Jim Koepke
07-20-2011, 6:16 PM
Another Creeker was having some trouble with a Stanley/Bailey #3.
To make a long story short, my mouth opened before my brain engaged and voilą I had even another project vying for my attention.
Many times we have heard that Stanley didn't sell planes, they sold plane kits. As time went on, the person buying one of these "kits" had more and more assembly steps in order to get to a well tuned tool.
If anything working on this plane has increased my appreciation of my older planes. The big question there is if they were made better or if some other craftsman fettled them when they bought their "plane kit."
The type 18 has a ogee shaped frog with less surface area for the blade to seat. Most of the ogee frogs that have crossed my path also seem to have a very tight lateral adjustment lever.
This plane also had a very bad situation with the lateral adjuster not being able to move enough to produce an even shaving.
202488
A few measurements helped to locate the problem.
202489
This is when my thoughts turn to how things would be easier at times if I were a machinist.
Before removing any metal a few shims were tried to make sure what direction things had to go.
I have shimmed my own planes and used them that way, but eventually, the shims might fall during cleaning or it is just a lot of trouble when a little metal removal does the job.
202492
Once the shims showed which way and how much had to be done, the metal removal started
202490
The real trick with something like this is to know when to stop. My way of doing this is to stop and check often.
The blade was sharpened with the slightest of camber. It was able to make good shavings on poplar, oak and pine. The shaving shown is pine.
202491
My biggest disappointment was that when the plane got to the point of making good shavings the frog rocked a little on the base. Sometimes you have to stop before you want to knowing that going further will not improve what you are doing and may in fact bring it back to not working.
jtk
To make a long story short, my mouth opened before my brain engaged and voilą I had even another project vying for my attention.
Many times we have heard that Stanley didn't sell planes, they sold plane kits. As time went on, the person buying one of these "kits" had more and more assembly steps in order to get to a well tuned tool.
If anything working on this plane has increased my appreciation of my older planes. The big question there is if they were made better or if some other craftsman fettled them when they bought their "plane kit."
The type 18 has a ogee shaped frog with less surface area for the blade to seat. Most of the ogee frogs that have crossed my path also seem to have a very tight lateral adjustment lever.
This plane also had a very bad situation with the lateral adjuster not being able to move enough to produce an even shaving.
202488
A few measurements helped to locate the problem.
202489
This is when my thoughts turn to how things would be easier at times if I were a machinist.
Before removing any metal a few shims were tried to make sure what direction things had to go.
I have shimmed my own planes and used them that way, but eventually, the shims might fall during cleaning or it is just a lot of trouble when a little metal removal does the job.
202492
Once the shims showed which way and how much had to be done, the metal removal started
202490
The real trick with something like this is to know when to stop. My way of doing this is to stop and check often.
The blade was sharpened with the slightest of camber. It was able to make good shavings on poplar, oak and pine. The shaving shown is pine.
202491
My biggest disappointment was that when the plane got to the point of making good shavings the frog rocked a little on the base. Sometimes you have to stop before you want to knowing that going further will not improve what you are doing and may in fact bring it back to not working.
jtk