Please help me identify this plane

mywifeshubby · 2026-06-29T11:04:10+00:00

The information you have found is conflicting because not all plywood is created equal. There is good, mediocre and bad quality plywood (and finally the crap we get here in South Africa, but that's another matter). So your first order of business is to remove that variable. You can do that by clamping the plywood down before drilling, so that any tendency to split during drilling will be nipped in the bud. Then start with a small pilot hole, and redrill that with the final size once you're happy with that. You'll be cutting both throug end grain and cross grain, so I would advise using a sharp brad point drill bit or auger bit. Sharpness is key here; don't use a blunt bit for this way lies ruin, be ye warned. High speed and low force is also recommended (within reason, of course).

Then there's screwing into a plywood edge. Short answer: I wouldn't. In order for a screw to have proper purchase the thread needs to "bite" into the wood, which requires pressure, and that pressure is very likely to split the plywood, either at the time when the screw is put in or later when mechanical load is applied.

A better way is to use a bolt or threaded rod. Drill your hole a few millimeters wider, fill it with some strong epoxy (e.g. engine epoxy) and insert the bolt/rod until it reache the bottom of the hole. If you have applied enough epoxy some of it should be pushed out of the hole, but don't fill the entire hole with it because you'll just waste epoxy and make a mess. Make sure the bolt/rod is straight before the epoxy begins to set. Here, too, clamping the plywood sheet might be a good idea to prevent any risk of deformation. (Splitting is less of a risk here.) I wouldn't use polyurethane glue, because that both has a lower sheer resistance and a lower density than a good quality epoxy.

I would also experiment on some scrap wood first to familiarize yourself with the strengths and limitations of the materials and the method, and let the epoxy set and cure for a full 24 hours before applying mechanical load or force. And remember that the deeper you drill the more grip your bolt has and the better the load distribution is.

Good luck!

mywifeshubby · 2026-06-29T10:45:21+00:00

You will have to sand down all the way into the grain of the wood, which will be a PITA and, depending on the quality of the panel, could even make things worse. I would go with u/dcolecpa´s advice and cover it up.

mywifeshubby · 2026-06-29T10:41:57+00:00

Based on your description I would have to say "Probably not". First of all, the bending moment will be fairly brutal, what with the wind load being applied to the top of the pole. Secondly, you're looking at least in part at end grain being glued together, which is usually the weakest glue joint.

Your best bet will probably be to extend the sleeve to cover the broken area (acting like a splint, as it were) to strengthen the joint. Glue alone most likely won't cut it.

mywifeshubby · 2026-06-25T13:33:14+00:00

As a rank beginner, I can testify to the advantages of practicing on cheap, sub-grade wood. You will not make items that can compare to what seasoned woodworkers make out of primium grade walnut, maple and cherry, but you can't beat the learning experience!

mywifeshubby · 2026-06-25T13:29:28+00:00

Last time I saw this, it was still worth something...

mywifeshubby · 2026-06-25T13:25:12+00:00

Beats a sock on the doorknob.

mywifeshubby · 2026-06-23T08:25:07+00:00

That's exactly how I have always felt about it, and not just with respect to woodworking. As a radio ham I always enjoyed getting on the air using only a few old nails and a discarded lightbulb far more than buying a $1000+ radio and just plugging it in. Same with woodworking. I won't buy a low angle plane; I'll come across an old unsalvable wooden plane one day that still has a decent iron, and build my own. Much more fun, better for your skills development, and easier on the budget! 😄

mywifeshubby · 2026-06-23T08:19:46+00:00

Nice collection! Yes, thes shaft is not exactly ergonomic, which is why I plan to fit that with a proper handle as soon as I can find some proper wood for it. I'm in South Africa, and all we have is "African pine" (the worst quality yellow pine you can imagine; it has the structure and strength of a bale of straw) and bottom-grade Meranti which is full of silica and hell on tools. (In fact, that's how the spade bit I used for this marking knife ended up being unsalvagable.) There are a few importers of "special woods" who sell small bits of poper wood (e.g. beech) in small pieces at horrendous prices, but I'll look at that when the ship with money comes in. I suppose that unless I come across something better soon I'll just have to go with the Meranti.

mywifeshubby · 2026-06-22T13:04:34+00:00

Thank you for that very interesting and informative response. I agree: these days woodworking has become something of a luxury hobby with suppliers offering overpriced gadgetry to a niche market. Also, an ounce of skill is worth a metric ton of tools. That's not to say a tool should not be good, of course; even the best craftsman can't work well with bad tools. But there is a lot of difference between what my grandfather would have considered "good" and many of the super-expensive toys on the market these days.

