Reply To: StIffness in plane iron adjustment
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“The cap iron must be set to clamp the blade quite tightly, otherwise the blade backs off when it encounters resistance; but this tight clamping makes adjustment very stiff and awkward”
That’s not quite right… You are correct that the iron must be quite tight to the blade for the reason you mention, to stop backing off against resistance, and this is also aided by taking up the backlash in the adjuster after taking the blade back to take a lighter cut… but this will have no effect on the easy of adjustment.
The easiness/stiffness of adjustment is a function of how tight the lever cap is. It’s true this can be a delicate balance, but it’s helped by having a clean frog surface, lightly lubricated.
Regards,
Matt