Past Sandusky plows into the future

What a treat the Sandusky plough (plow US) turned out to be.

I spent a couple of hours cleaning but beyond that and oiling or waxing moving parts there wasn’t much that needed to happen to get it working. Degrunging the surfaces was just a steel wool exercise with some solvent and then waxing with furniture polish.

Threads in wood and steel and brass needed cleaning only and a nylon brush and solvent took care of that. My excitement builds as I spin the boxwood nuts onto the wooden threads and with a flick of the thumb the nut travels two inches.

I sanded the steel parts to get the surface rust off. The screws were seated hard but furniture wax helped them back in.

I love the way the wooden threads look now. There’s something about the order they depict. The skate looks nice too.

Now to the real fun. This Sandusky plow plane is set up in the same way as any wooden plane where the cutting iron is fixed by wedging. I sharpened one of the cutting irons, the 1/4", and installed it in the plane. Everything on the plane was intact so it was only a question of reassembly after cleaning.

The plane really works and removes stock superfast. In pine and oak and mahogany it left me with a crispness that tells much about those that once relied on them. It was a harder push in the hardwoods, but still easy to work.