Hi all,
I guess I'm continuing down the slope towards neander-hood, as I just
bought my first metal bench plane at an auction (pre-WWII Stanley #4).
I have a couple of Steve Knight woodies, and I enjoy them very much,
but wanted to try out the metal variety. Anyway, I cleaned and lapped
and polished and sanded and finished and waxed the thing until I
thought it looked pretty good, and got a LN chipbreaker and LV blade.
(If you're interested, before and after photos can be seen at
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/andynewhouse/album?.dir=/4017re2&.src=ph
).
It works great too! Still getting used to it, of course, but
definitely having fun making fluffy shavings. In my limited
experience, I think I'd have to say the Knight planes do a little
better with reversing grain, but maybe I'm just more used to them, and
I also haven't honed the LV blade yet. (OK, so that was sort of a
shameless plug for a guy I've never met...)
Anyway, to get to my question, I'm having trouble finding a comfortable
way to grip this #4 tote. Specifically, my knuckles are hitting the
blade depth adjustment knob. Anyone else have this problem? Would the
slightly thicker blade/chipbreaker have anything to do with that? Any
way I can adjust this?
Thanks for your help or comments,
Andy
Andy wrote:
> Hi all,
> I guess I'm continuing down the slope towards neander-hood, as I just
> bought my first metal bench plane at an auction (pre-WWII Stanley #4).
> I have a couple of Steve Knight woodies, and I enjoy them very much,
> but wanted to try out the metal variety. Anyway, I cleaned and lapped
> and polished and sanded and finished and waxed the thing until I
> thought it looked pretty good, and got a LN chipbreaker and LV blade.
> (If you're interested, before and after photos can be seen at
> http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/andynewhouse/album?.dir=/4017re2&.src=ph
> ).
Boy, that thing really was a beater. Nice job cleaning it up.
> It works great too! Still getting used to it, of course, but
> definitely having fun making fluffy shavings. In my limited
> experience, I think I'd have to say the Knight planes do a little
> better with reversing grain, but maybe I'm just more used to them, and
> I also haven't honed the LV blade yet. (OK, so that was sort of a
> shameless plug for a guy I've never met...)
> Anyway, to get to my question, I'm having trouble finding a comfortable
> way to grip this #4 tote. Specifically, my knuckles are hitting the
> blade depth adjustment knob. Anyone else have this problem? Would the
> slightly thicker blade/chipbreaker have anything to do with that? Any
> way I can adjust this?
> Thanks for your help or comments,
The frog has to be set further back to accomodate the thicker
blade/breaker, which shifts the blade adjuster knob further back, so
that contributes to the problem. Are you holding the tote with three
fingers and your thumb with your index finger wrapped over the top of
the blade? That's how Stanley's instructions indicate the plane is
meant to be held.
R
> Boy, that thing really was a beater. Nice job cleaning it up.
Thanks - the paint was ugly, but underneath that, it was actually in
very good shape (i.e. all moving parts moved easily, sole was nearly
flat, rust was surface only.)
> Are you holding the tote with three fingers and your thumb with your index finger wrapped over the top of the blade?
Yep - even like that, the knuckle of my middle finger is competing with
the knob for space.
I'm almost wondering about making a custom tote that's just set back a
little - would that be a lot more complicated than I think? I know I'd
need clearance room for the bolt to go all the way through the handle -
I'll have to think about that.
Thanks for your quick reply,
Andy
RicodJour wrote:
> Andy wrote:
> >
> ...
> > http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/andynewhouse/album?.dir=/4017re2&.src=ph
> > ).
>
> Boy, that thing really was a beater. Nice job cleaning it up.
Yes, a very good job.
I've seen worse. My favorite jointer is a Sargent that looked like
it had been sitting in a mudpuddle for six months. Electrolysis
does wonders.
> ... Specifically, my knuckles are hitting the
> > blade depth adjustment knob. Anyone else have this problem? Would the
> > slightly thicker blade/chipbreaker have anything to do with that? Any
> > way I can adjust this?
> > Thanks for your help or comments,
>
> The frog has to be set further back to accomodate the thicker
> blade/breaker, which shifts the blade adjuster knob further back, so
> that contributes to the problem. Are you holding the tote with three
> fingers and your thumb with your index finger wrapped over the top of
> the blade?
[OP already replied that he is, it's his middle finger that hits.]
You can widen file the mouth by filing the front edge. That will
allow you to move the frog forward. I've read that is sometimes
necessary tio accomodate a Hock blade.
Haven't done it myself, I have skinny fingers. My brother says
I should have become a brain surgeon instead of a rocket
scientist.
--
FF
In article <[email protected]>,
"Andy" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Specifically, my knuckles are hitting the
> blade depth adjustment knob.
Other posters gave you some responses before I finished typing this, so
here's what I have that's unique.
4. The chip breaker is in the wrong place. The position of the chip
breaker along the blade can have a surprising effect on the position of
the depth adjustment knob.
Mess around with the position of the aftermarket chip breaker until you
get the adjustment knob to move forward. You might have to put the
breaker at a distance from the cutting edge that isn't the "optimum"
distance.
Good luck.
--
"Keep your ass behind you."