Tool Restoration: Stanley No. 4½ – Part 4

Part 4 – Iron and Wood

This is the final post in a four-part series in which I show all the steps that I took to restore  an English Stanley No. 4½ Jumbo Smoothing Plane.  You can read the earlier posts here:

I ended the previous post with the body and frog repainted and set aside.  The next item that I want to tackle is the cutting iron and the chip breaker.  In the first post of this series, these were both cleaned on the wire wheel and polished with the buffing wheel and green compound.  I neglected to mention at the time, that when buffing the iron, care has to be take to not overheat the steel.  It is surprising just how hot a buffer can make metal.  I  work on several different parts at once and keep rotating through them so that the others can sit and cool for a while before continuing on.

The iron and chip breaker after cleaning on the wire wheel and polishing at the buffer.

The iron and chip breaker after cleaning on the wire wheel and polishing at the buffer.

I’ll start with the iron and the first step is to flatten the back.

Flattening the back of the iron.

Flattening the back of the iron.

Not bad. Time to move up a grit.

Not bad. Time to move up a grit.

Continuing to refine the scratch pattern on the back of the iron.

Continuing to refine the scratch pattern on the back of the iron.

I set the primary bevel to 30°.

I set the primary bevel to 30°.

I realize that I didn’t photograph the next bit, but after the sandpaper I moved on to my Norton water stones and polished the back and the bevel 1,000 / 4,000 / 8,000.  This is just a usual sharpening process, so I don’t think it will adversely affect the post if I skip it.  This will have to be done repeatedly (other than flattening the back) in the future.  After the iron was sharp, I turned my attention to the chip breaker.  This will have to be done only once, so I took the time to get it just right.

I am a complete convert to the belief that a finely tuned chip breaker, set very close to the cutting edge, is the best method for preventing tear out.  Much more so than a tightly closed mouth.  There is a great video on YouTube that shows a Japanese lab testing various chip breaker angles and distances from the cutting edge.  It’s well worth checking out.

In my book, two things are important here.  You want a chip breaker that mates very tightly against the back of the cutting iron.  If there are any gaps, even 1/1,000th of an inch, shavings will get stuck and will jam the mouth of the plane.  Also, you want a smooth polished outer face to the chip breaker that has a fairly steep angle.  This forces the shavings to crumple as they leave the cutting edge and stops them from acting as levers, tearing out the fibers in the finished surface.

The good news is that this is fairly easy to do.  The steel in the chip breaker is much softer than the steel in the cutting iron and the stones make the job go very quickly.  I start by honing the lip on the underside of the chip breaker.  Like when sharpening the iron, I go through 1,000 / 4,000 / 8,000 on my water stones.

Honing the lip on the underside of the chip breaker.

Honing the lip on the underside of the chip breaker.

The front of the chip breaker is not looking so good.

The front of the chip breaker is not looking so good.

Using a rocking motion, to avoid creating a flat spot, I polish the leading ¼” of the chip breaker up to 8,000.

Truing up the front of the chip breaker.

Truing up the front of the chip breaker.

That's better. I continued on and polished it up to 8000.

That’s better. I continued on and polished it up to 8,000.

I also polished the underside edge of the lip to 8000.

I also polished the underside edge of the lip to 8,000.

Once done, I wiped down the chip breaker and the iron with an oily rag and put them together.  I tightened the chip breaker screw and held the assembly up to a bright light to see if there were any gaps.  There were none.  If there were, you can go back to the stones and apply pressure on the opposite side of the gap, then reassemble and retest.

Reassembled and testing the fit.

Reassembled and testing the fit.

One little extra step that I take is to repaint the lever cap.  Prior to type 13, Stanley lever caps were flat, with no text.  Some Type 13’s, and all Type 14’s have “STANLEY” in a relief engraving on the front of the lever cap, but there is no paint on these.  With the advent of Type 15 (my favorite), the background engraving around the “STANLEY” text was filled with orange paint.  With the change to Type 16, the keyhole shaped opening for the cap screw was changed to the kidney shape you see below.  I prefer the keyhole shaped opening.  Anyway, enough waffling.

The orange paint on this lever cap was not in great condition.  Buffing the lever cap with compound left all kinds of black gunk in the recessed area.  You may remember that I removed it with mineral spirits and a toothbrush in the first post.  If you want to completely remove the paint before repainting, something like acetone or lacquer thinner will dissolve it.  I have done this in the past.  After all the scrubbing I had done on this lever cap, I was fairly confident that what paint was left, was well bonded to the metal.  I’m comfortable painting over it.

