Problems with Clifton #5 1/2 jack plane

You might want to read a bit of Paul on sharpening angles for bevel down planes.

Myth an mystery surrounding plane and chisel bevels.

I think you may be losing the edge sooner because there isn’t enough steel supporting the edge. You gain no advantage by sharpening so fine a bevel with bevel down planes and may increase chatter by doing so, as the cap iron isn’t as well supported.

Pay attention to what he says about having more steel behind the bevel.

Try angles between 30 and 42 degrees. The standard is 30, but it can be greater up until the bevel rides on the work, so any angle up to a couple degrees less than 45.

Also, make sure your cap iron is ground so that it still bears properly on your ground back bevel.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 7 months ago by Larry Geib.
• This reply was modified 6 years, 7 months ago by Larry Geib.
• This reply was modified 6 years, 7 months ago by Larry Geib.
• This reply was modified 6 years, 7 months ago by Larry Geib.

I think Larry and Sven could each be onto something. I think I have experienced something like both comments.

As Larry said, 25 degrees is a very shallow bevel that may not hold up well to hard woods and you kind of answered yourself when you said ‘The plane is better when freshly sharpened, but this seems to go blunt really quickly.’ You will never have a good experience with difficult wood and a dull blade. So I would say address the bevel and sharpness first.

You didn’t say whether you were trying to flatten, smooth or both with the Clifton 5 1/2. I think there is a practical difference that can be important, more so with some tools.

I have a Clifton 4 1/2 and it is a thing a beauty for smoothing but it took me a while to really understand how and when to use it best. My Clifton blade has good edge retention when sharpened to 30 degrees plus and compares well with other makers blades I have. I personally don’t use a back bevel.

In my opinion, my 4 1/2 is best for smoothing, but not general purpose planing like flattening/squaring. What I have found is that the Clifton is so flat, heavy and rigid, that for even trying to use it to take the ultra thin type of shavings you want in smoothing mode, you had better make damn sure that the piece is really, truly, very, very very flat before the Clifton starts work in smoothing mode (think approaching the smoother shaving thickness over the length of the plane sole). I also have several non-premium #4s and these are a lot more forgiving where workpiece flatness is concerned because of the smaller sole footprint, the flex of the plan body and also that the blade is often set for a coarser cut (sometimes due to practical limitations imposed by the lower engineering standards).

If the workpiece isn’t truly flat and your blade is sharp then at best you will spend a lot longer smoothing if that is your goal. With a dull blade and no flat surface it would definitely scud and snag.

You should, of course, be able to use the 5 1/2 for thicker shavings in a flattening / squaring mode of planing too, but you may find it is quite heavy and comparatively hard work. In this case, blade sharpness is probably the main issue though and you may have to experiment to limit tear out with that wood too.

Please persevere with the Clifton and it will likely reward you.

Glad to see you are on the way to solving your issues.

Welcome to the world of fettling!

The first couple times it is vexing. After a few tries, it gets to be fun.