Stanley No 60-1/2 Resurrected

The block plane I picked up look like a basket case a first sight but, if nothing else I could always used it for parts.
I would not pay much for a basket case, save for parts.  So nothing to loose really.
NOT for the faint of heart, yes that is a lot of elbow grease involved, but worth it.
And, very important to me, I did not erase any marks of its manufacture. Casting flaws, coarse linishing marks, etc, just stop the rust and leave original finish, wherever I can.
Why?  As a collector, all of these marks are important, down to the flaky shellac or varnish over the colored wood.  We need it "as is" to study the tool.  Not all tools acquired by collectors end up shiny on a shelf.  We are interested in the tool history, its makers, how it was built and etc.  Important as part of Type studies.

If I was selling tools (I AM NOT) that is as much as I would do to salvage the tool and ensuring no cracks, defects, missing or broken parts etc.  Leave the final tweaking to its next owner.
And personally once I'm done documenting and studying, all I'm interested is putting it back to work as a user, not as a show pieces.

I blogged about this model before, so I will just link back to it for its history.
This would be mostly a pictorial documentation from as found to cleaned up

As found

Yes, it is a tad rusted.

But is it past redemption??

Nothing moves, everything is frozen in rust.

Pretty much a lump of rust.

It's either save me now or forget about me soon ...

The center bolt, look like an alloy, the only shiny thing on it 

and looks like a tad short replacement. And the only thing not stuck, 

so obviously not made of steel.

Sole and sides are totally covered in rust, 

hopefully it has not pitted too much yet 

so that it can still be saved??

The blade bevel up

Back side.

Yes, will require some elbow grease before it gleams once more :-)

Stanley MADE IN ENGLAND

It is an English made plane

but still japanned black

Evaporust to the rescue.  That stuff literally dissolved rust and will not attack good metal, only the rust.  You can leave it soaking for as along as needed without fear of damages.  

My No 1 all time rust removal techniques.  Not cheap, about  Cdn $33 for a 4 liter jug, but worth its weight in gold :-)

First time out of the Evaporust soak, about one hour later

Look not too bad...

But under the flash, lots of rust blooms shows up, back soaking

Looking pretty pitted but far enough 

The sole is going to need more soaking, brushing, soaking repeat and rinse.

In order for the chemical to do its job thoroughly and keep your precious liquid cleaner 

and more active, scrubbing under running water is important to expose fresh rust.

Yes Evaporust is reusable.  

Front sliding plate is still suck pretty good. 

Starting to be able to push in a putty knife on both side.

More soaking etc...

Have to be gentle all too easy to damage plate or plane casting.

It finally came out unhurt, pretty gunky inside.

Dissolved crap from Evaporust action

After a few repeated soaks, scrub with a steel brush, soak and repeat.

That is when I stop soaking, when the flash no longer

 picks up brownish rust bloom

Quick passes on 80 grit runway.

Yes that would sand away just fine, but there is not really a need to go much shinier 

as long as sole does not scratches.  To fettle it better it would need to be sanded 

until front of mouth is shiny, back of mouth look even already

And the final look for now.  All I'm interested at this point is to stop further deterioration and make sure everything works and no broken or missing parts. 

Fine as is for now, will not keep on rusting

The Japanning is in great shape under all that gook I removed

You can now see clearly the stamping.

The big scratches are original, from the coarse linishing they used

I did not sanded the sides, just Evaporust and wire wheel

then protected by Autosol

It will make a fine tool in my son's kits.

Have not road tested it yet, but everything on it works as it should.

A lump of rust, it is no more, it is back to life as a tool.

Bob, with rusty tears in his eyes, moving on to the next candidate :-)

Starrett, small portable vise No 86

Another little gem I picked up.  I had a small surprise when I first look it up, did not quite knew what I picked up, but it look like it could be very handy on my hobby bench, so I picked it up.

First surprise, it is a Starrett No 86, second surprise, it usually comes with a wood handle to be used as a hand vise.  Given its diminutive size, that make sense, but mine did not came with a handle.  I bet you it is still out there in the Estate shop, long separated, but somewhere in there :-)

How normally sold as No 86. Cast vise clamp was optional

The complete set

These two pics from Ebay

Instead mine has only a small cast bench bracket to mount on the front or side of your bench overhang
As found, lots of surface rust, nothing too serious, adjustment is a bit rough, but probably due to the rust.  Soaking in Evaporust as I type this.

Hum, mine has a much smaller screw and uses a hex key.

No doubt a more modern replacement

Surprise, its a Starrett.

Having no Pat No, it is a more recent one guessing 60s ??

Jaw close tight and have a small notch to hold small rod sizes.

It is pitched as a small hand vise, jeweler vise.

Maximum thickness it would accept is about 2-3/8 inches

And with that screw, min thickness is about 1-3/4 inches.

I can foresee a longer screw in its life...

Took it apart, gave it a soak in Evaporust followed by a quick pass under the wire wheel
Lubricated with WD-40 and reassembled.  Works like a charm, I can now spin the handle with one finger, effortlessly, as it should, it is a Starrett.

Lightly deburred the shaft and cylinder in casting.

Just making sure they were no burrs, do not want to change diameter

The Japanning is in good shape.

From that pic I see I need more work inside the jaws, 

little bit of rust bloom picked up by flash

As mentioned earlier I will install a longer screw to fasten the bracket to the bench top.

That would be a welcome addition to the Hobby room, along with my Panavise

My good old Panavise with the accessory PCB holder.

Used that a lot back in my day fixing TV, VCRs

Bob, who just finished his tool marathon.

