The Stanley #5 that I found recently at a garage sale came with a poor excuse for a tote screw to hold the toe of the tote. It was all wrong: wrong head, wrong thread, just plain wrong.
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| The tote screw as found |
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| Here it is next to a correct screw from another plane. You can see the difference in threads and head. |
Unfortunately for us plane enthusiasts, Stanley used a 12-20 thread that did not gain wide use elsewhere and therefore is not made by anyone these days. At a recent tool show, one of the guys said he had spare tote screws and would bring one to the next tool show. But when I was looking into this, I read somebody suggesting the use of a 1/4-20 screw, modified to fit and I had to try it. It has the right number of threads per inch, just a larger diameter.
The 12-20 screw has a major diameter of about 0.211". I started with a 1/4-20 machine bolt that has a major diameter of about 0.248".
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| A 12-20 tote screw above, 1/4-20 machine bolt below. It was very helpful to have the extra length on the 1/4-20 to chuck it up in a drill without damaging the 1/2" of threads that I needed. |
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| Here, I'm filing 1/2" length of threads to about 0.211" diameter. |
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| I followed that using the edge of a small half round file to deepen the valleys between threads whose peaks I had filed down. I started with a triangular file, but that was cutting way too wide. |
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| Then I filed the head round and then to a rough domed shape and put it back in the drill to file and sand it smooth |
I hacksawed and filed a slot in the head, then cut off the unneeded length of threaded portion. I'd still like to make this look darker like the correct screw shown in the first picture, but for now, it works perfectly. If anybody knows a DIY method (using stuff I have - no harsh chemicals) of turning this screw dark, I'd love to know it.
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| The screw finished |
I'm not much of a metalworker, but damn, that is satisfying!
You can rust blue it. Use hot salty water (household peroxide with salt is even better if you have it, some people recommend vinegar) and induce rust, brush off any flakiness, repeat until it's deep brown. That is rust browning. Then take your browned object and boil it in plain water until the ferrous oxides convert from red to black. Doesn't take long, looks great. Repeat until you have the depth of color you want. Don't forget to oil it afterward.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for the comment. I might try this one - sounds simple enough and I have the needed items.
DeleteThis! 👍 Exactly the way.easy and works very well. Fairly thin) fragile layer, consider wax or varnish coat on screw head to finish
DeleteI don't know "what you have" but I've used stained glass black patina to darken steel parts.
ReplyDeleteGood point! I just meant stuff most people have at home rather than any specialty chemicals. Unfortunately stained glass black patina is something not on the list. Thanks for the comment.
DeleteGun blueing is the simplest and easiest, works great. Small bottles available on Amazon. Also woodyah.com sells new replacement tote screws and many other parts.
ReplyDeleteThat would be nice and easy, but I'm trying to avoid buying something that I'm unlikely to use later and would take up space in my tiny shop. Thank for the comment.
DeleteSeem to recall reading something about linseed oil and heat as a way to create an oxidized finish....
ReplyDeleteMike
Mike, I saw someone who heated their part with a torch to red hot, then quenched in used motor oil. Don't recall how many times they repeated this, if at all. Maybe that would have the same effect as your suggestion.
Delete"edge of a half round file" I'm grateful that you included a photo explaining this critical detail. I was wracking my feeble brain to come up with how you managed to deepen the threads
ReplyDeleteHey Poto. Yeah, I also have a "knife-edge" file that would have worked. If I need to do this again, that's what I'll use. I think even the half round file's edge was a bit too wide.
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