Old Stanley No 4 - Restored

strat84 · May 2023

I recently had a rummage through my Grandad's shed and came across an old plane. I was close to binning it as it looked a bit of a mess but I'd seen one of Paul Sellers' YouTube vids where he restores an old Stanley No 4 so thought I'd try and do the same.

Turns out that's exactly what it is. Not only that but after taking it apart and dating it with the patent numbers it looks like it's a type 10 from 1907-1909. Im sure these are pretty common but I'm really glad I thought twice about throwing it away. Looking forward to restoring this and hopefully using it for years to come!

WezV · May 2023

That will clean up just fine, we'll worth it for the old steel

Corvus · May 2023

My one is the same era. Older irons definitely keep the edge better than later stuff.

A quick/cheap/safe de-rusting way is get a plastic tub, put hot water in it. Throw in a handful of citric acid (approx tenner kilo delivered). Lob the steel/iron parts in (not sure about brass but safer not to). Put a lid on, scrap wood, anything - not to seal it, but keeps it hot for ages.
After an hour or two scrub the parts. Rust should be either gone or converted to a soft grey sludge that wipes away easily.

Dry bits fast, flash rust might form otherwise but it's super light dust and wipes away.

Citrics very safe, its in food and bath bombs, cleaning agents etc etc.

LastMantra · May 2023

Nice.

I never like to see a plane put down on it's blade though

strat84 · May 2023

Cheers chaps!

Sounds like an easier way than going at it with some 120 grit @Corvus ;

I'll certainly not rest it on the blade once sharpened

elstoof · May 2023

Safest way to leave it is blade down

ICBM · May 2023

You should rest it on its side if you’re putting it down in the middle of a job, and wind the blade back a bit so it’s not exposed before you put it away when you’ve finished.

- my first woodwork teacher c.1975

I hadn’t realised that ‘modern’ Stanley design went back that far - without really thinking about it I assumed it was post-WWII. I’ll have to get mine out and check the dates, I’ve got one that size and a longer one, can’t remember the model numbers.

strat84 · May 2023

@ICBM I was suprised as well, thought this would have been from the 60s. It could well have been my Great Grandad's.

Here's the chart I used to date it. The patent numbers on this were behind the frog but I think each 'type' is different.

https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/fG1J2VWe18pV

enjo · May 2023

ICBM said:

You should rest it on its side if you’re putting it down in the middle of a job, and wind the blade back a bit so it’s not exposed before you put it away when you’ve finished.

- my first woodwork teacher c.1975

I hadn’t realised that ‘modern’ Stanley design went back that far - without really thinking about it I assumed it was post-WWII. I’ll have to get mine out and check the dates, I’ve got one that size and a longer one, can’t remember the model numbers.

The aforementioned Paul Sellers says best practice is to place it on the sole (on a wooden work bench).
According to him any professionals he has known believe laying it on the side invites knocking the blade out of centre and keeping the sharp bit out of the way is much better - a wooden work bench isn't going to dull the blade.
The important part is probably having a wooden workbench that you are not precious about!

PhilKing · May 2023

My dad's old bench used to have a 1/2" strip of wood at the back to rest one end of the planes on, so that the blade would be lifted off the bench when you put it down. It was about a foot long, so you could have a few planes out (this is back from when all the work was being done with hand tools). He was a joiner from doing his apprenticeship at 15, so I did get quite a few of his hand tools to use for myself when he passed away.

strat84 · May 2023

I remembered that my mate's dad has a sand blasting machine. He assured me it wasn't aggressive at all, can even be used on wood. 45 minutes later -

LordOxygen · May 2023

Thats a great foundation to build upon. Get some decent paint on there, it'll look a million dollars.

strat84 · May 2023

Cheers @LordOxygen, that's the plan

ICBM · May 2023

strat84 said:

Here's the chart I used to date it. The patent numbers on this were behind the frog but I think each 'type' is different.

https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/fG1J2VWe18pV

Thanks for that. So, I have a No.4 and a No.5, and unsurprisingly they're fairly modern - although still a little older than I expected - both Type 19, 1948-1961.

strat84 · May 2023

ICBM said:

strat84 said:

Here's the chart I used to date it. The patent numbers on this were behind the frog but I think each 'type' is different.

https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/fG1J2VWe18pV

Thanks for that. So, I have a No.4 and a No.5, and unsurprisingly they're fairly modern - although still a little older than I expected - both Type 19, 1948-1961.

No problem. Ah great stuff, are they in good nick?

ICBM · May 2023

strat84 said:

No problem. Ah great stuff, are they in good nick?

