Stanley Hand plane id and use question

[Joseph Montroy]

My dad gave me this plane, that I believe was my grandfathers, but I could be mistaken. It is 14" long and embossed C559MP on the top of it. What is it? :confused:

267747

I have a worksharp 3000 that I used to sharpen up the cutter, and I set the cutter to a 30 degree bevel. It is very sharp. But, it doesn't seem to do well trying to flatten a glued up panel prior to sanding. I am assuming that I am doing something wrong, but this is qswo, that has a lot of figure in it. I can't keep the plane from tearing out, even when I pay close attention to the grain direction. Any tips or advice? Should I pick up another hand plane better suited to flattening a glued up panel? Thanks,
JC

[Jacob Nothstine]

14" long would be a Jack plane Stanley #5 check out this web page for more information. Not sure what the embossed C559MP is.
http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan1.htm#num5

[Mel Miller]

Looks like a late model generic plane with a Stanley levercap.

[David Weaver]

Check the frog and make sure the screws on it are tight. Check the tote and knob for the same thing and make sure the lever cap is reasonably tight. If it doesn't cut well after you've confirmed that (oh yeah, make sure the cap iron and iron screw is tight, if that gets loose in use, bad things might occur).

Anyway, if it's all tight and it can't be adjusted to cut nicely, there's a problem somewhere in terms of the geometry.

[Jim Koepke]

Joseph,

Welcome to the cave beside the Creek. Hopefully there is another member near you in Western NY that can offer some help with your situation.

Your plane looks like a later day Stanley.

There are a number of things that could be causing problems for you. The frog could be set to far back. You could have the blade set for too deep of a cut.

One problem I have seen with these is a previous user mounted the blade with the bevel up, the bevel is supposed to be down. This has come my way more than a couple of times.

Second is what one person calls sharp may not be what another person considers sharp.

How did you test your blade for sharpness?

Some woods plane easier than others. QS oak is not known for its ease of planing.

Your blade needs to be as sharp as can be with the chip breaker set close to the edge and making good contact across the full width.

Here is a path to a gold mine of information:

Forum >Woodworking by Hand and Specialties >Neanderthal Haven >Neanderthal Haven Announcements >Neanderthal wisdom/FAQs

Neanderthal Haven Announcements is at the top of the Neanderthal Haven conference. The Neanderthal wisdom/FAQs is near the top.

Here is one post of mine that may help with your current situation:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?148076-Getting-Started-With-Hand-Planes

My method is to start with setting the blade for a minimum cut depth by starting from a no cut position then slowly adjusting until the blade just starts to cut.

Another post from the wisdom/FAQs might be able to help with any adjustments needed:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?114373-Fettling-A-Plane-from-Junker-to-Jointer

Hope this helps and don't be afraid to ask more questions if need be.

jtk

[Shawn Pixley]

They've given good advice. Looking at the picture, the mouth look like it is too far open. I'd sharpen the blade and move the frog forward. Results would tell you where to go from there.

[steven c newman]

Might be an English made Stanley Jack plane? Wide mouth is there for a reason, one needs to add a camber to the iron's edge. The wide mouth will allow nice thick shavings to come through, as one uses this to flatten , not smooth, a rough sawn board. Use this plane first, then the longer try plane, and THEN a smoothing plane.

[Joseph Montroy]

Thanks for the reading material, I've been diligently learning from it, there is SO much information on hand planes! Anyway, since I've read for the better part of two days now, I'll head out to the shop tomorrow afternoon to see if I can coax some nice shavings from the stanley. Thanks for all the help, I'm sure I'll have more questions once I've tried again!

[Karl Kerstetter]

This is an economy version plane made by Stanley up to late 1960's in the USA before they changed their numbering system. With a little attention, it can be a good plane. I found one awhile back which had never been used> still had the original rust protection all over it. It took about 4 hours to tune up properly. There is no external frog adjustment so that takes some time to get it right as you have to keep disassembling to adjust. The original iron is OK but I replaced it with a No 5 Stanley iron and sharpened properly. Spent considerable time flatening the sole and sides as there was some deflection. Once assembled and tuned, I tested it on a Birdseye Maple board- no problems. I have since used it red Oak, quilted Maple, Walnut, and countless times on Cherry. I often use it to remove machine marks from thickness planing or to even seams on glued boards. For what it was designed to do, it is a capable plane.