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12 November 2014 at 11:11 am #120866
@edfly – thanks for the praise! I wasn’t planning on doing such a complete restore, but during the process I realised how much fun it was so thought “why not do a full restore?!”.
@frankj – Yes I discovered just how good vinegar is on the smaller parts. I soaked them in the vinegar overnight, with a touch of added salt to accelerate the process. I still had to scrub a bit using tin foil (aluminium foil in the US?). It was very effective but I was amazed just how quickly flash rust appeared after washing. In future I’d dry off quickly using a hair drier.
@mattmcgrane – yes I’m particularly pleased with the front knob. The rear handle wasn’t as dark as I’d have liked, but I used the wood stain I had available to me at the time. I can’t believe how much of a difference two coats of shellac and a small amount of wax would do to the handles. They have perfect grip and feel incredible in the hand. I can’t offer any shaving images at the moment as the only vice I have is one that you mount to the top of a bench for metal work.I’d happily do this restoration again – in fact I’m looking for the next project!
9 November 2014 at 3:18 pm #120740Okay! I am done.
So what did I do?
1. Strip down all parts and brush off any dust or shavings
2. Applied a few coats of Hammerite Rust Gel onto the plane sides & bottom, and the rusty iron and chip breaker
3. Washed gel off then sanded down at various grits to remote any trace of rust and bring back the shine
4. Put all the small metal pieces into vinegar, added some salt, and left over night
5. Dumped the small metal pieces into warm soapy water, scrubbed off surface rust then oiled
6. Touched up missing japanning using hammerite smooth
7. Sanded the old varnish and dye from the handles, re-stained, two coats of Liberon Spirit Sanding Sealer, then applied some Liberon Bison Wax using fine steel wool
8. Re-assembled the plane, then fettled the sole and sides on float glass with varying grades of wet & dry
9. Flattened the sole of the iron, then sharpened up
10. Polished out the iron cap using AutosolThere are several things I probably wouldn’t do again. For starters, I’d have tried paint/varnish removers on the handles to avoid having to aggressively sand them as much. I probably would have experimented with the electrolysis method of removing rust.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.3 November 2014 at 7:42 pm #120480Yes I recently discovered just how effective plain vinegar is when getting rid of rust on the smaller parts.
Luckily we always have a 5 Litre tub of cleaning grade vinegar around!
One thing I did notice after scrubbing with some aluminium foil and soapy water after is that flash rust happens very quickly after. I hadn’t thought of using a hair drier to dry it off so that’s a good tip.
28 October 2014 at 3:51 pm #120272Just an update – I decided to just go for the hammerite smooth on a part that no-one would ever see.
It actually turned out GREAT! If you look and you know what you’re looking for you can see a slight difference with the hammerite versus the original japanning, but for the tiny patches I had to do it’s more or less seamless.
Got some float glass arriving tomorrow so hopefully I can finish up this week!
27 October 2014 at 4:57 pm #120205So.. 2 months after starting, I’ve had some time to do some serious work this weekend. I’ve sanded, restrained, sealed then waxed the handle and knob. I got rid of the rust on the bolts and small parts by leaving in vinegar over night then scrubbing.
I’ve sanded off the rust from the iron, the cap, and the bottom sides. The end is in sight!
The only thing I’m not sure what to do with is the parts of the plane where the japanning has come off. I had originally decided to strip off all the japanning and repaint, but I can’t think of a suitable paint that would look good.
My question now is what would you do? Should I:
1) get rid of the rust, then oil/wax the bare metal and leave as is
2) patch over the bad parts with hammerite or something
3) completely strip the japanning and spray with somethingI’ve learned a hell of a lot from this project, including lots of mistakes I wouldn’t do again, but that’s all part of the process isn’t it 🙂
7 August 2014 at 12:58 pm #60168@dcoons ok great – I’ll bare that in mind. I didn’t know that electrolysis didn’t affect the japanning as I’m sure I had seen one video where it stripped it. Perhaps they did that in another step.
Also do you think your issues could be you flattened while it was still disassembled? Perhaps having the item assembled creates necessary tension across the base that is important in this step?
I hope I can find some time this weekend to carry on restoring!
5 August 2014 at 7:45 pm #60119It’s definitely something I’d consider if I could scrounge a battery charger from a neighbour!
I presume that whatever derust method I choose, I should flatten the sole and sides as soon as possible after, then apply a thin coat of paste wax to stop further corrosion?
4 August 2014 at 11:01 pm #60104I’m quite fascinated by the idea of electrolysis for de-rusting – as this is my first project I don’t quite feel brave enough to attempt it!
4 August 2014 at 8:10 pm #60099That’s good to know. I think Halfords is on the same complex so not a big inconvenience.
Can anyone tell me what to look for in a wood stain?
As you can see in the attached image, I have sanded the old cracked lacquer on the knob, while it still retains a nice dark colour. The handle on the other hand has been much tougher. The lighter wood is starting to show through again, so I think my only option is to strip back all the stain, re-stain it and coat it in something (shellac?).
I’m a bit gutted the original stain started coming off, but at least I may learn from my mistakes on this project!
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You must be logged in to view attached files.4 August 2014 at 12:41 pm #60087That is perfect Eddy! I was looking at the Hammerite, it seems there are two sorts. The dip and gel so didn’t know which to get. I’ll pop down B&Q after work and see what they have. Many thanks.
4 August 2014 at 12:37 pm #60084As for dating – it seems the English Stanley’s don’t follow the same dating patterns as the American made ones. From an old post I found on an Australian woodworking site (I can’t post a link) it seems it could be from the post war period. I suppose any time between 1946–1972.
4 August 2014 at 12:25 pm #60083Oh another thing – it seems the Made in England models follow a different age guide than the USA models. I’ll post a reply if I find any more information. Based on the information in this forum, it seems like it could be post war (1946-1972) as it has steel bits rather than brass, but I could be wrong.
4 August 2014 at 12:21 pm #60082Thanks for all the replies. I’ve struggled finding well reviewed anti-rust solutions in the UK, as most tend to be American products.
I started sanding back the existing lacquer on the knob and handle. I think I’ve sanded too far with the handle, as lighter wood is starting to show through now. Hopefully I can apply a nice darker stain again!
3 August 2014 at 6:17 pm #60037Hi all, thanks for the great replies. I’m trying to send my reply again as it didn’t come through the first time. I have found a bunch of information about stripping the rust, but a lot of it seems to be using solutions/chemicals that don’t appear to be available in the UK.
I’ve found a few solutions that state they are suitable for use with iron or steel. I presume the plane and parts are steel? I don’t recognise any of the parts as brass, so I think I’m safe there.
I looked at the resources for dating the plane, but they seem accurate only for the made in USA models. I found some more information on an Australian forum – http://www.woodworkforums.com/12634-english-stanley-bailey-planes/page-2/#post97349 but as the bed (is that the right term?) doesn’t have any markings I don’t think this helps much!
@edfly thanks for the kind words, the camera is indeed nice, but you can take good pictures with any camera when you have good light. I have a fold down light box that I got from Maplin years ago for around a tenner. Combine that with a couple of flashes and you can get lovely detailed images! -
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