Tried restoring a vintage hand plane. Cost me $80 and a week of my life.

Picked up a Stanley No. 5 from 1948 on eBay for $40. After buying a new blade for $25, a sharpening stone for $10, and a brass hammer for $5 to adjust the chip breaker, I spent 6 evenings flattening the sole on sandpaper. Thing still wobbles like a broken table leg. Has anyone actually gotten one of these to work without sinking $200 more into it?

2 comments

2 Comments

emery96526d ago

Feel your pain, that sole flattening grind is brutal.

ninal9126d ago

Heard this guy on a podcast the other day talking about how the whole sole flattening process is basically just a rite of passage for any serious woodworker. He was saying it's like the first real test of patience because you gotta get that perfect contact with the plane iron. Made me feel a little better about how long it takes me honestly. I kept thinking I was doing something wrong when I'd still see light gaps after like an hour of sanding. Turns out it's just one of those things where you gotta let the tool tell you when it's flat instead of trying to rush it.