minor problem with Stanley #78

[Wayne Jolly]

I was cleaning out my garage yesterday and finally found an old Stanley #78 that I inherited from (drum roll please), my mom. It is in pretty good shape but is missing all of the fences, etc. so if anyone has a spare they would like to sell me, I am open to that. But that is not whay I am writing this.

I took the blade and sharpened it up, but when putting it into the plane I have a problem. As you know, the plane iron has a series of grooves on the back that fit over a notch in the depth adjuster. My problem is that I cannot get a good depth. If I set the iron into one of the grooves, I cannot adjust the iron down far enough to get any contact at all. It just BARELY misses. But if I move the iron to the next groove I cannot RETRACT the blade far enough and it is set too deep.

Am I doing something wrong or is there something else I can do?

Thanks,

Wayne

[bridger berdel]

wrong blade? mine has 9 grooves (8 teeth) in a space of 1 1/8 inch.

[Jim Koepke]

Pictures often help. Especially ones showing the interaction of the cutter and the adjuster.

It could be the adjuster is impaired from its ability to travel its full amount.

jtk

[Tom Stenzel]

On my newer made in England 78, there's very little adjustment overlap from one set of slots to the next. But there is some.

Make sure that the adjustment lever isn't bent. When pushed upward the lever hits the iron. If the iron is bent downward, the adjustment lever bent upward, or the iron is too long the lever movement will be restricted. The adjustment lever should be free to wiggle some with the iron tightened down but if it has a lot of movement the points that engage the iron slots may be worn or damaged to the point of uselessness.

Even if the lever can't be used, all is not lost. The 191 rabbet plane is similar to the 78 but has no adjustment lever. On the one I inherited from my grandfather, it's clear that he tapped the iron with a hammer to adjust it- the peening on the edges of the iron prove it!

-Tom Stenzel

[Wayne Jolly]

Tom -

The adjustment lever WAS bent a little. Not up or down, but sideways. When moving the adjustment lever upwards it would hit the side of the body right next to the slot that the lever's tab stick up through about 3/8-1/2" behind the pivot pin. It felt very solid like the lever had reached the end of it's travel, and when I looked at it, it seemed to be made like that. But after reading your response I looked a little closer. I bent the lever out just a little (and I mean a very little) so it fit into the slot and now I can make the adjustments. IT WORKS! WooHoo!

Thanks,

Wayne