I’ve looked all over the place for a paint that matches the Stanley orange.  I’ve searched several model shops and most craft stores carry the Testors model paints.  The Testors orange doest not look right, it’s too red.  A few years ago, I found a paint color called “Go Mango” by Model Master.  It is the closest I have found.  It’s not a 100% match, but I’d say it’s probably about 98%. I’ve been using this same tiny pot of paint for 4 years now and I doubt I’ve used a tenth of it.

Model paint used to freshen up the orange in the lever cap.

Model paint used to freshen up the orange in the lever cap.

Using magnifying glasses and a fine brush, I dab paint into the recessed background area.  If a little bit gets on the letters, don’t worry, it scratches of easily enough with a fingernail once partially dry.  Remove the excess before it fully cures though.

This is tricky. Once dry, I'll scrape off the orange paint that got on the letters.

This is tricky. Once dry-ish, I’ll scrape off the orange paint that got on the letters.

Ok, I installed the iron, chip breaker, and lever cap into the plane and set it aside once more.

That's the metal parts done. I'll set this aside while I work on the wood.

That’s the metal parts done. I’ll set this aside while I work on the wood.

Time to talk about wood refinishing.  Most Stanley planes (at least the collectible/desirable ones) have nice Rosewood handles.  Sometime around World War II, Stanley switched from Rosewood to stained or painted Beech handles.  These aren’t as nice.  Since I’m refinishing a completely different wood (i.e. not Rosewood), I’m going to have to change my usual refinishing process.  I’ll talk about these differences along the way.

The first thing needed is an improvised tool.  I take an old square drive bit (but Philips would work fine too) and wrap the end in masking tape.  The masking tape needs to be thick enough that the front knob of the plane will just barely push on to the driver.  It needs to be snug.  With the knob on the driver bit, you can mount the assembly in your drill and sand the knob while it’s spinning.  I make a second bit for the tote, but obviously you can’t sand this while it’s spinning as it’s asymmetrical.  This bit is simply for holding the tote and standing it upright while allowing it to dry.  A shorter bit works well for turning the knob on the drill, but a longer bit works well as a handle when applying finish.

Old square drive drivers.

Old square drive hex bits.

I sand the wood back to bare and smooth, but I’m not concerned with removing every trace of stain.  If you were so inclined, this would be a good time to reshape the tote with a rasp. I did ease some of the curves of the tote with sandpaper, but didn’t go too extreme.  I sand up to 320 grit.

I started by sanding all the old finish and crud off the knob and tote.

I started by sanding all the old finish and crud off the knob and tote.

Now is where the first big difference between Rosewood handles and Beech handles appears.  On Rosewood handles, I do not apply an oil finish first.  In my experience, oil (like Watco Danish Oil, even the clear one) makes Rosewood turn very dark almost like ebony.  Much of the beautiful Rosewood grain is lost.  Instead, I start with 2-3 coats of shellac.  I’ve found that this preserves the appearance and I can easily top coat with poly afterwards.  If you’re finishing Rosewood, skip the first two steps below.

Since in this case I’m working with Beech (at least I think so), I’ll take a different path.  As a first step, I use Watco Danish Oil and really let it soak into the wood.   Watco can be found in “Natural” (sort of yellowish clear) or in various other colors.  These other colors have some stain mixed in with the finish.  I’m not fond of these others except for one.  The “Red Mahogany” color is fantastic.  Of course, since I like it, it is nearly impossible to find.  I don’t know if the color has been discontinued, but there are several places near me that sell the complete line of Watco products and none of them have Red Mahogany.  I’ve even asked them to contact their suppliers to get some for me, with no luck.  Instead, I bought a few very expensive cans on amazon a couple of years ago and have been hoarding them.

I apply the oil very heavily and let the wood soak up as much as it can.  Keep applying it until it will absorb no more.  Then, wipe of all the excess and leave it to dry for at least a day. More is better.  I drilled holes in a scrap block of wood to serve as a stand while letting the parts dry.

My favorite (and very hard to find) finish. Watco Danish Oil in Red Mahogany color.

My favorite (and very hard to find) finish. Watco Danish Oil in Red Mahogany color.

