013

Sure, some form of compounds are needed with a buffing wheel. I use the white sticks mostly when shining up metal. There wasn't a lot of polishing on those planes however. I chemically stripped them all down and then fine cleaned them by hand before paint prep. They were rusted blobs when I started. The bare metal parts of the planes were cleaned up with a soft wire wheel.

zkling · Nov 13, 2013

Very nice. To me there seems to be something soothing about using non powered wood working tools. A nice sharp blade and let the chips fly :thumbup:

I'll have to grab a pic of some of my planes.

aggierailroad · Nov 13, 2013

balane said:
Sure, some form of compounds are needed with a buffing wheel. I use the white sticks mostly when shining up metal. There wasn't a lot of polishing on those planes however. I chemically stripped them all down and then fine cleaned them by hand before paint prep. They were rusted blobs when I started. The bare metal parts of the planes were cleaned up with a soft wire wheel.

The gray compound on the hard wheel and the green on the soft.

I do tend to spend a lot of time in front of that buffer... it's more satisfying than mowing a rough lawn. The change is so dramatic and brass is a real pleasure to buff. My #5 and #4 planes are about done - pics to come soon.

Might have to invest in a heavier duty buffer... :rocker:

rusty_ratchet · Nov 14, 2013

balane said:
Sure, some form of compounds are needed with a buffing wheel. I use the white sticks mostly when shining up metal. There wasn't a lot of polishing on those planes however. I chemically stripped them all down and then fine cleaned them by hand before paint prep. They were rusted blobs when I started. The bare metal parts of the planes were cleaned up with a soft wire wheel.

What chemical strippers do you use? I have some old woodworking and mechanics tools that are pretty rusty that I need to clean up. I did some searching on youtube and saw that some people suggest using CLR (calcium lime and rust) like what one would use on bathroom fixtures. Do you have any experience or thoughts on using CLR?

balane · Nov 14, 2013

I just use whatever stripping gel I happen to have. They all seem to work the same, which is to say pretty dern good. I think the can I have now is made by Jasco. Never used CLR so can't comment on that.

Hogtown · Nov 14, 2013

zkling said:
Very nice. To me there seems to be something soothing about using non powered wood working tools. A nice sharp blade and let the chips fly I'll have to grab a pic of some of my planes.

Agree 100%. I actively search for opportunities to break out my non-powered hand tools. Bit & Brace, Miller Falls #5 Egg beater drill, block plane, or (probably my favorite) the Yankee spiral screwdriver. Really enjoy working with all of the them.

trainman1385 · Nov 14, 2013

Once you start restoring these old tools it gets in your blood and you can't stop. I have a full drawer of had planes I have restored and I am always looking for another one. I think I will be buffing my brace and bit tonight when i get home tonight

jakemac · Nov 14, 2013

trainman1385 said:
Once you start restoring these old tools it gets in your blood and you can't stop. I have a full drawer of had planes I have restored and I am always looking for another one. I think I will be buffing my brace and bit tonight when i get home tonight

T M I !!!!! :scared:

Mr. 360 · Nov 14, 2013

I have so many old tools that I plan to buff out sometime. Maybe I'll pick up some buffing wheels and go to town on a bunch of planes, brace bits, ratchets, etc during these long Canadian winter nights.

Definitely +1 on it getting into your blood

ZRX61 · Nov 14, 2013

Theres an FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/61772754249/

ZRX61 · Nov 14, 2013

oops, wrong link, here ya go...

https://www.facebook.com/groups/350584978316356/

Fyrme · Nov 14, 2013

balane said:
Here's a couple of old planes I recently finished with. One is a 1902 Stanley Bailey No. 5 and the other is Millers Falls block plane that is about 20 years younger.

.

I've never seen a non rusted unbroken handle plane before. I have a couple somewhere. It kinda makes me want to restore them now.

OP, you can sometimes find those water transfer Dunlap decals on eBay. I bought a pair a while back to use on a couple Dunlap tools I have.

rickhigginshtbr · Nov 14, 2013

subscribed

nice work!

trainman1385 · Nov 15, 2013

Here are a couple hand planes I recently cleaned up
Before
https://scontent-b-pao.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1377163_10202263600932115_1327141744_n.jpg
after with a couple other hand planes I restored
https://scontent-a-pao.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/1392452_10202263601892139_673776613_n.jpg
https://scontent-a-pao.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/524106_10200877767527146_685126584_n.jpg

rick carpenter · Nov 16, 2013

I prefer to leave a little more patina on my vintage woodworking tools, but yours cleaned up really nicely, AggieRailroad, and they'll be good users no doubt. Good job. On one of your planes though, it looks like the tote has a broken horn. That's not a fix I like to have to make because it always seems untrustworthy. I bought one of those adjustable bits from a friend that was moving and promptly misplaced it, but I have a mishmash set of decent augur bits.

If you haven't heard of it, Sawmill Creek forum is a good place for woodworking tools/etc.

rick carpenter · Nov 16, 2013

rick carpenter said:
I bought one of those adjustable bits from a friend that was moving and promptly misplaced it, ...

Hey, look, I found it. It's a Bruno 201-B Expansive Bit bit with a bonus rusty Snell Clark Expansive Bit with the lead screw broken off.

trainman1385 · Mar 17, 2015

Here is my Brace and Bit. I cleaned up the brace and bits, they were all rusty and then added a lid to the box to hold the bitshttps://scontent-sjc.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10429461_10205886824470439_5506664155939732800_n.jpg?oh=4acf4f82b9b4a1290546f264dc82f061&oe=55834D7C

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