Two Types of Repairs

There are two basic type of repairs I do Breaks / Splits where the handel is broke in two or and Chips and Cracks where I fill it in with System Three epoxy, wood flour and colored pigment..
I use this method on the back end of the beavertails a lot..

I find a lot of planes with broken totes and knobs with broken bases.. The rosewood in some cases is over 100 years old, and if not stored correctly or the plane is dropped breaks will happen sometimes I am told they break from storage but I think it's just the stress of a old impact..

I use SYSTEM THREE Woodworker's Epoxy Starter Kit for repairing totes and knobs along with the Brown SYSTEM THREE Epoxy Pigments and the wood flour that comes with the kit, It also comes with a Rebate Coupon if my buy more System Three products..

I just use the epoxy and wood flour with some brown Pigment to mix up a paste in a waxed dixie cup.. I use a flat head screw driver for mixing and dispensing the epoxy.. I keep some paper towels close at hand to keep the screwdriver clean and free of the epoxy between uses..
It also come with these stuff called Micro Balloons that help in sanding and simulating real wood but I don't use them much..

 You can also use any good wood glue to make a strong repair, you just can't fill in gaps as easy and epoxy lets you glue and fill gaps where there is missing wood ..

Regular Yellow Wood Glue will also work but its best at repairing clean new breaks which I do see many... You also have to clamp the pieces if you using this of polyurethane.. They hold well if it hasn't been previous glued or broken for a long time.. I am sure there are may wood glues that will work very well, I just happen to like the System Three..

 

If you need replacements for your planes, try
Greg Droz's Olde Tyme Stanley Totes and Knobs.com

 

My New Method

New Methods uses a 1/4" steel pin with some masking tape to fill the difference in hole size, the tape also comes in handy if the epoxy dry's before I have to to remove pin before epoxy is fully set..

 

 

Epoxy Drying on Handle

This is what the handel looks like before it is sanded.. Takes some time before the epoxy is set up enough that it stops drooping and I have to keep turing the handel upside down every 5-10 min's to keep the mass over the break.. I use masking tape sometimes to build a form, often when doing the beavertail area.

 

Handle Sanded

Here is the tote finish sanded, this tote was used for a long time after it had broke in half so a lot of wood was wore away from one half grinding away at the other.. Here is the tote finish sanded, this tote was used for a long time after it had broke in half so a lot of wood was wore away from one half grinding away at the other..

 

 

View of Sanded Other Side

This is what the other side of the same tote looks like.
Most clean breaks you can hardly notice the break are refinishing.. Not true with this one..

 

 

 

My Old Method of Gluing

This is the old method I used and still use it on very clean breaks which I don't se a lot of..
I used a 1/4-20 threaded rod and made some caws with a few washers and nuts..

 

 

 

System Three Epoxy

This is what you get with the System Three starter kit except I don't have the micro balloons in the shot.. they look like tiny maroon micro balls that help in sanding some how...

 

Repair the Bevertail

Here is a beavertail repair, what's missing is I now use masking tape to the epoxy where I want it.. I later sand of the tape with the unwanted epoxy..

 

 

 

Epoxy Setting Up

This is a image of how thick a apply the epoxy around areas to be repaired.

 

 

 

Clamping Fixture

Here is a good image of the clamping fixture, the problem I had is if you try to tighten some breaks up to much they slide apart and out of alignment..

 

 

 

Sanding Epoxy

If you where to drill the 9/32" through hole out to 5/16" and use that size threaded rod, I think this method is be the best hands down. That would hole the two parts in prefect align.. Either that or a bushing over the 1/4" all thread..

 

Stuck Thread

Here is a picture of a stuck threaded rod that I had to add a jam nut to and screw it out of the tote.. Waxing the rod is a good idea to stop this from happing..

 

 

Ready for Finish

Here is two repaired tote ready for refinishing..
The trick is to remove the threaded rod just before the epoxy sets hard and stick to it..

 

 

 

Broken Tails

I had a box of these that I gathered from buying planes off eBay and replacing them with other handel's of planes not refinished.. So one day I was out of totes and it was time to do the repair work I had been pitting off.

 

 

Cutting Stock

Here I am cutting some replacement wood..

 

 

 

 

Cutting Stock and Totes

Please Becareful !

I cut up some over sized pieces of rosewood I picked up on like, you can see its not Brazilian type but Honduran variety and it doesn't match very well..

 

 

Miter Cutting Blanks

Here you see I cut the tops a lot lower than most people do.. You may get away with just doing the tail.. I like to go below the counter bore and replace to wood this way the new nut us pressing against the new wood and is almost impossible for it it break.

 

Saw Cutting Seat for Clamp

I tried saw cutting a seat for my clamps but the replacement blacks still slid around.. I seen someone else just use there table saw and fence to make so 90 degree cuts.. Most thought this was dangerous so they definitely would hate my method of making cuts ..

 

Clamping Them Up

Here is my clamped tote with seat cut that I am really not happy with this method yet but with epoxy you done really need any clamps at all, so that's a big plus right now..

 

 

Glue Holes

This image you can see the glue holes I added to the totes for the epoxy gather in and make a good bond between the two wood and not have to worry about a starved glue joint..

 

 

Gluing Without Clamps

A few totes drying without clamps, if this was any other glue that epoxy you have to use clamps..

 

 

 

Scroll Saw

This is what I use for cutting out the shape of the tails.. A band saw would be my first choice but I don't own one of have the room.. You could also use a fret saw or a jig saw if you had to..

 

 

 

Belt Sander

I use a belt sander to start shaping the top of the tails and even the sides..

 

 

 

Batch Repair

Images shows the group of totes I ran in this batch.. If you have more than one broken handel this is the way to go as mixing glue for one handle is not time or cost effective.

 

 

 

Power Shaping

This is a cheap HF bit I use for roughing the tails before I mover to the hand rasps..

 

 

 

Power Sanding

This batch I did the finial shaping with a sander and they came out pretty well.. I keep a good tote on the table as a model to look at while I shaping.. I also think using a rash before sanding would archive a better shape than just using a sander..

 

 

Refinishing The Last Step

This batch I did the finial shaping with a sander and they came out pretty well.. I keep a good tote on the table as a model to look at while I shaping.. I also think using a rash before sanding would archive a better shape than just using a sander..

 

 

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Handle Repair This section cover how to repair broken or chipped plane handles. I have two methods one is using a 1/4" steel pin with some masking tape which I think works best to like up pieces and another which using a threaded rod that I need to change the rod to a 1/2" and try that with some masking tape as a shim..	Handle RefinishingThis section covers how to refinish you plane handles.. Shellac is the the best finish I know to have you beauty of the rosewood show through. You can then use lacquer on top of the shellac but you must make sure you used De-Waxed Shellac and not plain shellac..
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Rust PreventionFew Methods on how to stop rust for occurring on you planes..	ElectrolysisThis is a method to remove rust no make that kill rust.. It really does not do the job I thought it would after reading about it but on planes where the rust keeps coming back or was rusted badly from the start then is the method I use to give me peace of mind..
What Hand Plane Should I Buy ? Answers as to what planes are best to buy for a new woodworking just starting down the road of using hand planes....	Sharpening I have a whole sub section devoted to sharpening hand plane Irons.