Pitting on the sole
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3 June 2019 at 9:12 pm #577631
Evening all,
I’m currently ‘trying’ to clean up a Stanley 4 and a half in preparation for attempting the workbench. It was in a bit of sorry state but I’ve started cleaning up the rust and found that the sole has quite a bit of pitting.Will this cause any concern in use or is it ok to carry on with this?
It also has an iron that I can’t seem to find any information on it’s engraved “Diamio” unfortunately it’s also in a bit of a sorry state by the looks of things
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You must be logged in to view attached files.3 June 2019 at 9:20 pm #577635what grit sandpaper are you using? just curious what everyone else does. Im having trouble with a 5 1/2 right now. 120 is not fast enough because of some pitting but i swear coarser grits seem to almost cut less. I dont know if they wear out quickly or they’re possibly “too coarse” if that even makes sense. just been asking lots of people what they use.
3 June 2019 at 9:30 pm #577636I’m using 120 grit myself, I don’t think I’ll get rid of the pitting but just wondered if it will affect the use of the plane overall
Oh and i’ve attached a picture of the iron if anyone’s come across one of these before?Attachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.4 June 2019 at 12:57 pm #577829no i dont think it will be an issue, i try to avoid pitting when possible but its seems like you have lots of flat surface area there
4 June 2019 at 9:26 pm #577987Thanks Keith, I think I’m going to work on it a bit more and see where I end up
5 June 2019 at 12:25 pm #578208The only area of the sole that pitting might be a problem is the area around the mouth.
As far as I can see from the photo you may have to work on the sole a bit more to get the mouth to the same level with the toe and heel (but I think you should first try the plane as it is now and see if it’s working ok, it may save you a lot of time).
Regarding the sandpaper grit I usually start with 60 then 80 and I finish with 120. I have tried also 40 but it seemed to be too coarse and on smaller planes (no3, block planes, spokeshaves etc) I might go up to 240.
Finally, the iron. The brand name is DIAMIC and it was initially introduced by Aaron Hildick. I think it’s still being used by Henry Taylor Tools.
I use microlapping film thesedays, so much easier than sandpaper and having to stick it down, I’d highly recommend buying some, it’s particularly good for removing pitting, and far more effective in my opinion than sandpaper and it’s self adhesive as well, worth every penny.
5 June 2019 at 9:51 pm #578336Thanks for all the input everyone, I’ve done a couple of evenings on it now and it’s looking a little bit better but a fair ways to go, I’ll order some lapping film and hopefully it speeds things up a bit, interesting stuff about the plane iron Dionysios thanks very much for the info hopefully I can do something with it
Looking at that sole, I’m wondering how much more good metal you’d need to remove to get rid of those pits. Is it worth the effort, and potential loss of strength (which could lead to cracks/flexing), compared to just letting it be as is?
I think you’ll be fine. I think you should just try to smooth it until your marker lines are gone. You probably won’t have any issues with it gliding over the wood. If you do, you can probably just periodically oil it (see Paul Sellers’ Oiler-in-a-Can) or use paste wax.
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