Stanley totes / handles v3.0

[@Heseblesens]

Another very informative and inspirational video! 👍🏻 One little tip from a user plane restorer and fettler, for the part of boring the hole for the bolt and nut through the «new» wood at the top of the rear handle/tote or the knob (the planes I come across are mostly the English Stanley Baileys with the beech handles): I find that boring from the bottom of the handle with a 1/4 inch or 6 mm brad point bit until the brad point reveals the center spot of the new hole. Then I use a 3-12mm step bit to bore from the top of the tote/knob using the brad mark as the center of the hole. After 12 repaired totes and 2 knobs this way I can say that this way has saved me hours of filing, sanding, head scratching and frustration compared to the knife/gouge/dremel way. The cheap 3-12mm (I am certain there is an imperial counterpart to this metric step bit) I use leaves a very crisp and fuzzy free edge and the fit for the nut is just about as perfect as you would want.

[@justplanefun]

Sounds like a really solid method. I had to read it a couple times to really “get it” but it totally makes sense!

[@derekdolecki2759]

I love the repair work on the totes very unique & classy

[@justplanefun]

I know some of the best tote repair guys in the business 😁

[@wwtrkr3189]

Johnson's Paste Wax for the finish! I just love it. A nice sheen, silky smooth in the hand and easy to reapply. I've tried shellac to bring up the shine some more and in homage to what (I read) Stanley had used; but for my own collection (rather than those I move on) I prefer the silky luster of the wax.

[@justplanefun]

I agree!

[@thecasualcitizen492]

I purchased a Stanley no 4 a month ago. I don't know haw it happened, but now I have 27 Stanley planes. Several have broken totes and a fe have chips and breaks in the knobs. I would be interested to contact Will Walker to see if I can afford his expertise. Thanks very much for this video. Very informative. I subscribed.

[@justplanefun]

Thank you! Are you on FB, Instagram or Reddit? If so, I’ll send you my contact info there.

[@davidgagnon2849]

"I don't know how it happened, but I now have 27 Stanley planes". LOL Yep! It happens!

[@alangknowles]

Did you feed them after midnight?

[@robinalexander5772]

Enjoyed video. On the rose wood totes I have had really good results, soaking tote or knob in BLO for 24 hours after I take off old finish it turns the wood black. Clean up and sand and wax. I sand up to 2000 grit, smooth. I did not know the totes changed so much, thanks for show and tell. cheers from Tasmania

[@triune_blades]

I'm happy to see such an increase in your subscribers. 👍

[@bilal11]

Great vid. Thank you. quick question... What glue did you use to stick that leather pad to your holdfast? I've tried a few things but they always end up working their way forward and eventually off the holdfast?

[@justplanefun]

I bought them used but the guy I bought em from said he used contact cement

[@Membee]

Thanks. Very informative video.

[@jazbuilding]

Great video. I'm interested to know which parts from which planes are interchangeable and this video is spot on. You reference "older" planes, and I'm assuming the Type 7 or 8 is the demarcation? Also, I'm curious to know how the colors ran with Stanley. Some older low knobs and totes seem damn near black and I wonder if it's dirt and patina or did they come that way. In contrast, I see many that barely seem to have any stain under the finish. The lighter wood almost seems unrealistically light for something 100 years old. Just some thoughts for a future video. Thanks again.

[@jezebel871]

Thanks for the vid. Great info!

[@j.d.1488]

On handle finish. Butchers wax suitable? Have that laying around. Used it on a saw handle. Just don't know how it compares to J&J.

[@justplanefun]

I would say give it a shot and see how it works. If it’s good on a saw handle it should be fine on a plane handle. Anything that forms a protective barrier should be fine.

[@GM-gc8gg]

Regarding your orange paint on the tote comment: I have a small collection of Stanley hand planes, acquired used, and a fairly high percentage have at least some paint splatter on the japanning and on the tote and knob. It's almost like it was a prerequisite to ownership for some people. "Gotta go splatter paint on the plane." Interestingly, it's only on the bench planes, all of my block planes are paint-free. I figure, being that it's old paint, it's probably full of lead.

[@justplanefun]

That’s a great point about lead paint. All necessary precautions should be taken when removing paint of an unknown age

[@bigdag5114]

MJ, Do you know what was the original finishes on the totes and knobs?

[@justplanefun]

I’m pretty sure Stanley originally used lacquer

[@davidpeters8813]

one thing I didn't hear mentioned about the type 20 and later is that they are flat/slab-sided as opposed to the rounded style of all the earlier ones. That's a dead giveaway to me.

[@justplanefun]

I’ve seen a fair amount of variance on shapes of the totes for type 20s but I know what you mean. I’ve seen some of them with the flat/slab sides