Is there a way to tighten the lateral adjuster on my #4?
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- This topic has 11 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 6 months ago by David B.
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The lateral adjustment mechanism on my Stanley #4 is loose and rattles a bit. Not that it impedes the plane’s performance generally but it does bother me enough to ask the community for suggestions if it’s possible to tighten it up somehow. I guess it just has about 1/4″ of “play” in it though it is certainly functional. Thanks folks.
11 September 2016 at 4:43 am #140052Based only on noticing the rattle on other planes, I’d guess the answer is no. Remember we’re working with mid-to-late 19th century manufacturing technology.
Having said that, a wrap of electrical tape might muffle the sound.
Rick G
11 September 2016 at 8:35 am #140053I’m no expert, but shouldn’t it be possible to remove the frog, position the rivet on a hard surface and give it a few taps with a hammer to tighten it up?
Weslee–I tried this a bit yesterday by putting a hammer in my vise and trying to tap the rivet against it with another hammer but I have no success–if anything it seemed to get looser. I wonder if there is some sort of non-curing epoxy or something that can be squeezed in to simply impede the rattling a bit. A bigger fear is that the lateral adjuster is so loose/free playing that it doesn’t function and hence the plane really can’t be properly set. I dunno, not a huge investment but a frustrating issue nonetheless.
The method of tapping the rivet works. But I would like to offer A word of caution.
I have used the technique previously mentioned of tightening the rivet in the past. Never had any problems. One day I took it to far and the cast iron frog broke off at the lateral adjustment and thus ruined my frog. I purchased a replacement frog on eBay for $9 but I learned a valuable lesson.
I think this is a logical way to fix the problem if you set it up properly but supporting the frog and only allowing the blunt force of the hammer to impact the rivet is essential.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.13 September 2016 at 7:37 am #140119I took the corner of my cross pein hammer and tapped lightly. Seems to come off again every so often.
14 September 2016 at 2:42 am #140141Using a center punch on rivet should cause the rivet to expand to tighten up the lateral adjuster. Use light taps with hammer.
I agree with Robert.
With the rear of the Rivet resting on a hammer-in-the-vice, a couple of taps from above with a Center-Punch should do it.
Paul mentions this in his “Restoration of a Stanley Plane” video, but I don’t think he needed to tighten his in the video.This worked excellently.
After spending a Saturday evening performing a shop wide sharpening, I fixed the rattly plane. First I sanded the rivet head (both sides) with some 220 grit to clean them off and smooth the tops. I placed a steel hammer head carefully between two pieces of scrap in the vise such that the frog/lateral rivet made solid contact with the hammer head while seating comfortably between the scraps. Carefully holding the center punch and giving a solid punch on the first side yielded the same, if not more wiggle as before. But rlippong it over and repeating the process tightened it up nice and snug. Not a hint of rattle–very tight. Great idea!
- This reply was modified 7 years, 6 months ago by David B.
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