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Hey Everyone, (long time reader, first time poster)<br />
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Just recently I was very fortunate to receive a Veritas O1 blade and cap iron from Lee Valley for use in a Stanley No. 5. To my surprise, fastening the two together yeilds a significant gap between the extreme edge of the cap iron, and the back of the blade - just under 0.010in measured with a feeler gauge.<br />
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With the two parts unassembled, using the blade from my double square as a straight edge, and checking each parts mating surface for flatness along its length, its quite apparent that BOTH parts are bowed in the direction away from the mating part, making it impossible for them to make contact without external pressure being applied. With a bit of pressure between my thumb and index finger Im able to close that gap. So surely, once the blade assembly is in the body of the plane and the lever cap is tensioned, the pressure exerted from the lever cap will be greater than that from my modest grasp, and the gap will close. I cant exactly verify this directly but I am in fact able to take a reasonably fine shaving, even without honing the new iron.<br />
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My concern is that not having the blade and cap iron form a solid union before tensioning the lever cap will affect the planes predictability and consistency. If you were in my shoes, would you be satisfied or would you expect the part, or parts, to be replaced?</p>