re: JB Weld for a cracked hand plane.

Hmmn . . .

Bouncing around on TD (for the first time in months) and stumbled across this.

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It is a Stanley Bedrock from 1911.

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The 1911-1943 Stanley Bedrock planes (the “flat-sided” models) are much more desirable than the pre-1911 (“round-sided”) ones.

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Seems a shame to toss.

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Yes, indeed.

I’ve seen this kind of problem more than once, with both wood and metal, and I’ve seen it solved before, too.

YMMV, of course, but I might be able to help:

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No matter what you decide to do, the first thing you have to do is drill the ends of the crack. Stress approaches infinity at the end of a crack, that’s why they run no matter the material. Once you spread the stress over the radius of your drilled hole then you can focus on repair.

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THIS ^

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Plane bed is likely cast iron, which is hard to weld properly, and that amount of heat could warp the base.

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THIS, too ^


The GOOD J-B Weld is like magic. The quick-setting version (J-B Kwik) -- not so much.

And you will need to have access to compressed air . . .

First, disassemble it. Then soak the plane bed in acetone.

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It can be moved but only slightly.

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Slightly is all you’ll need:

>> Use the compressed air to blow the crack dry. Do the acetone thing a few times -- you want to make sure that the inside of the crack is thoroughly degreased.

>> Press some J-B Weld into the crack -- hard -- w/ a putty knife, then use a quick shot of compressed air to blow it into the crack. Repeat until the J-B Weld begins to show on the other side of the crack.

The J-B Weld will have to thoroughly cure -- I’d let it go for about 4 days, before sanding it smooth.

Some Stanley Bedrocks are more valuable than others, but all of them are classics.

Hope you can salvage yours.