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MAKING TOTES Being the bottom feeding tool scrounger that I am, I've bought several good(*) planes with broken totes. Now good economics says that if I buy a plane with a broken tote for say $8 and then have to pay $30 for a tote, I am not ahead of the game. I've looked for planes to buy cheap just to get the totes, but that just isn't working. Cheap prices almost always means the plane has a broken tote. (*)users I bought a piece of Honduran Rosewood 1" x 4 1/2" x 6' for the same $30 one tote would cost me. It is long enough to make maybe 16 or 18 totes.
So this is where we start, a Type 11 No. 4C will lend it's tote as a pattern. It has the best shaped tote of any of my planes. This is a pretty straight forward shaping project, only a little more complicated than saw handles. The kicker in this project will be the thru bolt that retains the tote, the angle has to be pretty close I think or the tote won't sit properly and the retaining brass will not fit correctly.
Setting the angle on my No. 18 Stanley bevel gage...the dowel might not be perfectly straight but it's close enough for this work.
Establishing the complimentary angle...with my modern plastic handled Stanley POS#1, have to use what you got. At this point I am debating whether to cut the blank perpendicular to the center line of the hole in order to mount the blank in a vice and drill on the drill press; or make a jig by drilling another piece of wood, cutting the bottom of it perpendicular to the hole and using it as a guide block...we'll see which works best.
Dang it I got the edge straight but it still ain't square, it tapers off on this corner and I know it is just bad technique, I'm leaning to that side at the end of my stroke.
I know, but I like having the ability to use both hands to keep the fence tight against the board...
Okay here we have four totes laid-out... Truth be told I ruined 3 of the four in drilling the holes. Not sure if the density of the wood is forcing the bit to wander or what, but the three that were ruined were not consistent in the angle of their wander but the set-up was identical each time.
I decided to cut a face perpendicular to the center line of the hole a then set up in my machinist vice and use the drill press. Because of the length of the hole I have to finish the last 1/2" or so with a looong drill bit in a hand drill.
And on the fourth try I got a straight hole (well, straight enough) and was able to cut out this blank. It's hard to get an accurate pattern from an existing tote. It would be a lot easier if I cut a tote in half so it would lay flat. This is a little oversize. but will be trimmed down in the shaping stage.
First I have to bring it down to the proper size while it still has flat sides. All this work is done with various files. Most of it with a Simonds half-round second cut, my personal favorite for working on this Rosewood. This probably isn't the best set-up for shaping, but it's what I have to work with, and I'm not sure if a pattern-maker's vice would be much better. My method of shaping is to, mark a centerline and then try to remove wood evenly from both sides. I'd tell you to take ten strokes on one side and then the other, or some such crap but that doesn't work for me. My file never cuts the same on both sides, and sometimes it means repositioning after only doing one side and there are just too many variables. Trying to make the sides match is a matter of "eye", you just have to learn to see it. I'm getting there...slowly. *NOTE...shaping pictures are from a second tote.
#1-3 Mark shape on both ends. #4-6 Shape the ends, down 1/2"-3/4"making sure to keep alignment with the flow of the handle. Shape the areas in between working from one end to the other and referring to your pattern to help visualize the flow.
After doing seven of eight edges on two totes while one end of the tote was in the vise I came up with this set-up to hold the tote for shaping...works real well.
Here it is, shaped and ready for smoothing, but...
As you can see here I chipped the back edge pretty bad and am going to have to repair it....
A little 5 minute epoxy and a little shavings of Rosewood and we have instant Rosewood.
One last trial fit on my No. 4C to make sure everything is right before I put a finish on it. This is not the No. 4 it will go on. I know I did not wind up with a perfect match to a Stanley tote, but I am pleased with it and it is a lot nicer than the busted tote that's on the other No.4C now. I would really like to retire the Type 11 because it is a very pristine plane with 99% of it's japanning left and perfect wood, but it's my favorite to use also... Oh yeah, what does it look like finished and on the plane...well first we gotta put a finish on...
One coat of Boiled Linseed Oil and two coats of Hock's De-waxed Blond Shellac in a 2# cut. Hard to get a good picture. More Shellac to come, buffing smooth with 0000 steel wool between each coat, then I'll slather it in Johnsons' wax and buff it out
Okay here's the pay off, the plane is a type 13 No. 4C that I purchased cheap; needs a new iron, gotta chip out of the lever cap at the corner and someone removed every last bit of japanning from it. I have a blade for it and a lever cap I can swap out, neither of the proper type but then it's just a user...
Yeah, I need to do something about that knob, but that's another project, and another excuse to buy some Rosewood. roy
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