How To Restore a Wooden Handplane

[@grumpasav]

Really good video and really like the calm, knowledgeable style of presentation. No loud sound effects, zany graphics, gimmicks or shouty "enthusiasm".

[@robohippy]

At least 90% of my woodworking skills are centered around once turned green wood bowls. The more they warp, the more I like them. I am getting back into flat work. A question I posed on one forum was about the thicker wood hand planes. All of them, of any age have end grain checking/cracking. My view, is that these come from stress relief. 8/4 wood can come pretty close to being at equilibrium as in close to the same moisture content through the whole board. Not so with 12/4 wood. It is too thick to ever equalize. So, why hasn't anyone ever made a thicker hand plane with a hole drilled down the middle? This would make a huge difference in the wood being able to be stabilized for moisture content. It might even be able to compensate for those seasonal changes which cause those cracks because the inside can't adjust as quickly as the outside, which causes stress, and stress is relieved by cracking. You can't dry a whole log, you have to slab it up...

[@coatpocketsurvivalist]

Excellent Video with a great amount of well presented information. Thank you very much.

[@isaacplaysbass8568]

Thank you for this, I've recently acquired some wooden handplanes that will benefit from some of these tips.

[@mattevans-koch9353]

Thank you. I have used the Stanley style planes and have the fettling down pretty well but I have several wooden hand planes that need some TLC to bring them back and have been unsure what to do. Now I know what to look for to decide if they can be saved and how to bring them back. thank you again.

[@HS-yk9he]

Excellent video!!! very informative. Thank you from Laguna Beach CA

[@chris-C8]

Great video! Question, does the grain orientation also transfer over to other tools? For example, a dovetail saw handle.

[@roberte.wilson5213]

I have some of these. I am restoring some up to 24 inches long. I am going to have some major repairs on handles. Also do recommend a blade/chip breaker to use when i don't have one? My purchase was a set of 25 in various conditions. Thanks for the information and this video.

[@donlunn792]

Excellent vid. Learned a lot about wooden planes.

[@michaelcima5772]

Thanks. Very enjoyable video

[@TheSMEAC]

Hey brother, thanks for all the great content and I’m super excited to be joining the Daily Dispatch. My question is this… I need to replace the strike button on my 17-1/2” foreplane. Everything is great, but the strike button has been mangled. What would would you suggest for material? I’ve thought of doing it from Lignum V; but also thought that “well, if I could find someone who sells or has a metal button striker I could source, that I’d just inlay it in a bit of maple and that into the plane body.” Also too, if I make a new one from a bit of timber, do I orient it end-grain or long; I’ve seen both and can see that there would be benefits and drawbacks to each (end-grain: would transfer energy to body without loss of energy, but probably doesn’t last as long and I can see having to re-glue/seat it to over time and then long-grain: would stay attached/seated better and may wear better, but the energy transfer wouldn’t be as sharp. Which explains my idea of Lig V, but I thought you’d be a great person to ask. Thoughts/Sources???

[@Drew_86]

When these planes were built and used, there was no indoor plumbing. People did not wash their hands very often and when they did, the water was already dirty from previous washes (they did not fetch a new pitcher of water every time). Toilet paper was not available yet. Hopefully there was something more than leaves in the outhouse. Let's not get too carried away with that patina.

[@donataspimpasas]

Hmm

[@CarabnrFilms]

Good argument to clean your new old tools! I rarely do, but you may have convinced me. I really liked the way Joel cleans up the body of the plane.

[@Drew_86]

@CarabnrFilms Do whatever makes you happy. The vast majority of old tools, including wooden hand planes, aren't rare. It belongs to you, so don't let anyone, including me, tell you how much or how little cleaning you should do. Let's just be realistic. Working in a factory building furniture in the 1700s or 1800s was hot, sweaty, dirty, and hard work.

[@CarabnrFilms]

@@Drew_86 so Much fun playing with these old planes though. Super time consuming getting everything tweaked. I have been looking for snipe billed planes, and they seem a bit rare.

[@jimbucket2996]

People actually think that shed DNA and other unwanted funk is added value to an item.🤔

[@andrietsa]

There are actually times where wood on wood does not glide that well. I was recently planing some light coloured mystery wood and I almost created a friction fire doing the planing! The sole of my wooden plane started turning brown from the heat and i could smell the wood. Once in a while you will come across wood that requires lubrication of your plane even though it's wood on wood!

[@ChansonOrpheline]

Nice information - thank you! Any additional things to look for with molding planes? I've a box of late Nineteenth century planes I'm planning to restore to use; mostly hollows and rounds and a couple more elaborate profiles. The bodies are clean and solid, minimal to no rust on the irons, but I'm wondering if there are other things to check?

