I inherited my great grandfather's old tools a few years ago.  Now that I have some time on my hands I started refurbishing the ones I plan to use.  Many of them are going to be wall hangers but there are a few nice planes and a vise.

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I'm will be working on some of the other tools as I find the time.  I had to buy new blades for the #7 because it was pitted too deep to get a smooth edge and the #81 which was missing. When I find a piece of glass to use I'm going to true up the flats.

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Man that is nice! Great job!

Thanks Scott.

I used Vaporust to remove the rust and then a wire wheel to strip the rest of the paint.  Once they were nice and clean I hit them with some primer which is how they sat for a few months until I could get around to painting them.  When brushing on the Rustoleum I found the only way to get a good finish was to lower my standards .  

Target stands also make great part holders.
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The pits go deep.  I gave up after two hours of grinding and sanding and ordered a new one.
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Great work

What Rustoleum paint type are you using for that?

I see that you used a brush instead of a spray.

What primer did you use?

Is that color a black or a blue or something in-between?

Black semi-gloss Rustoleum enamel.  I baked it at 150 F for a weekend and it came out fairly strong.  If I was going to do it again I probably would have sprayed it but it didn't come out too terrible just a few brush strokes on the smoother parts.  The primer was rustoleum. I primered it a few months agoI don't remember which kind.

They look great!

I had some time to work on the No. 7 today.  I enlarged the mouth to fit the new thicker Hock iron and worked on flattening the sole. I taped three sheets of sandpaper on my table saw's cast iron extension and used that as a reference plane to true the plane. The sole needs some more work but I ran out of time tonight.  I've also been working on cleaning up the tote and knob. With it assembled I couldn't resist making some shavings.

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Has anyone else brought tools back from the dead?


I dated the No. 7 and found it was made between 1925 and 1928.

Almost forgot.  I found another box of tools I had forgotten about!  Mostly junk, but there are a few that look worth saving.
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I’ve bought quite a few old woodworking hand tools.
Some have been good enough to use as is, just sharpen, or maybe put in a new hock iron and chipbreeaker.  All the planes get some time flattening the sole.

I bought an old Stanley 607 from a big on line tool dealer.   Price was OK, but mostly because the original jappaning was 50%+ gone.
It’s also a very old type, with the rounded tops, not flat like most associate with Bedrock planes.
Since it would be a user, and not a good pristine collectors item, I figured just restore it.  But I wanted it to be pretty authentic when done.
I tried to get some pre made jappaning from pontypool, but there was none to be had.   So I made up my own from recipes I found on line.  The ingredients weren’t hard to obtain. Got the asphaltum/Gilsenite on eBay, and maybe the carbon black there too.   Not all receipts called for carbon black, but on its on the mix looked more dark brown than black.  Also needs some rosin and linseed oil.
I stripped the remaining old jappaning and cleaned up rust with the electrolytic method,   Still some remained in crevices so grit blasted it to clean up the rest.   I used blasting tape from brownells to protect the areas that wouldn’t be coated, especially the bed for the frog.
The 607 or 7 is a very long plane.  Too big for any toaster oven.  So had to use the regular oven to get it to cure.   Be warned this will stink up the house - a lot.  
I sanded the tote and knob, and coated with gloss lacquer

I have some other cheap non stanley planes I was given, that need restoration, but they will just get a spray paint

Also redone and made new handles for several old chisels.   I like how most of the old Witherby chisels hold an edge.  LI&J White also tend to be excellent.  
Have cleaned up old dividers, yankee screw drivers,  those sorts of things mostly used a brass wire brush wheel.

Have tried a few hand saws too, but retoothing fine toothed  back saws by hand is not fun, and I’m not that good at it.

Restoring a Lablond lathe but it is turning into a boat lol.

I've done a couple of tool restorations.  Have a few more I need to finish.  Got a NO6 in pieces from when I moved 3 years ago that I've just not gotten around to.

