Well this morning I was in the mood for getting this very old #5 finished decided to take stock before I went any further rehabbing it.
A lot of the parts that are key components in the operation of the hand plane are from other planes, for example the chip breaker is also damaged and the bottom needs to be ground to sit flush on the plane iron, the frog doesnt belong to this plane and was canabolised off another plane, the tote is broken and for some reason I cant get the 2 broken parts together I have tried 5 minute epoxy, Titebond II wood glue without any success, I could always remake the tote but with all the other issues with the plane I have decided to leave the plane for now and try and either find a Stanley #5 or find better replacement parts for this plane.
So as sad as it makes me feel I am leaving the restoration for now, but some times you need to cut your losses.
Anyway I need to perfect my honing skills and perfect my sharpening methods for various tools.
Until next time
Ed