Step by step Rosewood tote repair (lots of Pics!)

[Blacky's Boy]

Hi gang,
Back about a month ago I was asking for a suitable wood to use for repairing a rosewood tote. I was advised to use walnut, along with some other easier to obtain woods. However, I also received a couple PMs where members here offered to send me a chunk of rosewood. I accepted and used a couple small pieces to repair this rosewood tote.

Now before you ask, "Why go through all this mess? Just make a new one!", I'll give you MY reasons.

First off, I really don't like making totes. I can shape them pretty easily, but I consistently mess up the drilling for the counter bore at the top. The only way I can see to make it full proof is to buy a counterbore bit. And I have one of them on order now.

Secondly, when I'm restoring an older handplane I like to retain the original rosewood just to keep a measure of "authenticity". Sure a walnut tote will look authentic. But those old rosewood totes had style. And they look so cool once they are cleaned up and refinished!

Thirdly, I hate to throw out a rosewood tote, or cut it up for scrap just because it's got some dings and cracks. The old timers used rosewood for a reason. It looks awesome and just carves so beautifully!

So here we go:

Here's a shot of the tote. Notice the flat I made at the top of the horn. That's where a major chip was. And take a look at the front mounting hole. The front is missing and no amount of tightening would stop this tote from wiggling.







I use 2 part epoxy that you can buy from Home Depot. I chose epoxy because it makes a more flexible bond than CA Glue. The cup is for containing and mixing the glue. It also acts as a nice way to catch the charcoal dust that I use to color the epoxy.



In order to fix the front of the tote, I needed to do the patch in two parts. One to give me a base to work on and one to affix a new "toe" where I could new drill a hole for the screw.

I planed/sanded a flat for the patch and then wiped the area down with mineral spirits (just to clean away excess oils). After that I found two suitable pieces of rosewood and then planed/sanded a flat on them as well. The patch area was given a coat of colored epoxy and then the pieces were clamped in place. I allowed them to dry over night.

This is what it looked like the next day.


Now that I had the first patch(es) glued in place, I could shape the parts.



I used a rasp to get the surfaces as close as possible and then decided it was time to clean up the "toe". A small incision was made using my dovetail saw and then the broken portion of the tow was parred away.



I then repeated the process for gluing in the patch.



The next day I used my rasps to define the overall shape.


And some scrapers and sandpaper to clean up the rest




And then gave both the knob (which was cleaned and sanded) and tote several coats of TruOil


After some buffing and waxing, the tote and knob were installed back on the plane.


That's pretty much it. The colored epoxy blends into the surface and you can hardly see that patch.

Thanks for viewing.

[Hoody]

Sweet repair, Dom!

(BTW, You've got mail..! )

[Treebeard]

Excellent! Dom, did you buy the charcoal dust (where?), or make your own?

Thanks,
Mark

[wayne anderson]

Nice save Dominic.

I agree that counterbore bits are nice to have, but for woodwork one can also start with a forstner bit, followed with a standard brad point bit. Leave the tote clamped securely in place between bit changes. The forstner bit leaves a nice "center punch" divot to keep the other bit on track. Start the second bit slow and it shouldn't wander. -w

[Blacky's Boy]

Buy charcoal dust? I didn't know you could do that.

But anyway, I just made it by rubbing a charcoal pencil (from an Art supply store) against sand paper.

[rhino]

Blacky's Boy said:

---

Buy charcoal dust? I didn't know you could do that.

---

There was actually a "Dirty Jobs" show on how they "made" charcoal dust for industry. Apparently available in 55lb bags.

[lilrichard2]

SWEET!

Richard

[Wilbur Pan]

Very nice writeup, Dom!

[Window Guy]

Dom ....... Great thread, I love these kinds you learn so much. I am with you trying to save a tote when you can, actually I think a little repair job hear and there give it a little character.

I have a couple I need to get to work on, so this is a great help.

Just curious where did you order the counter sunk bit from, is it a Fuller ?

Thanks for another great tutorial !

Steve

PS: How thick was that bottom piece you added ? Did that affect the screw length or did you recess the hole a little more ?

[Blacky's Boy]

Thanks!