Help fettling a Stanley 48

[Ken Werner]

Anybody have experience getting one of these to work accurately? That is, with a snug T&G and flush faces.

[harry strasil]

sharpen the blade and use it.

[Ken Werner]

Well Jr., I did that, and find that the T&G is a loose fit. Wondering if that's how it's s'posed to be, or if there's a better way.

[harry strasil]

depends on what you call a loose fit. most mortise and tenon and tongue and groove should have a dollar fit I think, the thickness of a dollar bill for expansion and/or glue.

[Michael Faurot]

You might find this blog post (http://blog.woodworking-magazine.com/blog/First+Look+LieNielsen+Tongue+Groove+Plane.aspx) from Christopher Schwarz illuminating. I don't own a No. 48, but it sounds like they can be a challenge to get working accurately.

[Barry Vabeach]

Ken, check to see if the fence is plumb ( square ) to the blades. On mine the fence is not at a 90 angle to the bottom of the plane so it tends to let the plane wobble and thus a loose fit. IIRC,and it was a long time ago that I tuned mine, you first cut the slot on a test piece of wood, then flip the fence to cut the tongue, if is too thin, you can set the blade that was not cutting the groove a tad farther from the main body, and repeat until you get a tongue that fits the groove. You then check to make sure the good sides of the stock line up, if not, you have to start all over by resetting how close the blade that cuts the slot sits to the body, then making test pieces and adjusting the other blade. It is not uncommon to shoot for a loose fit, especially when using the boards as backing boards to a case.

[Ken Werner]

That's helpful Michael and Barry. Thanks.
Harry, I'll try to find a dollar and test, but I think it's looser than that.