Old Coffin Plane

After gluing up a panel for the bottom of my chest project, I went to an antique store close to my house and bought an old wooden coffin plane. The blade is in good shape but the body had some cracks that I filed with glue. I flattened the sole with 60 grit abrasive paper as well as the wooden lever cap. The cap also needed to be thinned a bit on the sides so I used the same 60 grit paper. The cap no longer puts too much pressure on the plane’s sides at the of top where the blade rests. I did a little flattening of the blade and put a razor sharp edge on it along with a slight arc. It now cuts like butter and takes thick shavings of my stock, which is why I bought it. It only cost 13 dollars and I get a surface that feels like satin. Unbelievable that a tool used well over a 100 years ago is part of my tool arsenal and will now be used to thickness plane my stock. Thanks Paul for your videos about sharpening as well as the jointer’s tool box episode that shows you using one of these planes. I love woodworking.