The Stanley No 82 scraper

A new find, along with a few more, part of a recent estate find.
Finally a tool's distraction and a nice ride in the country side.
And yes, we followed the COVID 19 directives in effects.
And we specifically did not took the truck, we took the car.
If it does not fit in the trunk, we are not taking it Dear :-)

First up is this Stanley scraper No 82.
There were 2 or 3, this is the one I picked up, it was the most solid.
Turns out it is because every thing that is supposed to move is frozen in rust :-)
No biggie.  It has also suffered the age old affliction of gathering paint's splatters thru its life.
All in all a good candidate for a refinishing job.

As found

It is complete with the blade, most often MIA

Stanley No 82

Quite the elaborate tilting mechanism.

This is the Type 2, and the spring is still present

First time I noticed it is when I took this pic.

See it?

Yes, there is a broken lug on the wing nut.

Not surprising, everything is frozen in rust

The weakest link.

Right above the pivot lug, connection to handle.

Because of its design it is easy to apply tremendous down force at this point.

But maybe I worry too much, I have yet to see one broken at this connection.
The Type 1 has a different arrangement.

I mentioned that the blade is often found missing.  This one appear to have the correct blade in place 1-1/2 X 3 inch. You can find or make scraper blade replacements.  It is sharpen just like the No 80, 81 and 83 scraper blades: At 45 degrees (establishing a bevel) then raising a burr.

See the large indentation on the frog surface?

That is to protect the burr you raised, when preparing  both ends.

NO, you will never raise such a big burr, but regardless of size it would be well protected.

Another use is the ability to use those curved paint scraper blades (flat U shape) 

Differences between Type 1 and Type 2

These next four pics from Hugo Lala.  And yes, he cleaned it up, the frame would had been japanned, the adj screws nickel plated and the handle stained a reddish colour.

The Type 1 featured a different connection to the handle 

\

The front knob and screw on lever cap are in a different position

It has no spring.

Markings on front lever cap different

Instead of a wing nut to secure the pivot join, it use a round flat face with a hole, 

so you can insert a nail for extra torque.  Which you need to...

Which one is better?
That would depend on who you ask, so either one is fine, albeit they each have their quirks

This guy (Fine Woodworking) seems to prefer the Type 1, so to each is own.
Myself, it would have to be the Type 2 is my favorite, cause... I don't have a Type 1 ...yet :-)

Patrick seems to imply that the Type 2 is better because of chatter issues?
The Type 1 is said to be more prone to chatter, which was eliminated (?) in the redesigned Type 2 frog, lever cap and spring.

Another difference is in locking the pivot joint.  The Type 2 used cast serrations (patented) to locks the head solidly at various predetermined positions (Numbers of cast indents).
This results in a more secure, solid connection, which no longer need brute force to lock without slipping.  Hence the nail trick is no longer required.

This is probably why some like it ... better than the other, because with the Type 1 you have unlimited freedom of angle adjustment, but the drawback is that it is difficult to torque and still slip under pressure.
The Type 2 patented serrations fix that problem, but you loose some freedom in adjustment range, now fixed increments.

As to which design is stronger at the weak handle connection?  I have no idea, but I haven't seen nor heard of anywhere yet, of broken ones. So maybe I'm just a worry fart :-)

Finally is it a glorified paint scraper or is it more of a finesse tool?

It is both actually and everything in between. The difference would be in the blade, its preparation and its usage.

When raising a proper burr like on the Cabinet scraper No 80, it will perform just like any other cabinet scraper, cutting fluffy shavings, not dust.
Want to hand scrape flooring boards?  You have a 3 inch blade, this is your tool.
Want to scrape glue lines or scrape paint? Save your good blade, original are not cheap!! Probably more than you probably paid for the tool!
Yes, you can buy reasonably priced blades about $7 for a set (they are 6 in large, cut in half, they will fit) or make your own from other scrapers, saw blades etc...AND you can also uses paint scraper blades, such as these

I had previously gave it a good WD-40 soaking, things are starting to move.

An assortment of commonly available paint scarper blades

Sure enough, just like Patrick said it was for :-)

Front shot.  Not as wide, but sure functional

Tried these serrated scraper razor blades. Thumb up 

I use the soft cushion effect of this clamp to help budge the stuck lever 

cap screw and the half wing nut.  No mar, scratches and lots of available gentle torque

The various part are now soaking in Evaporust.   I will strip and repaint his tool, and try something new to me on the handle and knob.

All in all, a useful and versatile tool.
There are many variations on this tool, from a myriad of makers. Antique: Stanley, Millers Falls, Sargent among others) New one: LV make this one

Manufactured 1909-1958
Type 1 1909-1933
Type 2 1934-1958
Length of handle varies thru the years
Overall length
14 in long 1909-1933 (Type 1)
12-1/2 in long 1934-1940
12 in long 1941-1958



Value? At the end of the day any tools or antiques is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it.
To me, if I cannot picture myself putting it back into service, it is worthless.  I'm confident I can salvaged that one, I'm happy.  This tool will live to soldier on another lifetime, but it would had deteriorated fast if not rescued.  Talking of which wait till you see the No 60-1/2,  I got... Severe rust?? or Fixable?? We shall see

Bob, reeking of WD-40 at the keyboard.

Addendum
I finished, for now, cleaning the scraper.

Took it further apart once I found that the pin screw in from one side.  

Was obscured in paint splatters.  Gave it a good soak in Evaporust

Pick at the paint spots with various tools.

Some of the paint splatters almost dissolved in Evaporust

Yes, original blade

STANLEY  MADE IN CAN

The flash picked up more rust, back soaking

Cleaned up, de-rusted, lubricated, re-assembled.

Everything works as advertised, I'm Happy, another successful rescue

Knob and handle still needs to be refinished

and blade sharpen