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Posted by David Sherman [24.32.202.83] on Friday, December 18, 2009 at 22:36:33 :
In Reply to: Re: Chinese cast iron posted by Dave [76.182.149.93] on Friday, December 18, 2009 at 22:19:29 :
Yes, I have some really old woodworking tools (planes, drawknives, and a brace and bits) that were my grandfather's grandfather's, probably made around 18709-1880. He had a furniture shop in San Francisco. The best of the plane irons were made in Sheffield, of two kinds of iron forged together. The brace is a hand-forged affair with a split end to hold a square tapered bit. The thumbscrew on it is clearly hand-made and an oddball thread and the screws on the planes look hand-made too. I rebuilt an 1890-vintage lumber planer a while back that was made in the USA but had British Whitworth screws on it. The 5/16" Whitworth screws are the same pitch as UNC, so after chasing the holes (the thread form is slightly different) I could use modern screws in them. The 1/2" Whitworth thread, however, is a 12 pitch, vs 13-pitch for UNC. Some bozo had jammed 1/2-13 screws part way into some of the holes, but fortunately hadn't done any real damage. I bought a 1/2-12 tap and die from MSC and made my own nuts and bolts as needed. Unfortunately the slotted planer knives are worn down to where the bolts just barely get a toe-hold on them. I sharpened them up and it does plane wood, but it really needs new knives. I'd have to have them custom made at an insanely high price so I never did any more with that planer. If I found some used non-slotted knives somewhere that were still wide enough for my purposes, I'd try cutting the slots with a plasma torch, since it cuts neater and its heat is more localized and less likely to kill the temper on the cutting edge. I suppose I should get to know some sawmill guys and find out what kind of knives they use on their planers and how much is left of them by the time they throw them out. Too many things to do...