Stanley Lever Cap Authentic Restoration and Nickel Plating with Dr Joe

Stanley Lever Cap Restoration. Restore a Stanley plane lever cap with Dr. Joe. Learn how to restore a Stanley plane lever cap using nickel plating and fine polishing and painting. You can purchase Nickle strips and Orange Testors paint below.
Buy Pure Nickel Strips 99.6%: amzn.to/43GMtTF
Buy TESTORS Orange Enamel Paint: amzn.to/3vAjN20
* please be advised that the above link is an affiliate link, and I do receive a small commission if you make a purchase which helps support videos like these

[@sunbear5]

Nice job Joe! I have several vintage Stanley Planes that were fortunately very well preserved by my dad along with a bunch of very serious hand tools that belonged to my dad and grandfather who were both pattern makers and model makers for the car companies. These tools are beautiful and ultra sharp. They don’t make them like that anymore.

[@stevenmuraco]

Great video & instruction, as always

[@JosephHunstad]

The total time for nickel plating was just a couple hours. I kept taking it out and looking at it to see how The process was going. Thank you very much. The nickel acetate solution is very stable and lasts a long time.

[@antonm8719]

Thank you sir!

[@JosephHunstad]

Thank you very much for your comment. I hope you found it helpful. Consider subscribing. Thanks Joe.

[@emersonassis7154]

I just finished my restoration at a Stanley lever cap like yours.It worked pretty well about nickel plating and mine is one step below yours (but it was my first time).I polished using Autosol and hand only.Looks good.Tomorrow "ll paint orange back letters.It is amazing to discover I can do it at home.I have some Stanley parts I want to nickel plating. One more time thanks a lot for share with us this "secret".

[@4Truth4All]

Great job Joe!

[@JosephHunstad]

Hey Lonnie, Thank you very much. Please consider subscribing. I think old tools are just fantastic to restore. Take care Joe

[@RGRGJKK]

pura vida Dr joe great restoration I have some vintage stanley bench plane but in my country is difficult to find original parts replacements so this method of electro-nickel restoration will become an great oportunity in order to restore a stanley lever cap pura vida

[@JosephHunstad]

Thank you very much for your comment. The process of restoring your lever cap be very straightforward and you can get a beautiful result. It’s wonderful to take the original piece and bring it back to a condition that is as good as new or possibly better. Which country are you from? Thank you take care Dr. Joe

[@paulnye1899]

Thanks for the info. Enjoyed your video.

[@JosephHunstad]

Thanks for your very nice comment. Restoring those old Tools is really a pleasure. Then when they’re all tuned up using them as even better. Consider subscribing. Thanks Joe.

[@JosephHunstad]

I’m so glad it works for you. The nickel plating is actually really fun and as long as the metal is clean you can nickel plate virtually anything. I nickel plated a penny which is pretty neat to see a silver penny.

[@walterg4025]

Nice work! I've avoided some planes on eBay, because they had lever caps with damaged nickel finish. I don't think that's a problem now, because anything can be fixed if you just make the effort. Thanks for posting this.

[@JosephHunstad]

Thank you for your comment. Nickel plating is actually really fun and pretty easy. I’m glad you enjoyed the video let me know how your success is with lever cap nickel plating.Joe

[@emersonassis7154]

It was a very nice job Joe.I loved it and just finished to make my solution.Please how many hours the lever cap stayed at green solution to be ready? Congratulations from Brazil

[@Rattletrap-xs8il]

You can improve the process by chilling the solution, adding agitation, and there are a few additives to allow the nickel to build and level out. Also, voltage should be kept very low.

[@JosephHunstad]

Fantastic thank you for your excellent comments. Please let me know with the additives are that you suggest. Take care joe

[@jamesmorrissey6301]

Would you recommend lightly nickel plating the sole and wings if the plane will be stored in a high-humidity room? Your lever cap looks better than new!

[@JosephHunstad]

Thank you for your comment. I would not recommend nickel plating those surfaces. For long-term storage I would either put some Camela oil on them or something similar. You’re going to use the base and probably need to flatten that occasionally so I think that’s what I would recommend

[@HBrsz]

Thanks for sharing. I noticed that you have, what I presume is, sanding lines after plating and buffing. Can this be avoided? Perhaps by sanding with finer grid sandpaper before plating?

[@JosephHunstad]

Yes thank you for your comment those are some lines but in general I think if you used a finer grit and get those completely gone and then buffed it the buffer will do miraculous things you could probably almost turn the lever cap and do a piece of jewelry.

