02 Jan, 2021 – Oakland, CA`
I had some down time today which I used to cruise woodworking videos on YouTube and came across this gem of a lecture from the FineWoodWorkingLive conference 2018.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been a visual/auditory learner. In college, I only read the book when I absolutely had to. Nearly 25 years later that paradigm is still reliable – for me anyway.
So, my retired neighbor, Steve “my project days are over” SweetLawn, gave me a bunch of his old tools including a Sargent 409 smoothing plane. A plane which sat in a drawer for over two years until I saw that lecture and decided to get in the game.
I wish I had taken a before picture (it would have helped with re-assembly) but alas, this is all I have. I soaked all the metal parts in a 50/50 solution of water and distilled white vinegar for about 4h, gave it a thorough scrub with 00 steel wool, and then put it back in the bath to soak overnight.
While it soaked, I sharpened the plane iron. It was cut to 30° but was badly worn and required taking off a decent amount of steel to re-establish an even bevel. After that I added a micro-bevel at 35° and was sure to camber it, just like Mike.
Now I am so freaking anxious to put this baby back together and make some cuts that I can barely stand it. But, stand it, I must.
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