Which is why I intend to hone my skills with whatever I have (a decent Stanley #5 model 19 jack plane, a few reasonable chisels, a decent saw, an inexpensive but good try square, etc.) before I start buying fancy hardware. (And being broke, of course... That also has a lot to do with it.) When I get there I'm hoping to make a basic rebate, groove and router plane from some good wood and a chisel, that sort of thing. If it worked in my grandpa's days it should still work now.

So thank you for sharing your insights. It tells me I might be going in the right direction after all. 😄

mywifeshubby · 2026-06-22T12:54:51+00:00

That seems to have done the trick. Thank you!

(So the problem was not the tool itself but rather the tool who was using it...)

mywifeshubby · 2026-06-22T11:58:28+00:00

Agreed, however at this point in my life is to use whatever I have, and an old spade drill bit is what I have. (And to be sure, this is not my idea. I saw it here but there are quite a few other content makers who published something similar.) That said, I could probably harden and temper it if I wanted to, I imagine. It's an old Irwin spade bit so the steel won't be proper tool steel but shouldn't be total rubbish. either.

mywifeshubby · 2026-06-07T10:54:54+00:00

I'm beginning to suspect that either the jaws or the spring is not the original one and not the correct model.

mywifeshubby · 2026-06-07T10:46:24+00:00

My main problem is that I can't find any reliable info on the design and intended workings of this particular chuck. There are no Stanley patent drawings for this model that I have been able to find, nor any photos.

mywifeshubby · 2026-06-07T10:45:21+00:00

Looking at the images at the link you sent me I have a feeling you might be right. These might not be the jaws that belong in this particular chuck... 😞 Rats.

mywifeshubby · 2026-05-30T11:15:41+00:00

First off, you're right: I mis-typed the type number; it is indeed a 73-10IN. Second: I can't seem to figure out how to include images in this reply (if there's an option for it I must be overlooking it) so I'll edit my original post above to include them.

mywifeshubby · 2026-05-16T11:01:07+00:00

Final update: it's been a few days before I could spend more time on this, but this morning I decided to take a small hatchet and just split a piece of wood from the same plank, just to see what the grain is really doing (rather than what I think it's doing from looking at the surface. I'm in South Africa where decent wood is scarce and costs it weight in unobtanium, so all we have here is African Pine and imported cut-rate Meranti for use in cases where African Pine just rots away too quickly. While African Pine can be relatively straight grain, more often than not it isn't. This is how it split, and you can see that in some places the grain is all over the place. So yeah, by now (and based on all responses here) I'm fairly sure I'm running into the limitations of what even the sharpest Bailey pattern jack plane can do with this wood. 😄

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mywifeshubby · 2026-05-10T09:06:52+00:00

You mean it's just the wood that's the limitation here?

mywifeshubby · 2026-05-09T13:31:30+00:00

OK.I'll experiment with an even closer setting of the cap iron / chip breaker. I don't think I can set the mouth much narrower; it's just below the point of clogging. Sharpness isn't theissue here; as I said I've got the iron honed and stropped literally to razor-sharpness.

Good point on having only one plain being necessarily a compromise. I'll probably want a Stanley #4 smoother in the future, but I'll have to wait until the ship with money comes in and then find one in good shape at a good price. So for now the #5 it is. I've got it set up for very thin shavings because right now I'm going for smoothness as much as I can, so yes, planing something down does take forever. 😄

I'll see what sanding does.

mywifeshubby · 2026-05-02T18:17:04+00:00

I strongly suggest you get those spares from somewhere else from now on. Empty buildings in that area are stolen brick by brick, and there are shacks on the track where the railway used to be (the rails having been stolen long ago). Taxi wars, hijackings and muggings are common there these days. I'm taken to avoiding the entire area. Frankly I can't understand why businesses are still located there; if it were me I'd have pulled up stakes and moved elsewhere. Even rent-free the cost of doing business there must be higher than elsewhere due to the high levels of crime alone.

But I'm straying off-topic. 😄

mywifeshubby

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