where to tap a plow plane to back out the iron?

[Christian Thompson]

Hi guys,

I just purchased a wooden plow plane and am trying to figure out where to tap on it in order to back out the iron. I've seen some videos with wooden planes where taps on the back of the plane back out the iron. The handle is in the way, though, on my plow plane (and seems to be on most). There is a little end grain to the right of the handle but it is hard to get to. Do I tap the handle?

Thanks,
Christian

[David Weaver]

You should be able to strike the iron itself and loosen it and start over. If the iron you're using has a sneck, you might be able to strike (upward, into the wedge) it with something, but if you're way past the depth you want to cut, I think I'd rather just advance the iron loose, pull the wedge up and start over.

I'm assuming you're using a plane that looks a lot like the screw arm toted wooden plow that ohio tool sold in droves.

If I were to strike the handle at all, I'd only want to do it with a rubber hammer and not too hard. I wouldn't want to aim for that little bit of end grain. Whatever you do may lead you back to advancing the iron to loosen it and then restarting it at zero depth and working downward. It should take only a few seconds.

[Christian Thompson]

Yes - I have the screw arm, toted, Ohio tool-type plow. I think your idea of advancing the iron to loosen it is the answer I was looking for. In my head I was thinking that would tighten everything up even more, but I guess was forgetting about the taper on the plow irons. I just tried it and it works great.

Thanks!
Christian

[Bill Haumann]

+1 advance to loosen.

Even if you had space to strike and did so with a rubber mallet, I doubt the iron has sufficient mass for that loosening method to work.

[Jack Curtis]

You might want to try turning the plane upside down, hold on to the top of the iron, then hit the back of the body.

[Jim Matthews]

If the iron is tapered, advance it with light hammer taps.

Don't put your finger in front of the iron (DAMHIKT).
If the iron is a parallel type, look for a "button" on the backside of the plane body.

Hold your free hand over the wedge, so it stays in place and sharply rap the button.
Inertia will act in your favor as the iron will want to back out as you strike the back.

Remember - if you change the iron position, you must also tap the wedge to set it in place.