A winter project of mine is going through all of these and making them as functional as possible

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This was a Craigslist haul I got for just over $200 a couple months ago.

I have. Go easy on the sandpaper to flatten the planes. It is easier to make things worse rather than better. I would clean things up, sharpen, and then try them before messing around with the soles.

I've used Rustolem paint on some things over the years. Its has held up very well.
I did a boat trailer that sat outside unprotected for about 2 decades.
Looked really good still when I sold it about 2 years ago.

Good choice of paint OP.

I think the problem comes with people trying to make them 100% dead flat.  There's such a thing as "flat enough", the problem is newbies don't know that.  I always tell them to go pick up a cheap import plane to practice on first.  The Kobalt block plane isn't terrible once tuned up TBH.  Ugly as sin though.

I tested the plane out before sanding it and it left the first and last 8 inches of the edge of a board low.  After spending some time sanding (stopping to check regularly) it now only leaves the last couple inches of the board slightly low.  On the bottom of the plane there were low spots below the knob and tote (if the plane were upright).  Under the frog was high and the last 6 inches of the back was very high. I have most of it flat enough now but the last 6 inches still hasn't touched the sand paper.  I'm going to test it out some more to determine if I should flatten it any more.  I think it's close to "good enough".  

The tote and knob cleaned up nicely.  That rosewood is beautiful.

Use wet or dry paper stuck to a piece of thick plate glass (at least 1/2 inch or so) with water and then additional water as a lubricant.

Watch the scratch pattern carefully to make sure it is uniform and even.

FWIW the front edge looks perfect. I like mine higher in the front inch. The back I typically aim for the same but the No7 and No8 are long ass planes. IDK if is have the patience to flatten it further than what you got.

Just wait until you get into older hand saws...

I've got 3-4 Disston's that are languishing in repair hell right now.  Bought 'em, got everything disassembled and cleaned the blades, but then I got a divorce and had to pack it all away

I remember reading about for three months straight, trying to figure out how to straighten the blades, reset and sharpen, on and on.  I'll eventually start from 0 and have to do it all over again.  Or, then again, maybe I'll just sell them to someone who wants to do rustic farm art and then buy some new saws from a boutique maker.

When you flatten a plan sole, you should have the frog and knife locked in (obvious with the knife raised up inside) so get stress the body like it would be in use.    
But I’d hit that #7 or 8 some more.   100% isn’t needed but the drop off towards the end could cause some minor issues when jointing boards

As for saws, if it’s got some serious straightness issues , unless you’ve got a big flat steel plate and the right sort of flattening hammers, if it’s got a lot of life left in it otherwise I’d send to someone who specializes in refurbishing old saws.  
There’s a guy in CT or RI that was doing this, and you’ve also got Mark Harrell at Bad Axe.
Sharpening yourself isn’t so bad, unless it’s a fine tooth back/joinery saw  
A good disston saw may be worth saving.

I flattened the sole a little more and I was going to flatten it some more but it works so well I'm going to stop messing with it.

I've been using it to prep boards for my outfeed table legs.


I'm enjoying using the planes.  The "no.4" is chincey with the sole made of a soft alloy with a large curve in it.  It's making me want to spring for a Veritas or Lie Nielsen no. 4.

@JQ66

Thanks for the advise.  That's what I did to flatten it.  As to the saws, I haven't tried using them yet.  They all look like they are in good shape aside from some rust.  I do need to find a blade for the coping saw frame.  

Are the saws back/joinery saws, or the bigger panel saws?
Either way they might have a medallion on the wooden handle to say who made them.   Also the blade itself were usually etched with the maker and model number, and some motif like an Eagle or something like that.   The teeth per inch were sometimes stamped on the blade near the heel
If they’re not too rusty, you might be able to preserve some of the etching if you just use some steel wool or scotchbrite pad and some turpentine or thinner, and just go lightly.  
I’ve tried to retooth back saws and while they cut, they look like an amateur did them and could cut better.  There are some pretty ingenious tooth cutting machines that guys like Mark Harrell has that makes it
I used a paper template made with Corel maybe, that would print hash marks at say 14 tpi and then used a spray adhesive to stick the paper on the blade.   And you should joint the entire edge flat unless the teeth were already OK, which on a couple of the old saws I got were not.  So it’s not easy to use a little triangular file and get the teeth all uniform and the right angles.  
Oh, and using a saw set on all those little teeth is nuts.  

