Restoring a car-boot Stanley No. 4
Twelve pounds on a wet Sunday morning. Made in England on the iron, kidney-shaped hole in the lever cap, about two-thirds of the japanning left and a fur of orange rust on everything else.
Materials
| Item | Used for |
|---|---|
| Evapo-Rust, 1 litre | Overnight soak for the bare steel parts |
| 6 mm float glass, 450 × 100 mm | Flat reference for lapping |
| PSA abrasive roll, 80 / 120 / 180 / 240 | Lapping the sole and sides |
| Brass brush, rag, camellia oil | Cleaning and rust prevention |
| Shellac, 0000 wire wool | Refreshing the rosewood knob and tote |
Process
I stripped it completely: lever cap, iron and chipbreaker, frog, knob and tote. The steel parts and the frog screws went into Evapo-Rust overnight; the body only got the brass brush, because I did not want to lift any more japanning than had already gone.
A straightedge across the sole showed a hollow of about four thou just ahead of the mouth and a slight high spot at the heel. Nothing was cracked, which is what I check first on any cast-iron plane.
Then I made my mistake. I lapped the sole on the 80 grit with the frog out, because it was easier to hold. When I put the plane back together and tightened the lever cap, a fresh marker grid on the 180 showed the sole had moved by a couple of thou. The frog and the lever cap tension pull on a casting this thin. I started again on 120 with the iron fitted, retracted well behind the mouth, and the lever cap at working tension. That second pass took twenty minutes and stayed true.
I stopped at 240 once the toe, the area around the mouth and the heel were all bright. The rest of the sole can keep its low spots; it does no harm.
The chipbreaker's leading edge did not meet the iron cleanly; I could see light under it. I honed a small back-bevel on it on the 1000 stone until it sat dead tight with no light showing, and polished the top of that edge so shavings slide off rather than catch. The iron got a new 25° primary on the diamond plate and a 30° micro-bevel, with a very slight camber for smoothing. For a smoother I set the chipbreaker about 0.3 mm back from the edge.
The tote had a hairline crack at the horn. I wicked in thin glue, clamped it with tape overnight, and gave both handles a wipe of shellac.
What I'd change
Lap with the plane assembled and under tension from the very first stroke. And do not chase a flat sole all over: toe, mouth and heel are what matter. I spent an hour on 80 grit removing metal that never needed to go.