Reply To: No4 stanley iron won’t back off sufficiently
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There are several things you can do to diagnose the issue.having two planes helps. I’ll do this in order of ease of diagnosis.
1) the most obvious is the cap iron ( chip breaker) is set too far from the end of the cutting edge of the cutting iron. You should be able to get as close as 1/32” (1 mm) to the edge.
With the adjustment nut retracted, Try pulling the cutter/ cap iron assembly back when you assemble the plane and tighten the lever cap. If the plane iron is retracted, that will indicate there is excessive wear someplace. Either get u sed to assembling the plane that way or replace worn parts.
2) the cap iron hole that egages the adjustment fork may be worn. Swap the cap iron with the “ good” plane and see if that helps. If it solves the problem but you now have The same issue on the other plane, you will have to replace the cap iron. They are relatively cheap if you buy Stanley. Hock ones are more expensive but have closer tolerances and the iron end can be ground back more easily. The ‘hump’ in the cap iron makes this more dificult with Stanley irons.
3) the brass depth adjustment nut may be worn. Again, swap with the other plane and see if the issue goes away.replace a worn nut.
4) the adjustment fork may be worn, either where it engages the cap iron or (less likely) where it engages the brass nut. This one is a bit trickier. If the fork is the later cheap one made of two pieces of stamped steel , you can remove the fork, bend the two metal pieces a bit and reinsert the fork. You have to drive the pin out in one direction only with a drift pin or nail and it’s been so long I can’t remember which way .
Light taps only. If it doesn’t move, try the other way ( to the right, I think, but I’m not sure) remember the fork is cast iron and fragile. Don’t force things.
4A) If the adjuster fork is a one piece cast piece you CANNOT bend it. Breakage is 100% guaranteed.
The only solution is a replacement fork. There are available either on eBay ( I use New Hampshire Plane Parts) or from Bob Kaun in Washington state. I have no idea if you are not in the USA. Tell them why you want the fork so they send you a fresh one. These are both good folks that way. Under $20.
There is a slim chance on some frog designs you can solve the problem by opening the mouth up. On some versions the fork is lifted when you retract it. You just won’t have a tight mouth( maybe the frog is adjusted too tight)
And you may have a harlequin plane where somebody put the wrong frog in the plane. I can’t help you if that’s the case. Look for a proper frog. Talk to a reliable vender who will help you find the right one, but a who,e different plane may be cheaper.
And use one of the plane type studies on line to find EXACTLY what model you have. You seem vague about the model. hyperkitten has the best type studies I see.
https://www.hyperkitten.com/tools/stanley_bench_plane/start_flowchart.php
Last resort, remove the adjuster nut and you have a plane you hammer adjust like great grandad had. It’s not as big a deal as you might imagine. I have several planes ( old # 78’s, a #289 , a record #043) that were made to be adjusted that way. I fine tune lateral adjustment on most of my planes with a brass hammer. Lie Nielsen even show people how to do that at their tool events and sell a mighty expensive hammer to do it with ( two types, in fact).