Stanley 4 1/2 doesnt stay set
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12 March 2017 at 3:31 pm #310074
Greetings,
As the Title already says i have a problem with my Plane, its a Stanley 4 1/2 with a Hock Iron+Chipbreaker in it.
After i sharpen and set the plane it works beatifully up untill i hit a knot or some difficult grain.
It just doesnt wanna stay set it goes ever so slightly out of square, meaning the shavings thicker on one side then the other.I have tried to tighten the Levercap (Screw) which marginally lessens the problem but doesnt fix it.
Hopefully some of you more experienced Woodworkers can help me, i have no clue how to fix this problem.Regards, Philipp J.
12 March 2017 at 4:29 pm #310075Hej Philipp,
Could it be the lever-cap or, perhaps worse, the bed of the frog that is the culprit? A non-flat lever cap will not press the blade evenly along the width of the frog bed, but could provide a pivot point, around which the blade will ‘rotate’ when hitting a knot. I suppose a high spot on the bed could have the same effect.
Kind regards
/soj- This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by Sven-Olof Jansson. Reason: Typo
12 March 2017 at 5:52 pm #310077You didn’t mention if the plane has this issue with the stock cutter or if this only appeared with the thicker Hock blade.
First, make sure the hole in the cap iron is sized correctly for your adjuster fork. Since the blade is thicker, the fork prong sometimes doesn’t fully engage it. Sometimes it binds in a slot that is too small, preventing the blade from seating on the frog properly.
Sometimes the fork is too short for the thicker blade. If that’s the case, the only solution is a new(er) frog FORK, probably purchased on the used tool market ( Ebay).Second, hen you make the conversion, you need to move the frog position to ensure an adequate mouth opening and to ensure the blade is not resting on the rear of the mouth of the plane body. Sometimes people move the frog too far back. In very rare cases, the mouth needs to be made larger, but don’t try that until all other issues are resolved. It’s not reversible.
Also, thicker Hock blade needs a frog that is flatter to seat properly, since it is much stiffer than the original Stanley iron. You might have to hone the upper face of the frog flat, the same as you would the back of an iron. While you are at it, make sure the frog seats well with the plane body with no rocking.
I hope that helps. It at least gets you looking at possible issues.
- This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by Larry Geib.
12 March 2017 at 6:36 pm #310084thanks for the replies,
The Levercap is indeed not entirely flat, would’ve never guessed that that could be an issue. The very Corners have a tiny amount of air between them and the Iron, im already flattening it.
The Frog itself sits without rocking and is pretty much as flat as i could get it up to the adjuster fork the 2 “wings” above, besides the lateral adjustment leaver, which are a tiny amount lower then the rest, were just derusted. With the lower 80% being Flat, could that still be an issue?
The Fork itself doesnt fully engage however its at least halfway, probably more, of the way through.
I cant say if the issue is also there with the Stock Iron+Chipbreaker since those are in a really damn poor state to understate it, the screw keeping them together is utterly stripped probably would’ve to drill it out.
12 March 2017 at 7:32 pm #310093i think so, the Chipbreaker is 60mm and the Iron is only marginally slimmer than it, maybe 1mm or 2. shouldnt be an issue should it ?
13 March 2017 at 1:55 pm #310121Believe the frog can be ruled out as culprit. Hopefully flattening the lever cap won’t be in vain.
/soj
13 March 2017 at 7:35 pm #310129thanks again for now, i flattened the Levercap and took a few test shavings so far so good.
However I’ll have to wait till wednesday for some real testing, heres to hoping it works.I’ll report if it did work or not on Wednesday night.
17 March 2017 at 7:19 pm #310262Alright a bit late but here it is.
I got the chance of testing it out one some scrap Spruce (80x80mm) with a nice big knot in it, deliberately dug right in the knot from both sides and lopsided, going against the grain etc.
I hesitate to call the problem completely solved but its gone for now, flattening the Levercap seems to have done it.What can i say its working beatifully, better then ever.
Special thanks to Sven-Olof Jansson would’ve never guessed to flatten the Levercap much appreciated. -
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