Strip Sander Value Question

[dgale]

Seems like virtually every used strip sander I see for sale has just the platen that is mounted at the time and the other two are MIA. In my case I was fortunate the curved one was installed, as it is $25 vs $11 each for the two flat ones.

[alisfair]

I have 4 for 100.00 plus shipping etc if your interested. Don't know if it is proper to sell on the forum or not.

[JPG]

I have 4 for 100.00 plus shipping etc if your interested. Don't know if it is proper to sell on the forum or not.

A PM would be appropriate response.

P.S. Ad yer 20 to yer profile.

[backhertz]

I visited Shopsmith back in 2007 to shop at the Retail Store. The store was closed and was being used for the Saw Dust sessions with Nick Engler. I had seen a Saw Dust session where Nick sharpened a knife with the strip sander belts and finished honing with a 1" wide leather belt. Shopsmith didn't sell the leather belts- but Dick Belcher did. You can Google his web site. Use some chromium green compound with the leather belt & you'll be able to put a scary sharp edge on anything.

Nick gave me a personal lesson using the strip sander and put a razor edge on my pocket knife and also on a dull wood chisel. The wood chisel was so sharp, it would easily shave wafer thin maple end grain. After the lesson, he gave me tour of the factory. Be careful not to heat the tool too much as it will lose its temper. Have a container of water to dip the tool into that you are sharpening.

There are two versions of the strip sander. The new version uses bushings rather than bearings. I was lucky and found an old one off of Ebay with bearings. I'm not sure which year Shopsmith changed to the bushings.

[nuhobby]

A lot of knife-makers and similar hobbyists use Strip Sanders. Of course, Nick did a sawdust session on making a finger-plane using the strip-sander.

This summer I got it in my head that I wanted a small, No. 2 size, handplane. These have arguable utility but do pull inflated collector prices on the used market. Usually they go for as much as a new Lie-Nielsen No. 2.

I went for a unit with the right front 'shoulder' broken off the cast iron sole. Nobody else bid on it, so the price was to my liking. I'm not equipped for welding or brazing, but I figured I could make a JB-Weld repair. What I did was 3 basic steps:
(1.) Clean up the broken casting void using the Mark V and drum-sander, with the plane on the worktable. Almost like a metal milling project.
(2.) Get an old donor plane, worthless, and hacksaw off its front-right shoulder. Carefully strip-sand its edge contour to fit the radius of the destination's void.
(3.) Epoxy new part in place, after drying smooth up the with strip-sander.

I also made some new handles... another story. Here's my cut-rate No. 2!



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[BuckeyeDennis]

A lot of knife-makers and similar hobbyists use Strip Sanders. Of course, Nick did a sawdust session on making a finger-plane using the strip-sander.

This summer I got it in my head that I wanted a small, No. 2 size, handplane. These have arguable utility but do pull inflated collector prices on the used market. Usually they go for as much as a new Lie-Nielsen No. 2.

I went for a unit with the right front 'shoulder' broken off the cast iron sole. Nobody else bid on it, so the price was to my liking. I'm not equipped for welding or brazing, but I figured I could make a JB-Weld repair. What I did was 3 basic steps:
(1.) Clean up the broken casting void using the Mark V and drum-sander, with the plane on the worktable. Almost like a metal milling project.
(2.) Get an old donor plane, worthless, and hacksaw off its front-right shoulder. Carefully strip-sand its edge contour to fit the radius of the destination's void.
(3.) Epoxy new part in place, after drying smooth up the with strip-sander.

I also made some new handles... another story. Here's my cut-rate No. 2!

Very nice! What kind of wood did you use for the tote?

I recently bought a WWII-vintage #5 Stanley Bedrock that has some modest pitting on the shoulders. Evaporust made short work of the rust itself, but I haven't gotten any further with the restoration. How do you think JB-Weld would do as a filler for the pits?

[nuhobby]

Very nice! What kind of wood did you use for the tote?

I recently bought a WWII-vintage #5 Stanley Bedrock that has some modest pitting on the shoulders. Evaporust made short work of the rust itself, but I haven't gotten any further with the restoration. How do you think JB-Weld would do as a filler for the pits?

Thanks!

I used some Desert Ironwood. In fact for the rear tote, I had no one piece big enough, so I joined 2 pieces together. Shopsmith horizontal-boring feature is always great for drilling the counterbores and rod-holes in these blanks (in that order, for best concentricity).

Sanded-out JB-Weld looks noticeably lighter in color than cast-iron, I think, with less gloss obviously. One day I might experiment with further 'tinting' on JB-Weld during mix-up. Another thing, which I did on the interior of this casting, was to obscure the glue-line with some black-tinted wax.

I will refrain from calling the No. 2 plane-tote "cute" or "Kardashian-like" .

[terrydowning]

Very nice! What kind of wood did you use for the tote?

I recently bought a WWII-vintage #5 Stanley Bedrock that has some modest pitting on the shoulders. Evaporust made short work of the rust itself, but I haven't gotten any further with the restoration. How do you think JB-Weld would do as a filler for the pits?

Personally, I would not "fill" the pitting on the body. Take care of the active rust and use the rust preventative of your choice. Make sure the sole is flat and use it. Pitting on the sole should not affect the performance too badly. If the pitting is so severe that the performance is affected, it's time to look for a new plane IMHO.

[BuckeyeDennis]

Personally, I would not "fill" the pitting on the body. Take care of the active rust and use the rust preventative of your choice. Make sure the sole is flat and use it. Pitting on the sole should not affect the performance too badly. If the pitting is so severe that the performance is affected, it's time to look for a new plane IMHO.

For better or for worse, I am seriously afflicted with perfectionist disease. That's what attracted me to nuhobby's post -- the beautiful job and wood selection on the tote. Of course, looking good is by itself not enough by itself .. it has to be blueprinted to spec and function flawlessly before I am completely happy. MickeyD, Skip Campbell over at MKCtools, and Shipwright are my inspirations for vintage tool restoration. Can't raise the bar much higher than that!