Old Stanley No 4 plane blade replacements
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25 February 2018 at 8:44 pm #484553
Hi Can anyone suggest the best replacement blades for an old Stanley No 4 plane I would prefer not to fit a thicker blade. I am looking for a uk supplier.
Thanks
DavidI’d recommend this as a replacement, they are great blades, well worth the cost.
26 February 2018 at 12:44 am #484730The Ray Illes irons are 0.115” thick. I believe the Hock irons are a little thinner than that. So long as you use the standard chipbreaker, I don’t think you would have a problem with either one. I have a Hock A2 iron in my scrub plane and it has performed well for me.
26 February 2018 at 12:50 am #484737While Ray Iles plane irons are undoubtedly decent quality, be careful as according to this review:
http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/4265
they are considerably thicker than the standard iron and that will mean mouth widening is required.I gather that the closest match to the old blade thinness but still being a good quality make is the Veritas PM-V11, as they are only very slightly thicker than the original type (0.10 inches vs 0.08 inches). Axminster sell them:
https://www.axminster.co.uk/veritas-pm-v11-blades-for-record-stanley-planes-ax937586Failing that, look for an old (square edged iron) beater 4 plane for spares or repair, chances are that for less than half the price of a new blade you may get an original with plenty of life left in it.
26 February 2018 at 1:26 am #484757-
Tools for working Wood
tells us Ray Iles irons are thicker, and Hock blades are A LOT thicker. They sell both.
Check before you buy.
26 February 2018 at 11:31 pm #485503I got out my trusty digital calipers and measured the plane irons I have. The results were:
Stock Stanley….0.081”
Hock A2……….0.091”
LV PMV-11……..0.098”The Iles irons at 0.115” are quite a bit thicker than all these. There are a wide variety of other replacement irons. WoodRiver, Pinnacle, etc. I only have experience with the LV and Hock irons and generally have been very happy with their performance.
You might not be able to just retract the frog to get them to fit. This sometimes causes the bevel of the iron to “ride up” on the projecting rear mouth. You could file the rear of the mouth to fit the 45 degree bevel of the frog but you’d have to do this very carefully. It’s probably easier to file to front edge of the mouth. This is generally what I’ve done. This usually improves the plane performance anyway as there is often a worn, hollowed or dinged up surface on the front of the mouth. Use a combination square and and a good scratch awl and scribe a line in front of the mouth maybe 0.5-1mm that you can file to. This ensures that your new opening is perfectly square to the plane body. Then use fine sandpaper/emery cloth on a flat wood paddle to polish the mouth you just filed. It keeps wood chips and fibers from sticking and makes for easier chip clearance.
Let us know what you decide to do. Hope this helps!
1 March 2018 at 4:11 pm #487660Hi Guys thanks for your response it has been helpful.
I have just rang The Old Tool Store and ended up speaking to Ray Iles his standard thickness of a No 4 01 Steel replacement blade is about 0.100″ he also has them at the thinner thickness of about 0.080″
He recommends using the thicker iron and says that in the majority of cases it will fit without having to make any modifications and if modifications are required it is just opening up the mouth a bit
Both thickness of blades are the same price £23.50
I would be interested to know if you agree the Iles thicker blade is the one to go for
The Veritas blade is more than twice as expensiveThanks
David1 March 2018 at 4:21 pm #487668That is a good price. I would definitely go that route. I have a set of Iles O1 chisels and they really are very nice quality. Good luck.
1 March 2018 at 4:25 pm #487673Thanks for that Harvey I also have a set of the chisels I told Ray that and he said it is his brother who makes the chisels
2 March 2018 at 8:14 pm #488840Update
I ordered the 0.100′ No 4 replacement plane iron from The Old Tool Store Ray Iles today I will let you know what I think when I get it. I am hoping it will not require much modification to the plane to get the new iron to fit The iron it is replacing is between 0.072″ and 0.078″ thick2 March 2018 at 10:09 pm #488945Good news and good luck. Let us know how it goes. You will almost certainly have to file the mouth a bit but it’s not a big deal. The thicker irons perform better but they also take longer to hone. I think that’s why Paul prefers the traditional Stanley irons. I hollow grind my bevels so that I don’t have to hone the entire bevel.
7 March 2018 at 4:41 pm #492230I received my replacement blade from Ray Iles today it measured 0.099″ thick with a 25 degree single bevel
The blade across the width was totally flat down the length it was slightly concave but the smallest feeler gauge I had 0.003″would not go under the straight edge.The blade came with a sharp cutting edge
I fitted the new blade into the plane but as Harvey stated the mouth needed opening up the width of the mouth before opening up was 0.192″as the new blade was 0.023″ thicker i figured the mouth would need opening up to about 0.215″
After opening up the mouth I fitted the new iron into the plane and tried it out, it cut shavings ok.
I then sharpened the blade, although the back of the blade was flat it took a lot of effort to polish it using my diamond plates. I sharpened the cutting edge free hand with a single bevel again using the diamond plates this only took a few minutes. I re-fitted the blade and tried it again,it cut very well.
If anybody is looking for a replacement plane iron I would suggest the Ray Iles blades will take some beating. -
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