#4 plane just not working.
Welcome! / Forums / General Woodworking Discussions / Tools and Tool Maintenance/Restoration / #4 plane just not working.
- This topic has 34 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 1 month ago by rodrat.
-
AuthorPosts
-
8 March 2017 at 3:12 pm #309903
Maybe you cap iron is set too fine. Move it back from the edge of the blade and try that. Do you have any other plans? They work? Borrow a plane from someone and try maybe?
hello just thought id add my two pence worth.
i know this seems like a stupid question but is the cap iron mated to the flat side of the blade ?
secondly straight and flat are not the same thing.
its possible for the sole of the plane to be straight along its length on both sides and twisted
at the same time(out of plane)
a Pair Of winding sticks would show up any twist there might be.
regardless of anything else if you have to put the blade out so far to get a bite the sole must
bowed.
i take it you watched the video on restoring and fettling a hand plane by paul and the crew.
There’s not much in the way of possible problems that they hav’nt covered,
sometimes the frog rocks a bit on the plane bed which can be remedied by filing a little off one or other of lower machined surfaces on the frog itself.
i’ve doctored a fair few planes but never seen this to cause a big problem
is it a new or old stanley.
the newer ones take a lot of work to get them going properly8 March 2017 at 8:59 pm #309941Checking the sole of a plane is quite simple: Use a pencil to draw a few lines on the sole and then pass it over a piece of sandpaper on a perfectly flat face. All lines should be abraded to the same level. If not, the surface has flaws (it could of course be your testing surface, so make sure, you have a good one).
By the way, I think, I have heard, that a tiny bevel on the back of the iron can cause exactly your problems. I have no clue, how that could work, perhaps I got it wrong. But it can’t hurt checking that too.
Dieter
PS: I can confirm, that at least one more of the newer Stanley planes took a lot of work to get it going. In fact, on one plane, that I paid 100 Euro for, I spent much more time, than on a no-name plane for 20 Euro. And I think, they make the cap-iron a bit too long.
When you set the depth of cut, do you make the final adjustment by moving the iron forward or backward? If you finish by retracting the iron to final depth, the backlash between the cap iron, the yoke and the adjusting wheel can allow the iron assembly to retract further. You should always complete your adjustment by extending the iron forward to its final depth.
If you play guitar or other stringed instrument you’re probably familiar with the maxim, “Always tune UP!” (i.e. adjust from flat to sharp). Similar situation here.
God bless, it’s beautiful. Other than some minor pitting on the sole, which I sincerely doubt it the problem, it’s gotta be something with the blade assembly…be it tightness of screws, lever cap, chip breaker…something. Fwiw, in the first pic, your lever cap doesn’t look like it is fully mounted in the screw.
Question (and you may have already covered this): how much blade do you have exposed against the chip breaker? Perhaps you have them too tight, resulting in meager shavings and your having to expose so much blade in the throat? I think 2mm or so of blade exposure is generally about right. (Edit: actually I see a couple of others have alluded to this but can’t tell if you tried it). And just out of curiosity, have you skewed the plane at all while surface planing to see if it grabs the wood/performs any differently?
And man, if that doesn’t do it, I’m dumbfounded. One other person suggested trying a different blade assembly to help determine if it is a blade issue or a plane body issue.
- This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by David B.
- This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by David B.
- This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by David B.
- This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by David B.
It’s been somewhere between 2-3 mm.
I’ve gone through every step I can think of. I’m really stumped. I don’t have any extra blades or anything either.
I guess I might try buying a new blade from Hock. If that doesn’t work I can at least make a coffin plane or something with it.
9 March 2017 at 6:20 am #309978Looking at your edge it seems you have done what I have many times. I struggled with this issue alot and still do. You have put a micro camber on the blade and even though it is technically sharp, the geometry of the blade is not presenting the cutting edge to the wood properly. With bevel down planes, the angle you grind at, as long as it is between 25 to 35, will function pretty much the same. Oak only needs a blade sharpened to say 300 grit to get a mirror shaving. The issue is most definitely the shape of your cutting edge.
Focus on making the area right behind the cutting edge dead flat. The light reflecting should not bend on the surface at all.
I think this is why Paul always says “Good and sharp”. Who knows. But I think its called snubbing.
Just keep at it, you are going to get that no. 4 singing.
@sidorenko91 Gave it a go and spent the 15 minutes regrinding an entirely new bevel on it.
before I put the blade back on after sharpening, I decided to give the plane a good cleaning. When I took it apart I noticed that on the back of the frog the throat adjustment tab was super loose.
So I got that tightened back up and I’m not sure which one was the problem but its fixed it seems. Working like it used too.
9 March 2017 at 9:39 am #309983If tightening the throat adjustment screw made a difference, it probably means the two frog mounting screws are too lose. Tighten them down as well ( not too hard, it’s brittle cast iron you are dealing with).
Before about 1907, Stanley planes didn’t even have the adjustment screw and depended only on loosening and tightening the mounting screws.
Its not the adjustment screw that was loose. It was the tab metal thing (I don’t really know what to call it) was loose and just hanging there.
I hope that makes sense.
I don’t know what it might have been doing if anything but I figured it might have given it a little more play.
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.