Setting up a plane
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Hi,
I’m completely new to woodworking and have been working through this site and some of both Paul’s and other peoples YouTube sites on using hand tools. I have bought a few second hand tools on eBay and have restored some and intend to restore them all but I got sick of working on tools and decided to work on wood. So I sharpened the irons to my planes and assembled them and got planing. I’m making a Paul sellers work bench and planed my first plank of pine the other day. Mostly I was pretty happy with my leg lamination, (I don’t have enough clamps to do the table top yet so I’m starting with legs) but I encountered a few problems with the planes setup that I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong and how to over come.
I have a Stanley no 5 and a Stanley no 4 plane. I have sharpened them both and I have some experience sharpening so I think they are sharp enough. The no 5 has quite a wide throat but this suits as I have set it up for a bit more aggressive cut so there is plenty of room for the shaving to come out. At a guess I would say this plane was from the 70’s that it had plastic components. The frog on this plane seems skewed from the sole which then means to get the iron straight to the wood it is skewed to the frog and seams to create an area between the iron and the inside of the throat where wood seams to jam and this seams to create a funny trail in the wood even with the iron having a camber on it. I can’t seem to move the iron away from this edge to the other side where there is a tonne of room without having an angle on the iron. Is there anyway to correct this alignment or is it even a problem I need to be worried about if I’m just using this for rough straightening.
The number 4 plane is set up as a smoother and is an early 1900’s plane allegedly. I have read to have the chip breaker about a 32nd from the edge if this if you are taking smoothing cuts? When I have this setup I continually jam wood in the throat even at very fine shavings. It leaves a beautiful finish on the wood but every about 4th stroke I need to completely back the iron off and clear the throat. If I move the frog backwards the iron starts resting on the top of the frog and the throat of the plane away from the bottom of the frog. The only way I can see as a solution is significantly moving the chip breaker backwards. Will this still allow the iron to be supported enough for smoothing? Any other options in setup?
Sorry if theses are silly questions I had never held a plane until a week ago and I haven’t found any one local that could show me.
Thanks in advance for your help.
23 June 2015 at 3:10 pm #127961Can you post some pictures of the throat of your #4 setup and not clogged? At least one from the top and one from the bottom.
Also, it sounds like maybe the cap iron doesn’t meet the cutting iron perfectly. When assembled, the irons should meet perfectly flush where they touch near the cutting edge. If any shavings are able to make their way under the cap iron it will clog.
Hi,
It’s a little tricky to get started if the tools aren’t setup correctly by the previews user but don’t get frustrated, that is what this forum is for. 🙂
It sounds like you have already diagnosed the 5, and that the frog is skewed. Loosen the screws to the frog and adjust it so it’s level with the mouth and try again.
Like jotato said it sounds like the cap iron on the 4 isn’t meeting the blade correctly. You can reshape the cap iron to get a correct fit without gaps. Take a look at this video how to reshape the cap iron. https://youtu.be/I2lvF8-nc_Q arround the 32 min mark, this is an other resource for setting up the cap iron on a “new” plane http://www.theenglishwoodworker.com/preparing-the-cap-iron-chip-breaker-video/.
23 June 2015 at 6:55 pm #127972Hi 747
What jatoto said is spot on, `please be selective there is a lot of junk on the net pick just a few to fallow. Try to keep with 2 or3 that are alike, The English woodworker has a few videos that are very good , this forum has a good spread of old timers and new people, as you go you will learn who is who, when you need help a picture or two is a big help also a note of where you are helps because this forum is world wide.
As for your planes the 5 should be broken down and clean then put together it will set up OK your note shows you all ready know what to do, the same is true for the 4. Just play with the tool some you will learn very fast what the different types adjustments do then pick the settings you like.
FrankjThanks all for the prompt replies.
Sorry in my delay in reply, life got in the way.
I think the cap iron is the issue on the #4. I have included photos of the setup. I prepared the cap iron on the 5 but not the 4 so I will do that.
I have included some photos of the frog on the #5 every time I tighten it it reverts back to this position. Any suggestions?
Thanks again
Nick
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