More questions about my Stanley Planes

[Larry D. Wagner]

:) I'm back again to ask more questions about the Stanley Planes I have. In my previous post, one or two of the replies made reference to bevel down. I wasn't quite sure what that meant as all the planes have the blade installed bevel up A friend loaned me a video on restoring Stanley planes and I can see that the bevel is down. Using the angles that were referenced in the last post replies,(25-35 degrees) I am unable to get an edge that will cut with bevel down.

My question is wouldn't 60 dgrees of bevel be better, due to blade setting at a 45 degree angle already if the bevel is down. Sorry if this sounds stupid, but I just don't know that much about hand planes! Any incite here would be appreciated.

Larry :) :) :)

[Tom Scott]

Larry,
Your question of whether a 60 degree bevel would be better depends on what you are going for. If you want a blade angle that may not get real sharp but won't wear, then 60 degrees is what you want. If you want a really sharp iron that you have to worry about wearing quickly, then go 15-20 degrees. The 30-35 degree angle is a compromise between these two extremes. You can still get a really sharp edge with it and only experience moderate deterioration when in use.

Since the bevel is down, the cutting angle is always going to be 45 degrees (unless you have a york pitch or similar frog). The confusion comes in with bevel up planes. On these the effective cutting angle can be adjusted by changing the bevel of the blade.

I hope this helps a little. Somewhere there are some good illustrations of this, I just don't know where they are right now. I'm sure others will chime in though.

Tom

[Roy Wall]

Tom's post says it all......25-30 degrees has been proven over time to be the best.

Sharpening is the key.....look up "scary sharp" on google --it's an inexpensive way to get started.

[Larry D. Wagner]

Tom & Roy

Thanks for your replies on this post. I checked for replies after I posted and then just kind of forgot about it. :( I am in the process of experimenting with the angles and when I am satisfied with the results I'll post and let you know what worked best for me.

Larry :) :) :)

[Jerry Palmer]

Larry,

If you let us know the models of the planes you have, we can give better answers. One thing I've discovered with used planes is that they are not necessarily assembled properly, i.e. just because you get it with the bevel down doesn't necessarily mean that it is supposed to be that way. Generally with vintage bench planes,i.e. Stanley #s 1 through 8, the bevel is down. Blocks generally are up. Specialty planes can be either. More recently some high end makers have started making bench sized planes with a bevel up configuration for the versatility of changing the final cutting angle by adjusting the bevel of the blade.

[Tom Scott]

One other way to determine which way the blade goes is to look at the blade. The side stamped with the manufacturer's name goes up so you can see the stamp. (This assumes you have the correct blade for the plane, and that it wasn't reversed for some reason in the past.)

Tom