replacement X-ACTO blade #30

[Peanut6]

30+ years ago I bought an X-ACTO hobby kit.  It came with three handles, 14 blades, a sanding block with wedge, a stripper, spoke-shave and mini block plane all in a cute little wooden box.  The spoke-shave and mini block plane use a #30 blade.  Working  on a little extra something for my Jolly Boat I found an opportunity to give my mini block plane a try.  I hadn't used it before and thought "playing" with it would/could open my eyes to where I might be able to use it more often.  Before I messed up my one and only #30 blade, I thought I better check the availability and cost of extra blades.  Come to find out that X-ACTO no longer makes the #30 blade.  Does anybody know of an equivalent?  I would hate to have to reinvest in a tool if I find that it could/would be very useful in how I'm learning to do things.  I'm not picky about the manufacturer, just would like to know if there is a usable replacement/alternate blade that would work.  Any and all suggestion would be greatly appreciated.  

[mtaylor]

Kev,

Can you post a photo of the blade?  Not sure what #30 even looks like.  Googling only comes up with a 30 degree blade not a #30.

[Jaager]

The blade can last longer than might be imagined.

It can be given a coat of Renaissance Wax to reduce rust.

A frequent stropping on leather with gold or green or red compd will keep it sharp.  Just do not hit a nail.

 

If you find that the work that a small plane does is to your liking, do yourself a favor and go from cheap and cheesy to quality.  That is, check out Lee Valley Tools for their Veritas series.

[BenD]

42 minutes ago, Jaager said:

A frequent stropping on leather with gold or green or red compd will keep it sharp.  Just do not hit a nail.

I use some 800 grit sandpaper before stropping. I don't remember the last time I bought a blade since I started sharpening them.

 

@Peanut6 Is the blade damaged or just dull and rusty? 

[grsjax]

Jaager is right in that a better small block plane is the way to go (although I think Lee Valley is way to expensive). If you really want to stick with the X-acto plane here is an ebay link to some.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/254543581426?hash=item3b43fad0f2:g:x9cAAOSwImRYUTTO

[Peanut6]

I stand corrected, the spoke shave uses the #30 blade and the mini block plane uses a #29.  Here are a couple of pictures:

 

The #29 for the block plane is on the left and the #30 for the spoke shave is on the right.

 

grsjax, how in the world did you find that?  I spent hours checking on ebay yesterday and couldn't find a thing, did the search again and there is was.  I think the gremlins are messin' with me.  Neither blade has been used but you can see a bit of tarnishing on the #29 blade.    

[wool132]

Bit o’ rust on a blade or plane? No problem!

 

Klingspore Sandflex will do the trick. Use ‘em all the time - er, when I need to. Usually fine is, well, fine but medium is there if you need it. Coarse is for people who live on Nantucket Island. 🙂

 

Jonathan

Edited June 12, 2022 by wool132

[grsjax]

If you decide to go with a better plane this one on ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/275341668148?hash=item401ba46f34:g:mgEAAOSw--BhmlUX

is actually pretty good and cheap enough.  Made by Millers Falls I think.  There are a lot of small hobby planes out there.  You can go with Lee Valley Tools and get a beautiful plane that looks like a work of art and will last a lifetime or something like this that is cheap and will work fine for most of your needs. In between there is a wide choice to fit every budget.

Edited June 13, 2022 by grsjax

[Captain Shaun]

Just picked up this Bridge City Toolworks HP-8 (lower  one), it comes with adjustable side plates that allow you to use it as a thickness planer for small stock. Upper plane is my old tried and true Lie Nielson low angle block plane that I adore.

[Bob Cleek]

Tasty. Bridge City Toolworks has some incredible stuff. However, Bridge City is usually God's way of telling me my eyes are bigger than my wallet, but this little gem is just inside my budget. I want one!  

 

I also have the Xacto plane and spokeshave from the same Xacto kit Peanut's got. I got mine over 40 years ago as a gift. I tried them when I got the set and I couldn't get either to work worth a darn. I think they are basically just toys. I have a Stanley #101 and a Kunz knockoff of the Stanley #100, which is the same as the #101 but with a squirrel tail, as well as a modern Stanley #12-101, the current version of the #101 with a folded sheet metal body. I prefer the feel of cast iron bodies, of course, but the cheapo folded sheet metal bodied one works just fine as well. The cast iron ones are to be found on eBay and at a garage sale near you, but the collectors have snapped a lot of them up.

 

See:; The Supeirior Works - Stanley Blood & Gore: Planes #90 - #100 (supertool.com) (bottom of page) and The Superior Works - Patrick's Blood & Gore: Planes #90 - #100 (supertool.com)

 

Stanley 12-101 Small Trimming Plane - Hand Planes - Amazon.com  $12.00

 

 

Kunz Palm Plane with Handle | Hand Planes | Palm Planes (highlandwoodworking.com) $26.00

 

Some years ago, I found a set of these bronze modeler's spokeshaves on eBay. They were made in the U.S. by a guy working out of his garage in Chicago, I believe. Garret Wade sold them for a while, but apparently don't anymore. They work great, if you can find a set.

 

Edited June 13, 2022 by Bob Cleek

[Roger Pellett]

Back in the 1960’s the professional model builders in the model shop at the University of Michigan’s Naval Architecture Towing tank used these bronze spoke shaves for shaping the large wooden test models.  As a student, I was on a team investigating design of a shallow draft tanker that could navigate the Suez Canal and we were building an 8ft long model to tow in the tank.  I still have and use a set of these for shaping hulls.  The occasionally come up on eBay.

[jerome]

Peanut 6, 

I’m pretty sure I have both of these tools if your still looking for them.

they are yours if you pay the postage to send them to you.

I never use them.

[Peanut6]

Jerome, thank you for the offer.  I've never used mine either since I've yet to come across a situation, in my very limited experience, where they were needed.  I was just thinking ahead a bit that if I ever did try either one out, deciding it was the best thing since sliced bread, where do I get replacement blades.  To me, it's looking more and more like there are alternatives and/or newer/better tools that serve the same purpose that people were selecting.  As such X-Acto discontinued the tool and their replacement blades since they were no longer profitable.

[mtaylor]

7 hours ago, Peanut6 said:

Jerome, thank you for the offer.  I've never used mine either since I've yet to come across a situation, in my very limited experience, where they were needed.  I was just thinking ahead a bit that if I ever did try either one out, deciding it was the best thing since sliced bread, where do I get replacement blades.  To me, it's looking more and more like there are alternatives and/or newer/better tools that serve the same purpose that people were selecting.  As such X-Acto discontinued the tool and their replacement blades since they were no longer profitable.

The nice thing about planes is that blades can be sharpened many time before they need to be replaced.  There are exceptions as I have a couple that look nice (ebony) but the blades are crap and don't hold an edge and there are no replacements.  So they just get looked at.

[Peanut6]

Mark, this particular X-Acto plane blade and spoke shave blade were designed to be disposable just like other X-Acto blades.  I'm not worried/concerned about it at all.  I'll hang on to them just so folks can ask "what is that for"