Last month the Midwest Tool Collectors Association had their national convention in town. I checked them out since it was just a few blocks away and I came away with a Stanley compass plane.

I’m not really into refurbishing old tools and I’m not a collector. Those things seem like their own hobbies. I usually buy new or like-new condition so I can quickly put the tool to work. I picked this up used, however, because it seems like a reasonably good deal and I didn’t see myself paying full price for such a specialty tool. Plus, I could go to a tool show and walk away empty handed!

Basically the sole flexes to form to a convex or concaved curve. Then you can plane to that curve. I think mine is dated the late 1920’s/early 1930’s. I paid $70, which seemed fair. I tore it down, knocked off the rust, gave it a new coat of paint, lubed it up, and sharpened up the iron. I still need to do a little more touch up painting on pieces I missed. Also, the sole isn’t in the best condition. There’s some pitting in the metal, but I’ll see if that significantly affects anything. Wood by Wright has a nice video tutorial on restoring this plane.

I’m hoping this will be handy when working with furniture curves. I played around with it little to get a feel for the tool and plan to try it out on the upcoming coffee table build.

The paint, by the way, is John Deere green, which I had laying around.