Rehab a Snipes Bill Plane

Last post I asked for help in rehabbing this Wm. Banks snipes bill plane.  I also posted something similar on the Facebook "Unplugged Woodworkers" group and from the comments I developed a plan.

At first I thought I would need to remove the boxing from the plane and someone suggested using vinegar to loosen up the hide glue.  I tried that with no success.  I thought about steaming the whole plane body in a pan over the stove, but was dissuaded by a comment or two.  Eventually I decided to use an iron to heat the boxing side of the plane.

Used an iron and a wet rag to get heat and steam into the plane body

I then clamped the plane tightly to a flat spot on my workbench and waited overnight.  Surprisingly, this flattened the plane and straightened the boxing significantly.  But the gap between the boxing and the sole opened up a little more than it had already been.

I was able to fit a 0.005" feeler gauge about 1/2" deep into the boxing slot,
but only on the sole-side of the boxing - the other side was firmly glued.

So I used that same feeler gauge to force some hot hide glue down into the gap
and then clamped it up overnight

This tightened up the boxing very well and the gap is gone.  The plane body still needed a little flattening, so I took a couple shavings off each side.  I also took a few shavings off the point of the boxing (the quirk) to get it all on the same level.

Right side

Left side

And look how straight the boxing quirk is!

I did a little sanding of the sole to smooth out the profile.  Then I worked on the iron to get it to better match the sole's profile.  It took a LOT of iterations to get that right.  Work on the iron also included filing the side a little bit, as it was sticking out a little too much.  It's supposed to be proud of the side of the boxing by a couple thousandths, but this one was out too much.

I'm happy now with how it is.  After taking the pic below, I put some oil on it for protection and to blend the colors a bit.

Here it is, work completed

I don't know if I'll ever need this plane - I don't currently use a lot of moldings in my work.  But if and when I do, it'll be ready to go.  Regardless, I feel good about bringing a piece of history back into working order.  For $3 and a little time, that's OK by me.