Par Leijonhufvud introduces himself and writes:

"And planes; all you can find used here is economy grade wooden ones,
usually ones that have spent the last 40 years in a leaky barn."

Welcome, Par, indeed, to the company of ferrousoxidites and may your
stay be enduring and pleasant.

Although I was originally taught woodwork at school using, in the main,
wooden planes (metal planes were then too expensive and scarce to equip
all of the Queensland schools' manual training shops) I later went
through a stage where I tended to distain them as being "old fashioned"
in favour of their metal cousins. For many years, however, I have been
going through a stage which is likely to see me out, where each old
wooden plane I come by is an unmitigated delight and, usually, a fair
challenge in terms of restoration. I admit I cannot help myself in this
regard. I tend to think of the enormous amount of fine work which was
accomplished over many centuries using wooden planes and am happy to add
a few drops of my sweat to the sweat left on the plane by the man who
went before me.

With planes such as Par describes there is, of course, a bit of the-chicken-and-
the-
egg situation to be faced up to, for a good plane in fine fettle is a
most useful tool to aid in the restoration of an old, somewhat beaten-
up, grooved-sole, wide-mouthed wooden plane with cracks on the sides
adjacent to the abutments and with cracks at either end. However, the
things to be accomplished to get an old wooden plane working well simply
boil down to a sharp iron, a flat sole, a reasonably tight mouth and a
wedge system which holds the iron in place.

First thing is to pin and glue the cracks near the abutments so that the
wedge stays put and does not open the cracks. I usually open the cracks
a bit (just knock the wedge in tightly), put in a bit of two-pack glue,
remove the wedge, sink and set a couple of thin bullet-head nails on
either side into pre-drilled holes and clamp as best I can. Nails hold
well in endgrain (better than screws) and any protrusion of the nail's
head can be easily filed off flush after the glue dries and sets.

Next thing is to soak or repeatedly brush the whole piece, including the
wedge, in raw linseed oil. This closes up most of the end cracks and a
week spent letting the plane soak or brushing it repeatedly does not
seem to be overkill. I am quite happy then to use whiting and linseed
oil putty to stop any of the larger cracks. I have never had any trouble
with it although many of the modern commercial preparations are, no
doubt, better. Actually, red lead and linseed oil putty is a whole lot
better as it sets rock-hard without swelling or shrinking appreciably
but finding a ready source of supply is a bit difficult these days.

Then comes flattening the sole where a fine-set plane in good nick makes
the job the work of a few careful minutes. I have found that, for sole
flattening, there is no such thing as too fine a set on the working
plane. One makes sure that the wedge and iron/s are firmly in place on
the old plane, with, naturally, the edge retracted below the sole whilst
the sole planing takes place. If the sole is to be patched to tighten up
the mouth something workable but less than final flatness is first
achieved. If a good plane is not available for sole-flattening, rasps
and files are the order of the day. They actually enable a gradual but
very accurate sole flattening process to be undertaken. However, a good,
conventional flat-filing technique must be employed or must first be
developed over a couple of hours practice (that is as long/short as it
really takes) and then employed. Simply muscle-memory is everything in
flat-filing and the practice must be undertaken seriously with the mind
concentrated upon getting the workpiece flat and the work checked often
to detect errors in filing which must be got rid of. Nicholson's, I
think it was, used to publish a quite adequate set of instructions and,
maybe, they still do. The whole job can be done with just one file, a
10" smooth-cut. Things take a little longer but one works with the file
which would be used for finishing up in any event.

There exists a plethora of information in older carpentry and wood-
working manuals concerning the re-mouthing of planes with patches
and a vast body of contradictory information concerning the
sharpening of irons so I shall leave things there except to say
that, once a wooden plane has been properly restored, it will remain
a joy forever to the user.

Regards from Brisbane,

John Manners
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