Dad’s Sargent Hercules Block Plane

The Sargent Hercules plane in its original condition in 2008

This old Sargent Hercules block plane, a clone of the Stanley 110, belonged to my dad and is one of just a couple of his tools that I have. The Hercules was Sargent’s lower priced line of ‘handyman’ or value tools. This particular plane lived its life in our outdoor shed and was in pretty rough condition when I got it 8 years ago. I first restored it in 2008, but was never happy with it. At the time, I resisted repainting it, as I do with almost all tools, but so much of the original finish was gone that even after oxidizing, it was lifeless and dull.  In this case, the only way to get it back to anything resembling its original look was a full on refinishing.

After the original 2008 restoration

The plane has practically no monetary or utility value, and I figured even if I painted it and later changed my mind, stripping it would leave it no worse off than it was to begin with. So last week, I repainted the body with black enamel, including the cheeks, which were apparently japanned or painted to begin with. After a couple of hours of baking in the oven, the paint came out very hard and should be reasonably durable, not that I will be using this plane for much of anything.

Now that it’s all said and done, this old Sargent once again looks pretty good. I think dad would approve.

For more information on Sargent Planes including the #514, I strongly recommend Don Wilwol’s fantastic reference book, The Sargent Hand Plane Reference Guide for Collectors and Woodworkers!

The Sargent Hercules after a full refinishing, April 2015