At least the handles and all the hardware look nice
I’ve even fixed some handles with missing chunks on the handle with some small pieces of apple wood.   I’ve been using spray lacquer for finish on my saw handles and plane totes/handles.  
For now I’ve set those saws aside after I got a bunch of new Bad Axe saws.

Here’s a link from Bad Axe saw on DIY saw shaperning and maintenance

http://www.badaxetoolworks.com/maintenance.php

And here’s another one
https://woodandshop.com/how-to-sharpen-hand-saws-for-woodworking/

They are larger panel saws.  The handle and blade do not have a logo or medallion. The smaller blades do.  I don't remember what they said but I will take a look tomorrow.  The blades are in great shape aside from a little rust and are still sharp.  They were kept in the top of one of the tool boxes.  

I didn't mention the tool boxes but There's one large chest and two smaller portable boxes.  The coolest part is in one of the boxes there is a picture of my grandfather when he was three taped in the top.

I also like doing this, just bought an old 4" C clamp and a hammer at a garage sale, cleaned them up and painted what I could.
The C clamp was not in very good shape, so nobody wanted it, I had to replace the handle part on it, someone had just threaded an old screw in there.

I have an old bench vise from my dad that looks like that.  I really need to refurb it.   Am thinking about building a Roubo bench out of reclaimed oak (from an oil refinery, lol) and putting it on that.

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Two of my old tool purchases this year. A Miller's Falls No.14 (their version of a Stanley #5) made somewhere between 1941-1965. A little more research and I'll be able to tighten the date down better. The draw knife is 8" made by Hinsdale Manufacturing, likely in the late 1800's The plane just needs the iron sharpened and the draw knife just needs the back flattened and the edge touched up. The handles will likely get a BLO soak to take up a little wobble in one of them.

i just missed out on a Miller's Falls block plane.

I picked up an old Winchester 3010, which is a hair bigger than a stanley #5 plane.  Got it at a local antique store earlier this year.

Did some research and apparently Winchester got big into tools after WW1 to stay afloat after their gov contracts ran out.  I think their planes were mostly made by Sargent with Winchester branding.

Friend gave me a little stanley block plane, circa 1963 for christmas.

So now I kinda want to complete the set.  At least get a number 4 size smoother and maybe get a number 6 size fore plane.

Any ideas?  I see a fair amount of Stanley Bailey No 4s come up on Ebay but they're usually either hammered crap or someone took a wire wheel to them and called it "light cleaning".  

I don't know much about manual woodworking tools.  Kinda new territory for me.

I'm also looking for a smoother but I might buy new due to having minimal time for hobbies right now and I want to get right to making shavings.

FWIW skip the No.6.  I've got one and I use it as a poor man's jointer plane.  They work ok in that regard.

Nice. Millers Falls made some nice stuff. A lot of people pass them over but I find their planes and chisels among my favorites.

Agreed.  I have a Millers Falls equivalent to a Bailey #3, and I think it's the best old plane I own.  

I have a couple of their eggbeater style drills as well.  All are well made and do everything I've asked of them.


A coworker has a small side gig buying and selling antiques.  He brought me a #5 Bailey, (type 10) that's dirty but in pretty decent condition.  It'll need a little flattening and maybe a new blade, but it will make a great user.  Now if I only had somewhere to set up shop

I grew up in Putney, VT so Miller's Fall and Hinsdale Manufacturing were local history. My grandfather retired from Fellows Gear Shaper in Springfield, VT.