The wood has taken on a nicer color now, but still just looks like stained Beech.  This can be improved with the application of a gel stain.  These types of stain sit on the surface of the wood and don’t really penetrate.  That’s why I started with the Watco.  This can be over done, if applied too heavily, the gel stain will just look like brown paint.  I used Minwax Mahogany Gel Stain.

Mahogany Gel Stain.

Mahogany Gel Stain.

I brush it on with a disposable chip brush and then lightly brush it back off.  Using a crappy brush really helps as bristles are so sparse that they tend to create a wood-grain look.  The surface will look awful, but don’t let that bother you for now.  It gets fixed later.

The picture below, the lighter red areas are the stained Beech showing through from underneath and the darker brown areas are the gel stain on the surface.  Cool, huh?

I brushed on some gel stain in a way that kind of simulates wood grain.

I brushed on some gel stain in a way that kind of simulates wood grain.

Let the gel stain dry for at least a day.  Again, more is better.  You are probably figuring out by now that this is not a quick process.  Each step only takes about 10 minutes and then you set it aside to cure for a day.  I’m usually working on other things in the shop while this is going on.

Once the gel stain is dry, I start applying shellac.  I buy Zinser Seal Coat and thin it 50/50 with denatured alcohol (methylated spirits for those of you back home in England).  I use a natural bristle acid brush bought from Harbor Freight. These are the same brushes that I use to apply glue.  I really need to get a nicer brush for shellac, but don’t know what to get. It’s on my future shopping list.  The great thing about shellac is that you can apply a follow-up coat about every 20 minutes.  The shellac creates a nice film finish that goes in between the stains and the polyurethane topcoats.

Next up is a 50/50 thinned cut of shellac/alcohol.

Next up is a 50/50 thinned cut of shellac/alcohol.

After about three or fours coats, I lightly sand with 320 grit paper and then apply 2-3 coats of Watco Wipe-On Poly.

Watco Gloss Wipe-on Poly

Watco Gloss Wipe-on Poly

After a couple of coats of shellac and a light sanding with 320, I added a couple of coats of Watco Oil Based Gloss Polyurethane.

After a couple of coats of shellac and a light sanding with 320, I added a couple of coats of Watco Oil Based Gloss Polyurethane.

Polyurethanes are glossy by default.  To make them semi-gloss, satin, or mate, flatteners have to be added to the mix.  Don’t believe me?  Take a bottle of satin poly that has sat on the shelf for a couple of months. Carefully pick it up and don’t mix it.  Dip a brush in the finish at the top of the can and apply it to something.  It will dry glossy.  Now mix the can thoroughly and apply some more in a different spot. It will dry satin.

So, why am I saying this?  Here is another important tip.  Only use Hi-Gloss poly when building up your finish.  I know… it has that wet, dipped look and will look totally out of place on a finished plane.  Don’t worry it isn’t going to stay like this.

Here’s why I do it this way.  The flatteners in the poly are somewhat opaque and stop you from seeing all on the nice detail of the wood underneath.  On a single coat this doesn’t matter, but if you add four coats of poly that all have flatteners in them, the wood starts to get a bit muddy and dull.  Hi-gloss poly doesn’t have these flatteners and builds up a nice clear coat.  You can top coat with semi-gloss or satin later.

I find that polyurethane wants about 8 to 12 hours to dry.  I usually apply one coat in the morning and one in the evening.  After about three coats, I sand the finish back with 320 grit sandpaper.  This helps to get rid of any unevenness in the surface or any runs.  Depending upon how far back you have to sand the finish, you can decide whether you want to apply another 2-3 coats of high-gloss poly or proceed to the semi-gloss top coat.  In this case, I applied two more coats, and then sanded back once more.

Sanded with 320 to level the finish and prepare for the final coat.

Sanded with 320 to level the finish and prepare for the final coat.

 

I went back to my paint storage cupboard and got out my can of Watco semi-gloss poly.  I opened it and discovered that it had gone completely hard.  Luckily, I found a can of Minwax wipe on poly in satin finish.  I normally use the Watco, but I might as well use what I have on hand.

A nice even coat of the satin poly finished the job.  As you can see, with all of these steps, refinishing the wooden parts takes about a week.  After the initial sanding, it only takes about 10 minutes per day, but 24-hour dry times, tend to drag the process out.

