Does anyone else have this problem with their LN medium shoulder plane?

[Zach England]

My LN medium shoulder plane has never adjusted very well. Unless the screw that secures the blade (what are these called on shoulder planes?) is loose to the point that the blade will not stay in the plane without being held I cannot turn the adjuster without it coming out of the recess in the back of the blade. I examined it a little more closely tonight and it turns out that when the blade is pushed flush against the bed it rocks upwards and does not sit properly on the adjuster screw. At first I thought the blade was bent, but I took it out and checked it with a straight edge and it is not. It is like the part of the bed that pinches the blade at the screw (hold down) is too high.

My small LN shoulder plane does not have this problem.

Am I the only one?

I am trying to decide if I should send it back to LN or not. I have lived with it up until now, but it has suddenly become very annoying to me.

[Joel Goodman]

I am sure that the folks at LN would rather you send it back than have an unhappy customer or an imperfect plane out there. Why not give them a call? Is the screw or the fitting that engages the blade bent?

[Bruce Page]

You should contact LN directly about the problem. Their CS is very good.

[Zach England]

Mostly I am curious if anyone else has had this issue. On a lesser product I would just call it a design flaw and move on, but none of my other LN tools have anything I would call a design flaw.

I will look a little more closely when I get home. I am thinking that the angle of the norris adjuster is a bit off.

[Jim Neeley]

Zach,

As others have said, whether is a design flaw (unlikely) or the rare QC error, I have no doubt that Tom would want you to get in contact with them to get it rectified. To the best of my knowledge, their CS reputation is spotless and I'm pretty certain he wouldn't want a spot now! :)

Greetings from Alaska,

Jim

[Dale Cruea]

I have this shoulder plane. I don't have any problems at all with it. Well other than the ones I cause.
I can just loosen the holding screw a tad and adjust the blade fairly easily.
You should call/send back to LN.

[Tony Shea]

It is not meant to function this way. You are supposed to loosen the lever cap screw a bit to adjust your depth of cut but not enough so it lets the blade slide around while doing so. Check to see if the adjuster threaded rod is tightened into the body fully. If there is any slop in this rod then this could cause the adjuster to fall below the notch in the blade that accepts this part. If nothing is glaringly odvious you must get in contact with LN. They will absolutely do you right. I have had amazing CS experiences with them.