SamuZai
Rex Krueger
Rex Krueger

patreon


Patron Version Video: Restoring Old Forged Irons

Friends: 

We're doing an EXTRA video this month and we're tackling a tricky restoration: forged, laminated plane irons. Most of us will run into one of these irons at some point and they're very different from the old Stanley irons you might be used to. This comprehensive restoration will help you fix up that rare infill or vintage wooden plane. 

The sharpening class I mention in the video will go on sale THURSADY and the actual class is May 24th at 8pm EST. Of course, Patrons will get a significant discount on the price. It's going to be big fun and I hope you'll join us.  

I'll do a post here when the class is ready to buy.

Since we did 4 videos this month, we'll be taking next week "off" to work on the necessary drudgery of running a business. 

Happy Saturday!

--Rex

Patron Version Video: Restoring Old Forged Irons

Comments

Yes, but it's stamped very poorly and hard to read.

Rex Krueger

Is the name of the maker on the blade?

Matthew Woodbury

Keep up the great work!

Bradley Barth

Rex... loving the shorts being released. I think you can up your game by having on screen text of what is being spoken. It is what I have learned in VRA and (myself included) a lot of people watch shorts in silence. So the on screen text would go a long way!

Bradley Barth

Question on the plane body itself... you love strike buttons. Is it possible, practical or worth it to add one to a plane that doesn't have one? If so, how?

Hobbyhack

A man can dream now, a man can dream...

LiraNuna

Hey Rex, where do I get one of those handy multi-tools?! πŸ˜„πŸ˜‰

Kevin Hogg

Do they tend to make things convex? I have a cheap Ryobi I got a couple of decades ago and have used it occasionally to flatten surfaces, but I didn't test them against a reference.

Robert Dennett

I will be posted for early, discounted purchase here on Thursday morning.

Rex Krueger

That sounds like a LOT of fun!

Rex Krueger

If it's a metal plane, then a replacement iron off ebay is probably way less effort.

Rex Krueger

I'm afraid not. It's live only.

Rex Krueger

That's a likely culprit!

Rex Krueger

I agree with Austin: it's doable but risky. Much easier with Stanley irons. As to the belt sander, that's a hard no. Belt sanders don't get things flat. You'd likely make it worse.

Rex Krueger

I hear you, but major surgery to an iron demands some machines.

Rex Krueger

Yeah, I've wasted a lot of time futzing with planes. Maybe not wasted, but I could have been hanging out with my kid!

Rex Krueger

That's awesome!

Rex Krueger

You might need a new iron. They can be tricky to fit, so a new plane is often a better bet, even though that's a drag to hear.

Rex Krueger

I'm dyslexic! It looked good at the time!

Rex Krueger

Go slow and you'll be fine! Good luck!

Rex Krueger

You can definitely use the hammering method. I do it often when restoring vintage laminated irons. You do have to be careful about not crating cracks. I prefer to hammer over a hard piece of wood.

Austin V Papp

hope to take the dharping course in May

Carlos Alvarado

Great teachings will look at it again and again while trying to recondition it. like you most of my planes are Stanley from E-bay and they had to be refurbished, infact I just did 2 No.5's a bullnose and several other smaller ones.

Carlos Alvarado

Great video as usual. At the moment I'm restoring an old Dunlap plane for a friend that's in really rough shape, I mean really rough shape, and the blade has seriously bad pitting. I wasn't sure how I was gonna go about getting it to the point where the plane is in usable working condition but now I have an idea. Thanks for your expertise.

Jennessa Lynam

I'm interested in sharpening class. Will it be available like YouTube where you can view at later time?

Mark Yarian

That looks exceedingly similar to my (one) wooden plane. I've been struggling with getting the corners of the iron/plane body not to jam. I'm hoping this video helps me finally get the chipbreaker and iron right. My suspicion is that the chipbreaker is not set up properly with the iron...

Kenneth Carlile

Two questions about the iron restoration: Could you have used the Japanese hammering method to restore the corners? I went to a lecture recently featuring Andrew Hunter on Japanese planes where he described the technique. I have to say he did what he said he was going to do, i.e. talk me out of using Japanese planes, but the technique was interesting. He also said that some articles he was featured in don't describe the technique accurately. Basically, they should have shown that the anvil contacts the iron at one point and you hit the other side forward of that where it isn't supported, effectively curling over the iron slightly. My other question was if it wouldn't have been worth it to flatten the iron on your belt sander as opposed to the sandpaper glued to the saw table.

Robert Dennett

Great information displayed very well with good visuals, examples and hidden nuggets of knowledge. Really enjoyed this one. Restoration videos are my guilty pleasures but most of them sway toward ASMR territory - I really wish there were more videos like these that explain and examine what is being done. I would love to see some discussion of other options to some of the tasks for those of us who do not have a good workshop.

LiraNuna

Your shavings are a work of art. I wish I could setup a plane like you do. But then you’ve restored several dozen planes and I’ve restore less than six. Well two and half.

Richard C von Brecht

Thank you Rex. I have several old wooden planes that have been sitting around for years that will benefit from this video.

Matt Evans-Koch

I have a great joiner plane body. Unfortunately the iron has been used to the end almost. Luckily there's an option out there.

Philip Edmondson

Thursady 🀣

Dana LaBerge

Thank you for this! I have a beast of a wooden jointer plane that has been sitting around waiting to be restored. The only thing stoping me? The iron with a lot of pitting at the front. Looks like I just need to grind off that end.

David Weiser


More Creators