More or less, although the rear handles have been broken and glued on both of them - it's very common, since the short grain runs across the handle, which is bad woodwork practice really!

elstoof · May 2023

Replace it with a Gibson headstock

strat84 · May 2023

All bolt heads, brass and blade irons have had a further sand and polish -

ElectricXII · May 2023

Great job so far. You've inspired me to have a go at refurbishing some old hand tools I've inherited.

strat84 · May 2023

Thanks! I'm glad to hear that

strat84 · May 2023

A fine day for some painting

strat84 · May 2023

normula1 · May 2023

I must dig out my grandad's plane from the garage where it's laid for many years luckily it's box, but no doubt in poor shape.

Corvus · May 2023

Nice one with the blasting/ shining up @strat84 ;;

Bought a no.3, went to look it up. Not that it matters but just nice to know. Couldn't quite place it to a period. On more reading up it seems dating Made in England Stanleys is pretty impossible ... the sites & charts cover USA planes, but ours aren't the same at all.

The only solid things seems to be that Stanley England started in the mid 30s. Anything with a wooden handle/tote is pre-67. Which is still shakey as they could've been swapped for later plastic. Nothing else really identifies them to a year or even a period.

Anyway, as you were, it's looking very tidy there

axisus · May 2023

Wow, that sand blast did a fab job! Nice work so far!

strat84 · May 2023

Cheers chaps

@Corvus It's funny you couldn't place your no.3, mine was pretty clear but I dont know how accurate the chart is. Here's the one I used below. Mine has 2 patent numbers and has the enlarged and arched frog rib which puts it as a type 10. It also has '10' stamped into the sole where the back handle sits -

Stanley Bailey https://imgur.com/a/rGK1VBP

Kalimna · May 2023

Regarding the not-putting-a-plane-sole-down-on-a-bench-or-not question, I too have a strip of wood that I'll lay the toe on. So sole down, but no blade contact. It's also unusual for me not to have some tatty anti-slip matting (that stuff you can use underneath kitchen chopping boards to prevent slippage, and in drawers etc.) which is a perfect plane-resting-device.

Top notch work on the plane restoration by the way, makes me a little ashamed of the state of some of my Stanleys!

Not a great photo, but the only one to hand!

https://i.imgur.com/lBc9NHE.jpg

strat84 · May 2023

Thanks @Kalimna - They look fine to me! Nice collection

Zoolooter · May 2023

Kalimna said:

Regarding the not-putting-a-plane-sole-down-on-a-bench-or-not question, I too have a strip of wood that I'll lay the toe on. So sole down, but no blade contact. It's also unusual for me not to have some tatty anti-slip matting (that stuff you can use underneath kitchen chopping boards to prevent slippage, and in drawers etc.) which is a perfect plane-resting-device.

Top notch work on the plane restoration by the way, makes me a little ashamed of the state of some of my Stanleys!

Not a great photo, but the only one to hand!
https://i.imgur.com/lBc9NHE.jpg

Love the Aristocrat chisels in the pic. They won the 1959 Industrial Design Award. I’ve just cleaned up a set that belonged to my dad.
https://smallworkshop.co.uk/2018/05/09/ward-payne-aristocrat-chisels/

Kalimna · May 2023

Zoolooter said:

Kalimna said:

Regarding the not-putting-a-plane-sole-down-on-a-bench-or-not question, I too have a strip of wood that I'll lay the toe on. So sole down, but no blade contact. It's also unusual for me not to have some tatty anti-slip matting (that stuff you can use underneath kitchen chopping boards to prevent slippage, and in drawers etc.) which is a perfect plane-resting-device.

Top notch work on the plane restoration by the way, makes me a little ashamed of the state of some of my Stanleys!

Not a great photo, but the only one to hand!
https://i.imgur.com/lBc9NHE.jpg

Love the Aristocrat chisels in the pic. They won the 1959 Industrial Design Award. I’ve just cleaned up a set that belonged to my dad.
https://smallworkshop.co.uk/2018/05/09/ward-payne-aristocrat-chisels/

I didnt know about the design award, I bought those chisels as Stanley 5001's. Same design?

Thanks @strat84 they work well (some upgraded Hock irons), though look used and a bit battered. Not that that's a bad thing!

strat84 · May 2023

Got this pretty much finished other than flattening the sole which I needed it assembled for anyway. Blade is sharpened to 3000 grit then polished with a leather strop. Not sure if I should go any further with it but it produced some nice fine shavings with pine and also left a lovely smooth finish!

Couple here of how it did look

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Old Stanley No 4 - Restored

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