Grinding Brass or Bronze

[enjuneer]

There is more machining needed here than just surfacing the bed. The frog mounting surfaces must be machined and the holes for the frog, tote, and knob must be threaded. If using Stanley fasteners, then these need to be #12-20 threads which requires a custom tap. Some careful file work will likely be needed on the mouth as well.

To show off the beauty of the yellow metal, I'd recommend glass beading the top surface of the bed instead of painting. The end result will be uniform and clean since it will remove the scale left from the casting process. It could be sealed with lacquer to slow down corrosion.

[Snipe Hunter]

I have done some machining of brass years ago. You can't really grind it, it clogs the grinding wheel. It pretty much has to be machined and sanded. I had an instance where I machined brass and it bowed. It wasn't cast, it was actually a hexagon rod a couple inches thick. I Not exactly sure what cast brass will do during machining.

[JustinTyson]

That has got to be one of the coolest things I've ever seen. I can't help you get it done, but I can't wait to see it when it's done!

[Admiral]

Funny, I was chatting up a tool monger at the flea on Sunday, and he had an uncle that worked for Stanley in their development shop up in New Britain. He said that the guys in the shop would get bored, and start going off the reservation making repros of all kinds of tools from different materials, including planes, most notably a #1 in sterling silver given as a gift to an exec. I asked about bronze, and he said his uncle had a set of ##5, 4, 4 1/2 and 3.

[JustinTyson]

Admiral said:

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most notably a #1 in sterling silver given as a gift to an exec.

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$$$

[blackhat]

What you think, 1 of 3 maybe?

[Timberwolf]

Stanley "ground" their planes on a long, wide belt grinder...I have an old catalog showing a workman holding the sole on the moving belt. It would work fine for bronze or brass..

[bennybmn]

Boatman53 said:

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I think that raised step portion on the bottom was to ensure the mouth area wasn't starved for bronze when they made the pour. Without that the mold would have needed two sprues or the pour would have had to travel along the side walls only to fill everything.
Jim

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What he said^^^

[Ron Brese]

When you're set up for grinding steel or cast iron changing over to grind brass or bronze is a costly setup. Grinding red metals requires a different type of grinding stone that reduces loading and even at that it requires more frequent dressing. I have no first hand experience with cast bronze but the cold drawn pieces have a lot of stress in them that relieves as you remove the outer skin, causing the material to change shape as you work it.

Add to the fact that it requires a lot more to jig it for grinding due to the fact that it can't be held with a magnet and you have a process fright with variables and a lot more time consuming than ferrous metals.

You can probably get it done but the cost might be unrealistic.

Ron

[EricU]

that's interesting Ron, I was thinking diamond wheel, but I'm not sure it's compatible. I want a surface grinder, but a usable used one is still $$$ and I'm a little worn out moving machines.