The final top coat is satin poly.

The final top coat is satin poly.

I reinstalled the knob and tote on the plane… and the job was done.

The finished plane reassembled.

The finished plane reassembled.

I won’t go so far as to say that the oil stain/gel stain combination makes the knob and tote look exactly like Rosewood, but it is close enough that when you see this plane side-by-side with a Rosewood handled plane, the difference is not glaringly obvious. In other words, it’s sufficient camouflage for blending in with the rest of my plane collection.

A plane that will make me happy both to use and look at.

A plane that will make me happy both to use and look at.

Though not rosewood, the tote came out looking pretty good.

Though not rosewood, the tote came out looking pretty good.

The barkeepers friend really made the depth adjusting wheel shine.

The barkeepers friend really made the depth adjusting wheel shine.

$20 and a lot of elbow grease turned out a decent plane.

$20 and a lot of elbow grease turned out a decent plane.

What good is a beautiful tool if it doesn’t work?  Time to set it up and test it out.  I managed to get translucent shavings from a scrap piece of douglas fir.  I couldn’t ask for a better result than that.

It takes a beautifully thin shaving.

It takes a beautifully thin shaving.

I took it outside to show how the wood looks in the daylight.

I took it outside to show how the wood looks in the daylight.

So, here’s a quick side-by-side before-and-after.

The Stanley No. 4½ (Jumbo) smoothing plane. Mine is an English version.

The finished plane reassembled.

 

 

 

 

 

I’m very happy with how this tuned out.

One last photo just because.

One last photo just because.

 

I only briefly mentioned this at the start of the first post, but I bought this plane on eBay.co.uk.  My winning bid was £7.37 and shipping (to a UK address) cost me £8.00.  I can’t remember what the currency exchange rate was at the time, but at today’s exchange rate, that works out to $19.94.  Of course, countless hours of labor went into the project, but it sure has yielded a fantastic tool.

I know that serious tool collectors would be aghast at completely stripping and refinishing an old plane.  (Well, not this one since it is an English Stanley and not really collectible).  But I don’t care.  I’m not trying to create a tool museum, I’m trying to put together a set of good quality functional tools, that also look nice.  I wanted a No. 4 ½ plane for my set, And now I have one.  Best of all, I didn’t have to break the bank to get one. I’d still love a Lie-Nielsen 4½, but until that is in the budget, I’ll be very happy making do with this.   I have a sneaking suspicion that this plane looks better now than it did when it left the factory.  Well, with the exception of the chip breaker, as no amount of polishing will restore the flaked chrome.

Thanks for sticking with me.  I hope you have enjoyed this series.  I’m not sure what took longer restoring the tool, or writing these posts.  Thanks to all of you who have commented on the previous posts.  Your tips and suggestions will only make my future tool restorations better still.

All the best,

Jonathan White

About Jonathan

I am a woodworker and hand tool restorer / collector. I buy too many tools and don't build enough - I need help!
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20 Responses to Tool Restoration: Stanley No. 4½ – Part 4

  1. Man, that’s nice! I sure have bookmarked your posts for future reference in case I do a plane restoration. Thanks for sharing

    • jefski says:

      Same here. Great job on the restore, and on presenting how you did it. I have a couple of planes that are going to get at least part of this treatment. Will have to find anoother way to bake the paint, though. No way that’s happening in my wife’s kitchen. 😮

      • Jonathan says:

        Hi Jeff,

        Book her a spa appointment and open all the windows. 🙂 🙂 🙂

        In all likelihood, you probably don’t have to bake the paint. However, as thick as it is painted on, I would give it at least a week to cure. Maybe two. If you’re not in a hurry, it’s worth a try.

        All the best,

        Jonathan

    • Jonathan says:

      You’re welcome. I’m glad you liked it.

  2. dpawson says:

    Re brushes, try
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pro-Arte-Ranson-inches-Quality/dp/B005WK2LBY
    Store (few weeks) wrapped in (US version of) cling film. (Saran wrap?)

    Ron Ranson Hake Brush Medium – 1 1/4 inches Goat Hair,

  3. There is something about the lines of a Stanley plane that no today can capture. Nicely done.
    Use a hake brush for shellac (amazon)

  4. Eric Commarato says:

    Beautiful restoration Jonathan. I’ve used a product called pontypool asphaltum sold by available thru http://www.libertyonthehudson.com. On a one of my Stanley #7s. It’s similar to what Stanley used back in their manufacturing days. I actually think your paint looks more authentic!

