So the other day while driving into work on my day off - (yeah, I know...) I stopped at a garage sale. Hiding under piles and piles of useless stuff I found two block planes! I quickly snapped them up for our school shop. Oh, and to show you how bad the rest of the sale was, it was "buy two get one free" and I couldn't find a single other item worth it. Sheesh.
Anyway, one plane was a cheap Stanley 110 in decent shape. The other was a rather nice Craftsman model (made by Stanley) but almost totally encrusted with rust. The only hint that it had an adjustable mouth was the adjustment lever. You sure couldn't tell from looking at the sole.
Time for Electrolysis!
You can read my previous post about electrolysis to see my set-up etc. And as always, be careful!
Into the tub - Zap! Wipe it off and back in - Zap-O! Wipe it off again. "Hey! It really does have an adjustable mouth! But still rusted tight. Once more into the tub - Zap-a-reeno! Wipe off and, well I think I'll let the photos speak for themselves.
If it hadn't been getting dark (I do all my electrolysis outside) I'd have done one more long zap to get every last little bit of rust off. But hey, it's a user after all...
Wow thats amazing. I may never be able to pass a rusty plane again.
ReplyDeleteThat is unbelievable. I have a plane that I need to try this on. Thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteLee - Well, sorry about that! :)
ReplyDeleteChet - You're welcome!
Hi! I don't remember if I introduced myself before or not. I'm Lesa. I'm interested in woodworking and happened across your blog on a google search.
ReplyDeleteNow on to my reaction--
That's beautiful! I have a few very old planes that belonged to my dad that are rusted up much like the one you found. This gives me hope in being able to restore them.