EC Emmerich Primus Try-Plane

[Tom Blank]

I borrowed a buddy's 23" EC Emmerich wooden try-plane (701) to square up some S2S Poplar prior to resawing. I have some experience with LN planes, but this will be my first run with a plane of this style.

Any advice on setting up the plane? It has a spring loaded tensioning knob at the rear - any guess on the correct tension. There are two positions for the tensioning rod to fit into the chip-breaker - which one to use? My buddy has not used the plane in years and did not provide much guidance.

I found a little info on line, but not answers to my immediate questions.

Thanks,

Tom

[Chris Griggs]

No advice to give, but let us know how you like it. I've considered getting the wedged one at times. I would be curious to know how these perform.

[Stephen Cherry]

Any advice on setting up the plane? It has a spring loaded tensioning knob at the rear - any guess on the correct tension. There are two positions for the tensioning rod to fit into the chip-breaker - which one to use? My buddy has not used the plane in years and did not provide much guidance.

I found a little info on line, but not answers to my immediate questions.



Ho, ho, ho.

246815

By the way, this is one of my favorite planes.

[Tom Blank]

Chris, I'll report back although my experience and basis for comaprisons is pretty limited.

Stephen, thanks for posting the guide. I'll send a copy home with the plane. Any idea why this chip breaker has two locations for the tension screw?

[Stephen Cherry]

Chris, I'll report back although my experience and basis for comaprisons is pretty limited.

Stephen, thanks for posting the guide. I'll send a copy home with the plane. Any idea why this chip breaker has two locations for the tension screw?

The operation of the spring is not that complex. My plane has two humps on each side of the slot, and the ends of little pin fits between the two humps. You instal the tension screw with the writing up, and snug it up with the knob. No need to be super tight. Then the adjusting screw raises and lowers the blade. It's nice because with tension screw adjusted right, you can raise an lower the blade slightly against the tension of the spring. If there are two positions on your plane, see which way it fits together best. The tension screw needs only to be tight enough to hold the blade in place during use.

Give it a try, look at it, and the drawing, and you will see how it works. Feel the blade raise and lower against the spring as you turn the adjusting screw.

[Jim Matthews]

The operation of the spring is not that complex.

Fiddling it back into place after sharpening the blade is another story.

[Stephen Cherry]

Fiddling it back into place after sharpening the blade is another story.

If you back off the tension screw until the knob just about falls off, and back the adjusting screw way off, it should take only a few seconds. I can't say that it's fun, and there is no real indication of the parts snapping in place, but the blade should be back in in way less than a minute. It's like anything else, you need to do it a few times until it becomes easy.

[Tom Blank]

Dissassembly and assembly is not a problem - although tension knob usually comes off before I get the cross pin out of its notch.

I figured there must be a reson they went to the trouble to make the chip breaker with two distinct settings for the cross pin. Maybe not.

[Tom Blank]

Spent a good bit of the morning honing a new edge on the ECE's blade and then putting it to work. I honed the secondary bevel at 27*-28* using a Shapton 16K stone. The edge polished up very nicely. I had it completely apart at that point to wipe all the metal with Jojoba, reassembly was pretty straight forward. It can be a challenge to get enough fingers down in the opening to get a grip on the tension bolt and rotate it, but no big problem.

I set the blade quite like I would have for my LN #5; run the blade out, square it with the regulator, retract the blade and try a cut. Took a couple of tries to get the tension correct on the tension bolt; but once set, was very nice to use. Blade height (cut) is simple to adjust on the go. The tension system removes the backlash, so any adjustment up or down on the adjustment screw is immediately seen on the blade. That is quite different than having to work past the turn or so of backlash on metal planes. That is a nice feature. It was pretty simple to adjust to whatever depth of cut you want with small changes either way on the adjusting screw. The plane glides very nicely on the stroke, there is almost no drag from the sole.

I did have a problem keeping the plane sitting square on the 7/8” edge of the board – I was especially prone to rolling it off the edge at the end of the stroke. I suspect some of that is due to the plane’s taller profile and some to my unfamiliarity with the type plane. I never did find a really comfortable grip position for my left (leading) hand. Best seemed to be with my palm flat on the top of the plane, fingers straight ahead, with no attempt to actually grip around the plane’s body.

I had previously worked one edge with my LN and had the really rough stuff worked out. My Veritas 36” straight edge said the edge wasn’t dead flat yet with the edge being a bit convex. My first few passes with the ECE took material off only at the start and end of the cut – even with me shifting pressure from nose to tail during the stroke. Through the middle of the cut, I was not getting any shaving at all. Not what I expected with a convex face. I flipped the plane over (with the blade retracted) laid the straight edge on the sole. I found the sole was concave by .003” just in front of the tote, running to .002” at the mouth. Since I was taking shavings at .001” - .002” that would explain why no shaving in the middle of the stroke. I think that’s a big problem. Your thoughts and opinions?

I did have a problem getting fiber caught between the blade and the chip breaker. Took it apart a couple of times to clean out fibers. By the second time, was getting pretty good at taking the blade out without the tension knob falling off. The lip on the chip breaker did not seem to have any dings that would hold it proud of the blade. There are two screws holding the chip breaker to the blade. (See Stephen’s attachment) If the forward screw is tightened completely down, the blade takes a slightly convex set toward the chip breaker. I thought that might be opening a small gap at the front edge of the chip breaker, so backed the front screw off some and did not have that problem again. Could be the chip breaker needs its front edge reshaped, but I did not attempt that on this loaner.

Overall, the plane is very simple to adjust and feels good cutting a shaving. I am concerned about the chip breaker/blade fit and the concave sole.

[Chris Griggs]

Thanks for letting us know how its going. Regarding the concavity of the sole. Its a wooden plane so its going to move seasonally. The sole will always need to be flattened from time to time. Fortunately, this is really quick and easy on a wooden plane. You do not need a huge lapping surface either. You can just use a nice flat sanding block to take down the highspots a little at a time - checking frequently with your straightedge. Alternatively you can use a another plane to flatten the sole - its just like jointing a board. Just go slow - you can always remove more material, but you cannot put it back very easily. You probably want to ask your friend before doing so, but this is just maintenance for a woody.

[Jack Curtis]

http://www.fine-tools.com/G301047.htm

This is a web page version of Primus instructions on Dieter's site.

PS I really love this jointer, made me feel great about ridding my shop of the metal versions.

[Tom Blank]

I talked to my buddy about the plane's concave sole, he suggested 280/320 grit paper, a flat surface, and to have at it. I have an old 24" x 28" newspaper type setting table that is dead flat and proved to be an excellent surface for flattening the plane's sole. I took my time with lots of measuring checks and got it from near a .005" gap to down to .001" or less.

A Learning experience. I'm not knee deep in shavings, but the floor is covered and no need for ear plugs.

Thanks for the advice and guidance.

Tom