[@mortisetenonmagazine]

Molding planes are similar but a little pickier because the profile of the sole has to match the profile of the iron exactly. I don't recommend starting with molding planes. Find an old jack plane somewhere.

[@timothymallon]

I have a question regarding wooden planes. I have a really nice looking razee style jack plane, however on one of the eyes, it has split where there wedge meets it. Its all on the inside, and the split is small. How can I repair that? I have tried opening the split slightly and put glue in and clamp it until dry, however as soon as I try to tap the wedge in with my mallet, the split comes back. Any suggestions? I've done this a couple times with it, but it doesnt seem to fix.

[@earthsciteach]

Great video, great channel!

[@leomeilak6532]

Old wooden planes have too wide a gap between the tip of the blade and front part of the plane. How would you fix it

[@davidtripp4221]

Why in the 19th century did plane makers switch the orientation of the grain in the tote from what had been common in the 18th century?

[@mortisetenonmagazine]

I don't know. It's a bad idea.

[@RafaelHe]

The later handles have longer thinner "horns", keeping the grain running vertically would not have worked for that shape. Same principle applies to saw handles.

[@joetomgizzledancer]

My perfectionist side of my brain used to say, "You need a flat plane to make a flat plane!", but I now know in reality that a not so flat plane can make a flat surface. Great video and thanks!

[@some-idea]

I realise that this is an older video, but hopefully you might still see the comments. I’ve inherited a couple of wooden coffin smoothers with cracked cheeks from shrinkage on the iron in their past. What is the best way to repair the cheeks?

[@ikust007]

5:14 do we have a video of that construction??

[@petertaylor3150]

Is there a reason you didn't recommend flattening the sole with a second plane? (assuming you have another working plane)

[@mortisetenonmagazine]

Peter, the sandpaper removes the minimal amount of material, is 100% accurate, and requires no special skill.

[@gregoryguarneri8473]

How do you distinguish plane type if you don’t know? Jack plane, jointer plane, block plane smoothing plane etc??

[@WalterMelons]

I have an old transition plane I think that’s from 1886-88 that has a bunch of paint splatter on it. Not sure what I wanted to do with it but I guess these are pretty easy to come by on eBay so I’d want to restore it or at least remove the paint. Will mineral spirits be the way to go?

[@mortisetenonmagazine]

AG, It may. If not, you'll need aromatic hydrocarbons such as xylene and toluene. I believe Goo Gone uses those as an active agent.

[@bigoldgrizzly]

A bit late to the party, but might help someone ..... when the paint landed on the plane there is a high chance that the surface was already dirty with oils waxes and the like and that does not make for a strong paint/surface bond. Most of these spatters can be remove by using a small piece of hard wood shaped down like a chisel edge... many will just 'ping off'. If that fails, try scraping them off one at a time using a 1/4 or 1/8 chisel held vertically as a scraper and doing just a little bit at a time. The very last traces can usually be got with some 0000 wire wool dipped in linseed oil. I usually remove all the paint spatters first, then go over the whole plane with w/wool and linseed oil to shift surface grime, wiping off the dirt as you go. I would not recommend paint strippers as they will remove all finishes and denature the wood into the bargain. For the same reason, I avoid alcohols, though turpentine oil can be useful in cleaning.

[@ikust007]

Good evening great friend !

[@ikust007]

4:55 would never thought that a 19th would make such a mistake

[@ikust007]

4:06 can you come back on that please . Why was it made like that then?

[@dylanbenedetto1203]

Use less good material, material goes further so more planes made and more money.

[@RafaelHe]

Why was the plane made for a single iron? Because that's how they were made up until the introduction of the cap iron around 1750. Single and double iron (cutting iron + cap iron) planes have been offered by plane makers since then, even today.

[@grampytinman3481]

I suspect you picked up a few of those planes at Liberty

[@mortisetenonmagazine]

You might be right about that!

[@HHH-nv9xb]

It is difficult to find a good wood plane in a reasonable condition for restoration. I seem most are firewood. If not, the seller wants too much for them.

[@HWCism]

Thanks

[@roberte.wilson5213]

I am finding that the more I restore planes the more i want to sell my metal planes and replace them with wooden ones.

[@MrZOMBIE170]

i prefer closed handled on my plane they are stronger and I think the look nicer

[@richardhansen768]

Folks need to stop suggesting mineral spirits for cleaning tools. For most situations there are safer options that don't contain climate damaging VOCs. I mostly just use Simple Green these days.

[@dylanbenedetto1203]

Or soap and water, if u wanna get hardcore. Local soap is gonna have lowest embodied negavtive impact. But using min spirit is insignificant if u look big pic VOC, look at refrig agents etc. Bad for mental health to worry about some things. Glad people care though!

[@fa256b7]

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