  5. Steve D says:

    Looks great Jonathan. Would you say the biggest time commitment was the flattening of the sole and sides or the handles?

    I had bought a new Made in England #5 and #6 at the Stanley store in the 80’s. The castings were very heavy compared to some of the older US planes and other than the plastic handles they were good planes. I did have to do a fair amount of flattening on them. In the end, they looked out of place next to all the old planes and I sold them off.

    Steve

    • Jonathan says:

      Hey Steve,

      Thanks. The flattening of the sides and sole wasn’t too bad on this plane. In fact, it went rather more quickly than I was expecting (maybe under an hour). The handles take a long time, especially the sanding. I usually have an audiobook playing in my shop so time tends to disappear without my notice. Since so much of the time on the handles is waiting for stain or finish to dry, I tend to work on the other parts of the job while that’s happening. In my posts, I tried to organize the process into complete steps so that it reads more coherently. In reality, I’m doing a little bit of this over here, while something else is drying over there. Or, I might only have 45 minutes in the shop one day, so polish and shape the chip breaker. It’s much more erratic than it appears on the blog.

      All the best,

      Jonathan

  6. Matt McGrane says:

    Really loved this series, Jonathan. Thanks so much for presenting it. Sellers uses those “hake” brushes for shellac and that’s where many people heard of them. I bought a couple of them last year and I like them a lot. Don’t know yet how they’ll last, though.

    • Jonathan says:

      Matt,

      I’m really glad that you liked it. I think a hake brush is going in my amazon cart in the near future. 🙂 I think I also want to try ordering some shellac flakes. My tin of Seal Coat is a few years old and doesn’t dry quite as hard as I think it should. It’s probably time for new stuff.

      All the best,

      Jonathan

  7. MP says:

    Excellent series. I have a few planes in the wings to restore. I have done a few before this, but I found some tips in your blogs that I will put to use. I especially liked the finishing portion. I have done several hand drills (you can see them on my blog at michael-parrish.com) and I will probably try the full gloss poly under semi-gloss on one of my upcoming drills. What do you apply your poly with? Have you ever experimented with making reproduction decals for the tote?

    • Jonathan says:

      MP,

      Thanks! I’m glad that you liked the series. I’ve been applying the polly with cheap disposable acid brushes, but I’m going to look into getting something better. I’ve never tried replicating the decals, as I think I prefer the tote without them.

      All the best,

      Jonathan

  8. SteveL says:

    Enjoyed your blog. And FYI … I think I have found the perfect Stanley Orange paint … DecoraArt, Americana line of acrylic paints, “Jack-O’-Lantern Orange” color. I purchased this at Hobby Lobby in their aisle of HUNDREDS of paints for hobby work. I think Home Depot carries this line of hobby paints too, but not sure if they carry this color. (BTW, Hobby Lobby had dozens of oranges, and this one is the best.) I have a pic (but don’t know if I can post pics to your blog) of the bottle alongside a lever cap with part of the “Stanley” background in the original orange and part of the background painted with the Jack-O’-Lantern Orange … can’t tell the difference.

    • Jonathan says:

      Hi Steve,

      Thanks for the tip, I really appreciate it. I’ve looked up the paint you recommended and it looks great. Obviously I can only see the color online and not next to a Stanley lever cap, but I’d say it looks amazingly similar. My only concern would be using an acrylic paint instead of an enamel. I’m going to have to see if I can pick up a bottle of this.

      Thanks again, and I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog.

      All the best,

      Jonathan

  9. Doug Sammons says:

    Restoring a Disston 10pt/26″ Victory saw with rosewood handle w/ classic vine, entire but lots of knicks. Cleaned up with Homer Fornby’s to remove grime and old varnish(?). Have applied shellac uncut 4 coats but hard to get it brushed right so sanding scraping. the grain does pop. Shellac easily removed if necessary. The top coat of wipe on satin poly is a great idea and will do it. Was able get plate nearly mirror by working sanding grits up starting with 80 and rust blaster finishing with 1200-1500 and gun barrel cleaner then buffing wheel, cautious around engravings. Polished nickle plated brass with buffing wheel and spray coat of clear rust oleum for wheel hubs.

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