Millers Falls No 900B Smooth plane

Continuing on that small batches of planes I got (4) a jack, a smoother, and 2 block planes.
It is now the turn of this smoother, a later Millers Falls product

Millers Falls No 900B

Lots of paint loss on the tote, some on the knob.

NO frog adjuster screw and two piece pressed metal yoke on the frog.

This maybe a lower end model from MF, but look at the frog surface!!

Just like the good old Stanley Bailey Type 9, before the screw adjust for the frog

Yes, it is a lower end model, but she has good bones and we should be able to fettled it to work great.
Lets stripped her down.

@%$^# need Phillips screwdrivers, No 2 AND No 3 grrr... Had to go upstairs I don't keep Phillips at my bench Tabar…!   And of course also need a common screwdriver (flat) for the blade assembly
 I think, only MF used those #@%$ Phillips screws on planes, back in the days

As usual, we find wood chips and dust under the frog, which, if left alone, will caused rust.

Fortunately, both the Record and this Millers Falls have such good paint under the hood, they both survived untold years without damages.  Now there is a first !!

I will give it the same treatment I did for the Record; Clean, scrub, de-rust, linished, protect.

Parts off the oven. Hardware on the plate is from Record

Gave the knob and tote a light sanding to remove all flaking paint.

Then spray paint in the garage .

I am no longer allowed to spray inside for some reasons ? :-)

and put in the furnace room overnite

Meanwhile, we can start re-assembling the other parts.

OK Dad, I got them all line up, ready for your inspection, Sir!

Good boy Sgt Rudy, have a treat! :-)

Notice the usual machined surfaces on both the bed and frog were left as is 

from casting then simply paint over.  Cost cutting measure.

If you compare it to their regular No 9 plane, it is the same casting, albeit with less machining on it.

If I was to tuned it as a great smoother, I would scrape and file these areas.

But for now she remain as built, I don't want to erase the manufacturing steps

Just like the previous Record, the paint finish is amazingly complete.

Don't come across them often in that condition!

Look at that Blingy cap iron

Look at the rough casting on the lever cap. 

Just minimum grinding to get it to work, then paint all over, no chrome or nickel plating

Not even a spring under the lever.  But the recess is already cast in the part.

It work, but would be smoother and easier on the blade if there was a spring. Another cost saving measure.  Stanley did the same.

 

Notice the change in reflections on the lateral lever .

Was plated (lower part) Rusty end was wire brushed until clean

  

Glamour shots... minus the tote and knob, still drying...

The depth adjuster nut appears to be solid brass plated (?)
 If so, no economy there for sure...

By now it should be obvious that this plane is a lower cost version, designed to compete with similar lines from Stanley Handyman and Sargent Hercules.  Of these three, this one has the better bones to be fettled into a real working plane. It still sport a real frog surface, not the later painted over Swiss cheese frog surface one's.

And as economy planes goes, it still has an unexpected touch.. A tool steel or plated cap iron, very shiny and rust free, amazing to be found in a lower cost plane!

There is no markings on the presumably tool steel blade, but I don't think it is a replacement (?)

It has the same shape as their regular tool steel cutters.

While we wait for the paint to dry on the knob and tote, lets see when it was manufactured using Randy Roeder amazing MF site, looking of course, under Economy bench planes

Millers Falls, renown for their quality hand planes, decided to start an economy line in 1931.

It would be called Mohawk Shelburne

Pic from Randy Roeder site

Cost was lowered by Quote Thru the use of less expensive material and production methods Unquote. 

That meant using painted hardwood tote / knob instead of rosewood. Painting the raw casting pieces with minimal grinder or file work on them. NO machined surfaces, just painted over. Frog bed is machined and unpainted.  Regular steel screws instead of the usual two parts; brass nut and steel threaded shaft. Just like Stanley was forced to do during WW 2 production.

Cutter was touted as being made of "Good quality steel" instead of using their usual Tool steel cutters.

That is an interesting approach, Stanley instead created a new totally cheapen plane instead of using their regular parts in less finished versions.  Two different approachs to the same end goal: Produce less expensive planes for the handyman.

They made two (2) models. 

The smooth plane No 900, and

the Jack plane No 814.

Black painted wood, lever cap painted black and red

Pic from millersfallsplanes,com

Why these strange numbers? MF regular quality bench planes were numbered by their sole size, hence a smoother was No 9 and the Jack was No 14.

Curiously the Mohawk line does not shows up in their catalog until 1935 and disappeared in 1949.

The economy bench planes No 814 and 900 were still being made but now under the Name Millers Falls.

Thus our example date from post 1949.  Ours is stamped No 900B.  So obviously a later model bearing Phillips screws.

This new line would be made from 1949 until 1974 when the models No 814 became 9814  and the No 900 became 8900. Still bearing common screws not Phillips until late 60s early 70s

Starting in 1949, when MF put back their name on it, they switched to a tool steel cutter like the rest of their planes line up.  From 1949 until 1974, they will undergo a few cosmetic changes, such as color combinations.

The lever cap was no longer partly painted red, but now all black. (ours is grey, hence later)

In 1956, MF introduces the V-line (Value line).  They used a bright red V decal on the now grey lever cap.  They were now grey bed and lever cap, red frog and burgundy stained hardwood parts.

Pic from Randy Roeder site

Notice that they no longer stamped the name Millers Falls on the bed casting side, instead they used a water transfer decal on the lever cap and stamped the tote.  That was so they could easily rebranded them for whomever wanted to sell them under their house's brand name

These last 2 pics from 

Millersfallsplanes.com

They dropped the V-line in the early 60s, then reverted to black painted wood parts

At that time they probably started to stamped the bed left side wing as before, instead of stamping on the Tote

Such as our example, except that mine used Phillips screws for both the wooden parts and to screw the frog to the bed casting.  Guessing that would be the start of the No 900B

Question remained, when did they started the No 900B ??

Late 60s to Early 70s would be my best educated guess at this point.

The blade has no markings BTW, replacement?? NO ideas.

I said earlier that the critical mating surfaces between the bed and the frog were merely painted over, instead of the usual machining.  Big cost saving measure, right there!

I opted to keep it intact, instead of scraping the paint off and filing the matching parts flat.

I would do that if wanting to trick up this plane to a higher level of performance.  It is after all a smooth plane.  But I want to preserved its built history.  Besides, curious to see how good it could work as is.  Stay tuned...  A project for another day. 

Bob, watching paint dry to finish it...

Notice the big wedge shapes object all around the bedding area of the knob?

They act as wedges and split the knob if you over torque it like Cro-Magnon.

The bright idea was to prevent knob rotation, hence loosening. 

Finally, my parts were dry upon our return, here is the final look.  All together now.

Look at the thickness of the lateral lever.

Same part as used on their regular planes.

Quick sanding on the 120 grit runway (Ralph Tm)

She is quite heavy, compared to her competition.  Next will look at the equivalent Stanley Handyman.

Don't let the low price fool you, this "low cost" plane has good bones and could easily be tuned up.

Something that would be more difficult (read almost impossible (?) with the equivalent Stanley or Sargent.

Bob, Jean and Rudy back from a weekend trip to the city to see a show with friends

Circus Musica Wonderland

Thank you Maggie and Dave for supper and the show

Rose for babysitting Rudy