Self adjusting plane iron question please…….
Welcome! / Forums / General Woodworking Discussions / Tools and Tool Maintenance/Restoration / Self adjusting plane iron question please…….
- This topic has 12 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 3 months ago by markh.
-
AuthorPosts
-
14 December 2015 at 10:17 pm #133144
Hello all, I have a Stanley No 5 which I bought from B&Q here in the UK about six or seven years ago, so it’s the model with the nasty plastic handles and the sole that looks like it’s been ground flat by being towed behind a car for twelve miles.
I have now fettled the sole and sides as flat as can be done with 2000 grit wet & dry on a granite surface plate, and have sharpened the iron using a veritas honing guide with a tapered roller, (I can’t do it freehand like Mr S) and then polished it with a strop and compound. I have also flattened the cap iron using the same wet & dry but the recurring problem is that when I advance the cutting iron incrementally and begin to take a lovely cut, the subsequent cuts get deeper on their own. The backlash is always taken up but the iron continues to advance into the wood.
I have since bought several vintage Record and Woden planes from Nos 3 to Nos 7, sharpen the iron using exactly the same jig settings and stropping, and they perform flawlessly. what is going wrong?
Many thanks in advance
15 December 2015 at 5:45 am #133158My guess is that the cap iron screw is not tight enough. Except in that case, when used the blade would move BACK and make a smaller cut; not forward, which would make a deeper cut.
Not sure what would make the cut get deeper, but try messing around with the cap iron screw.
15 December 2015 at 2:02 pm #133166Far be it for me to say Reg but it sounds as if you definitely have a screw, or even two, loose. Possibly either the two Frog Screws (A), or the adjusting screw (B), which is the horizontal and lowest one at the back of the frog. Reference my post; You and Your Record Plane.
15 December 2015 at 6:32 pm #133173Thank you Gentlemen, I’m pretty sure they’re all tight, but I’ll check. by the way though, when I swap the iron/cap iron from my No 4, it cuts like a dream again……..
Are you saying that, when you take a shaving, the next one comes out thicker, as if you had advanced the iron? I’ve seen the opposite, but never that.
Does the whole shaving get thicker, or just one side? In other words, could the iron be twisting side to side? If so, what if the frog is loose or if the iron isn’t bedding on the frog well?
15 December 2015 at 8:49 pm #133179No Ed, it’s the whole shaving, the blade doesn’t skew. It’s as if the iron simply pulls itself forward into the wood. You know when you have a plane set up nicely and cutting a fine shaving; every stroke sounds the same, the shavings hiss off the iron etc. this one starts off like that but progressively digs in. It is most bizarre, and it only happens with this No 5. Another thing that I have noticed is that the iron doesn’t seem to hold it’s edge as long as the more vintage plane irons; I hesitate on this one because it might just be me wanting to blame the newer iron? Would Stanley really have substituted an inferior steel? To be honest, the whole plane is so significantly inferior to the ‘vintage’ ones I have, it’s probably worth me just taking it all apart this weekend and starting from scratch. Or going on ebay….
I shall report back.
Thanks again for your suggestions.
I think it could happen if the rear face of the iron or the front of the frog is bowed along its length, so that the rear of the cutting edge is unsupported and “nods” each time the cutting force is applied. This would temporarily increase depth of cut by a small amount. The lever cap could then act like a ratchet pawl and prevent the upper surface from springing back, so that it slides forward along the frog instead. Seems most likely to happen if the tip of the lever cap is well back on the curve of the cap iron, but not essential. These small movements would accumulate since the adjustment mechanism won’t stop them. Since we can take a 0.001″ shaving (thin) and would regard a 0.004″ shaving as thick, don’t need much movement per stroke. Try with a straight edge, or with a feeler gauge behind the iron.
regards,
Geoff
15 December 2015 at 9:42 pm #133184Geoff,
Interesting concept and worth looking into, which I will!
thank you indeed
15 December 2015 at 10:23 pm #133190Failing any luck there Reg is it maybe worth looking at settling for a replacement iron/cap iron for a No. 4?
16 December 2015 at 9:50 pm #133213unfortunately the “new” planes are just not as good as the old ones I am yet to hear about a new Stanley/record plane performing like a vintage one despite all the setting up, I may be wrong and I’m sure someone will tell me different.
I wonder if the slot in the blade where the “Y” adjustment lever comes through the blade is too wide so that it fails to hold the blade in its correct adjustment. I was also told years ago not to retract the blade and then try to plane directly off the retracted position. Instead one should always slightly over-retract the blade and then advance the blade to the position that you want (after overcoming the backlash in the advance/retract screw thread) before recommencing planing again.
I hope that this helps – sorry about the delayed reply.
Cheers
MarkH -
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.