[@stacylippard717]

I think “ Dr. Joe” needs to stick to his day job. He is messing up his beautiful fingers! 🤩... I keep noticing all those bandaids 😉 But on another note Big bossman, you can teach me how to install a Ring Door bell for my house. The hard wire type not a battery😁

[@DougAdams-uo1ee]

Enjoyed your video! What type and shade orange paint is correct? I did notice it looks like a model paint jar. Where did you purchase the nickel for plating? Thank you again for your viedos!!!!!!

[@JosephHunstad]

Hello Doug. I will put links to both the testers paint and nickel strips in the video description below probably in the next day or two. Thank you. Joe.

[@JosephHunstad]

Hello there. I linked both the nickel strips for plating and the testers orange paint. Thanks again. Joe.

[@twcmaker]

Hi Dr. Joe. Great video. I loved going through the nickel plating process with you. I watched all the way to the end. Very informative. I've liked, subscribed and commented. Love your style, very similar to mine. Be great if you could find time to watch a couple of mine. 👍 Jamie

[@JosephHunstad]

Awesome, thank you! I have subscribed to you!

[@Sid-cy8zx]

Nice video great explanation. Rather then sanding, have you tried reverse electrolytes to remove the plating, if so with what results?

[@JosephHunstad]

Thank you for your comment. I have not tried reversal electrolysis. It’s a clever idea. I still would add some sanding just to improve the surface quality. Thanks Joe

[@Sid-cy8zx]

@@JosephHunstad Good point,thanks for the video. Regards, Sid.

[@roybailey1134]

Very nice job, but why do you call the lever cap a Leather cap?

[@JosephHunstad]

Hello Roy! Thank you for your nice comment. I’ve got a check that video again. It must be just my miss-speak! Consider subscribing. Thanks, Joe.

[@blondiebland4364]

what kind of wire did you sue & how did you attach it to the lever cap?

[@JosephHunstad]

Hello, Blondie! Thank you for your question. I believe you’re asking about the wire cup wheel that I have connected to the drill press. These are readily available and do an excellent job of removing rust and debris when you’re doing restoration. I would run it at a relatively low rpm, and you should never use such a thing in a router. It’s too dangerous. Consider subscribing. Thanks. - Joe .

[@johann1967]

Any special precautions when sanding the old nickel or handling the nickel powder?

[@JosephHunstad]

Thank you for your comment question. I am not an expert on toxic materials but obviously you wouldn’t want to breathe that powdered metal. The key for sanding is actually to use a very fine grit otherwise you might leave scratch marks on the surface that could become more visible after the nickel plating. I just vacuumed up the dust made in my dust collection system and then it goes out into the trash. Thank you again Joe

[@Ruelix]

Great video Dr. Joe... Just one question. Do you recall the manufacturer and color code of the orange paint you used?

[@JosephHunstad]

Thank you for your comment. I could not find a brand Stanley name paint. So what I used was Testors Orange which looks identical to the original so that’s what I used. Joe

[@mohdewaje]

Sir Have you stopped sharing body contouring surgeries! I am eager to learn

[@JosephHunstad]

More to come. I have my fellows working on some more right now. On the other hand, I am planning on retiring later this year so I am sharing all the things I'm going to be doing during retirement. Stay safe. Thank you.

[@mohdewaje]

@@JosephHunstad thanks a million 😊 Wish you all the best . 🌹🌹🌹

[@JosephHunstad]

@@mohdewaje Thank you brother Stay Safe Joe

[@Cody-on4wm]

Nice work on the lever Joe. Looking forward to seeing the finished project once completed. By chance was that your exhaust fan I heard running at the end of the video when you were painting. If it was that is pretty quiet which is nice on the ears. Keep the videos coming, Charles.

[@GM-gc8gg]

What level of DC voltage is used?

[@JosephHunstad]

I used both 9 Volts and 12 volts. The higher the voltage the faster the plating. Thank you JPH

[@GM-gc8gg]

@@JosephHunstad Thanks for the quick reply and a great video!

[@NeverTalkToCops1]

Obviously, there are a LOT of scratch marks. Why? Too much work, way too much work for such a sloppy result.

[@JosephHunstad]

Thank you for your comment and yes you make a good point. I should've used wet dry sandpaper to a much higher grit to achieve virtually flawless surface and then nickel plated and that would've been a better outcome. I'll do that next time. Consider subscribing. Thanks Joe