After an initial scrub to get the loose rust off the Stanley Bailey No. 5 1/2 I bought at a car boot sale over the weekend has been soaking in the rust remover I already used to clean up the No.4 and No 4 1/2.
As the rust was pretty bad (certainly much worse than any of the previous planes) I took them out to scrub off the rust with a copper brush yesterday before putting them back to soak.
The lever cap started off looking pretty rough and got quite a bit better:
Going …
… going …
… gone (ish)
Although it’s come up quite well so far I think there is some slight pitting of the sole, but I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to get rid of it using some wet and dry and my surface plate.
I’ve still not managed to get the chip breaker and blade apart yet 😦
The last time I tried to unscrew them (after a soak in WD-40) the screwdriver slipped, almost took the top off my finger and then buried itself in my palm!
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I’m glad to see the Rust Remover Gel is working well for you, John. I personally don’t worry about any deep pitting like that. It shows the tool’s history and, as I’ve always imagined, is going to be very hard to remove. As long as the surface looks ‘clean’ and feels smooth, I’m happy to use it. 🙂
Hi Olly,
I’ve not actually used the gel yet, only the liquid from the same range that you dilute and immerse things in.
I’ve struggled to find containers that are long enough to fit the No. 5 1/2 whilst also being narrow enough to keep the 5 litres it makes covering the plane – I ended up using a plastic toolbox after the garden planter I thought would do the job turned out to have drainage holes in the bottom!
I’m planning to use the gel on the saws I got, but if the liquid doesn’t finish the job I’ll also use it on the No. 5 1/2
John