Stanley #4 vintage plane restored to nice level
#7
(8) This is a vintage Stanley Number 4  smoother plane as good as new...with a smooth  bottom.... This plane was completely restored except for the japanning... The price is  $125 plus $13.60 fixed rate priority shipping. 

This #4  bench plane has all working parts and performs perfectly.  This is a very nice specimen of a no 4 with adjustable frog screw.   I have restored this plane [per the Paul Sellers philosophy (  https://youtu.be/RYyV6IUpsYk  )]  with all bearing surfaces lapped, the bottom and sides lapped flat, All sharp corners on the plane body rounded over and sanded smooth for great handling with the plane bottom corner edges and foot and toe relieved and transitioned to the flat section of the body per Paul's great procedures... to insure no sharp corners damage the work piece during use.  I thought I knew about restoring hand planes but Paul's 50 years of experience resulted in a great many suggestions that I was thrilled to learn about. 

This plane has been completely tuned and all bearing surfaces lapped with diamond paste and all screws cleaned and lubricated. Rust was removed where needed even in the screw holes with phosphoric acid  (phosphoric acid only eats away rust but no healthy metal)  which leaves a phosphate salt dark gray finish that will keep rust from forming as it acts like a primer.   Additionally, all components cleaned and polished, with the plane iron (blade) sharpened with the back side lapped. The mouth opening forward top edge has been filed approx 15 degrees more open angling forward to allow for easier movement of wood shavings around the chip breaker as the plane is used

The tote and knob have been stripped to bare wood and refinished with four coats of  tinted shellac then hand rubbed with 0000 steel wool then waxed with Johnsons paste wax. This traditional finish of the wood makes for a much better feel for the user and is easy to redo later on if damaged. The brass slotted end piece for the long screws that fasten the tote and knob are polished to a high gloss for aesthetics.  The entire plane has two coats of paste wax on it for protection. 

This plane is better than when new because of the custom tuning and modifying and will last a user the next 50 years with a good sharpening now and then. It would be difficult to find a better #4 Stanley plane for use than this one especially considering the price. Time involved for this restoration was about 7-8 hours more or less. 

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Note rounded corners on bottom and top of wings... all very smooth and functional. The sharp corner edges of the chip breaker and iron are also smoothed and rounded some. 


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Handling a plane modified per Paul Sellers suggestions is really sweet and I will always do this work to my planes in the future.  His youtube video is well worth the hour to watch it.
https://youtu.be/RYyV6IUpsYk   


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#8
To add a few more photos of this restored #4 smoother plane .... 

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This shows one of my sources used over the years for learning to tune up planes ..... R
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#9
I'mmmm to sexy for my shop
too sexy for me shop...

that's pretty cool


Yes
Neil Summers Home Inspections




I came to a stop sign and a skanky tweaker chick in a tube top climbed out of the brush and propositioned me.  She looked like she didn't have any teeth so I counted that as a plus.


... Kizar Sosay





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#10
the photography is equally impressive!
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#11
Nice job of restoration     AND nice pics.....Well done.I already have 3 #4s.
Jerry
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#12
Oh well, going to put this on eBay.... and raise the price. 

Thanks for looking. 

R
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