Struggling to plane parallel with plough plane
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17 April 2016 at 7:32 pm #136457
I have been using my Record 44 plough plane to try and create a 1/4″ groove 3/8″ deep.
No matter how carefully I go, when I reach depth the fence is a good 1/16″ away or more from my registration face at the end nearest to me on an 18″ length of timber. I have checked the cutting blade and it seems perfectly aligned with the body of the plane, not jutting out to one side to cause stepping.
Has anyone else had this problem?18 April 2016 at 2:36 am #136467Sorry, Jim – I don’t know what would cause this. But you can verify that you are doing the things that Paul teaches:
Start at the far end and work back to the near end, taking small bites at first and full length shavings later.
If you’re right handed, use the left hand to push the plane laterally into the workpiece and the right hand to push forward.
Try to keep the plane blade 90° to the work surface. Pushing laterally as mentioned above should take care of this.
Oil the sole (skate) and fence for easier operation.
Make sure the fence is the same distance from the skate at the front and back of the plane. I think Paul may have mentioned in a video somewhere that he has the back of the fence very slightly set further away than at the front. I’ve never heard this anywhere else.
Good luck and let us know how you make out.
18 April 2016 at 3:08 pm #136479Thanks Matt, I’ve not measured the fence front and back so i’ll give that a go.
As I get deeper into the cut I can really feel the side of the blade start to dig into the left side of the groove as if something is pushing it over.
I received Paul’s new book in the post today so i’ll have a look in there too 🙂Assuming that there’s no misalignment within the geometry of the planes’ stocks and the two skates that we don’t know about, I’d start with a close look at the cutting iron, which is where I think that the problem has its root – in fact it has happened to me in the past.
I’m also assuming that, as it is a Record 044 and probably 40 or 50 years old, that you have done any necessary fettling to remove machine marks from the bottom of the skates. Along with a trued-up wooden fence it makes a huge difference to the working of these planes.
Take your blade out and have a close look at it, preferably under magnification. Unless it is a modern ‘replacement’ you should find that the cross section through the blade is not rectangular (modern replacements are usually rectangular in section). It should be a trapezoid in shape – i.e. the shape of a keystone, tapering from the back side to the bevel side. There’s only a degree or two in it, but it is intentional and prevents the sides of the blade binding in the side of the groove as you go down, reducing the friction.
From all this, it is important that you sharpen the blades not only on the bevel, but you should flatten the bottom ½ inch or so of the back, then stone the lower ½ inch of each of the sides to provide a clear sharp arris; the intention is that the sides of the blade shear the sides of the groove as you cut.
Now, your problem, I think, may be that one or both the corners is somehow blunted or rounded over: this means that on each stroke it tends to be forced to the sides. Dubbed over corners can prevent cutting or distort the path of groove.
From this you can see that the blades need to be dead sharp along their bevel, have pin-sharp corners and shear edges for the bottom ½ inch or so. When it is mounted in the plane, it is essential to have exactly the same amount of blade protruding below each side of the skates and a protruding edge over each side of the skates. Overall, the difference in clearance, blade versus skates is in the order of 0.5mm, back and front.
I hope that this points you in the right direction. A lot of Stanley/Record combination planes needed a little work on them from the box when new, which may explain why many of them remained in the box.
Good luck….
18 April 2016 at 7:38 pm #136489Thank you for your time, lot’s of great information there.
I haven’t done anything to the plane so will check for machine marks on the skates!
I toyed with the idea of fitting a wooden fence as I had seen a few pictures with this done, I’ve recently fitted a wooden plate to the bottom of an incomplete router I bought and it feels great to use now!
I’ll nip out to the garage when I’ve got the children in bed and have a look at the blades and spend some time getting them up to spec.
I must say I’m really enjoying getting my tools up together, It’s a great feeling when you get an old, discarded item working well again.
Thanks everyone for your help, I’ll let you know how I get on.If you turn the plane upside-down, you may find that there are machining marks on the skates….. not a big deal, it will work OK as is, but behaves better if they are smoothed out and the friction is reduced.
Use a flat base and smooth abrasive, working down through the grits if you can. If you have diamond plates, these are ideal, otherwise an off-cut of kitchen granite or thick glass plate with abrasive on double sided tape.
If you want to fit a fence, be sure to cut away the pocket adjacent to the blade and check the fence for dead-on straightness and ensure that its face is planed at right angles to the skates when fitted.
Hope that it works for you. Let me know if you need any more help.
30 May 2016 at 11:07 am #137494Hi James,
You will want to pay detailed attention to the edge of the cutting iron which should be 90 degrees (I believe this is what raze599 also suggested in his response):
(Image courtesy of record-planes.com)Any deviation will make the plane want to wander like you describe..
1 June 2016 at 8:35 am #137540That’s great, thanks for your reply. I’ve still not had a chance to check it out due to one thing or another but hopefully soon. I will get back and let you all know how I get on.
3 June 2016 at 5:29 pm #137583I understand your problem, I have attached a you tube vid link that may help.
“https://youtu.be/anaEtxaBFe4”
It is Shannon Rodgers at Renaissance Woodworker[quote quote=136457]I have been using my Record 44 plough plane to try and create a 1/4″ groove 3/8″ deep.
No matter how carefully I go, when I reach depth the fence is a good 1/16″ away or more from my registration face at the end nearest to me on an 18″ length of timber. I have checked the cutting blade and it seems perfectly aligned with the body of the plane, not jutting out to one side to cause stepping.
Has anyone else had this problem?[/quote]
- This reply was modified 7 years, 10 months ago by oltexasboy.
- This reply was modified 7 years, 10 months ago by oltexasboy.
I know this is a long shot, but is there any chance you are pushing laterally against the wood so hard that the wood is flexing inward. This would result in the groove moving closer to the face. When you reach the end of the board, and the flex is relieved, the groove is cut to close to the face. This would show as a gap between face and fence.
In addition, from Paul’s current blog:
“Ideally, when you set the blade to the side of the plane the blade should stick past the side of the plane by 1-2mm. This blade then rides against the side of the rebate ensuring that the cutting iron reaches fully into the corner or as much as is physically possible.”
Best,
Craig -
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