On blades and vises...

[Russell Dunham]

So, I have this millers falls no 22 that I have been working on for a few months as I've had time. I finally had some time to really put the hammer down and finish tuning it yesterday and she is certainly a classy lady! However, the blade has a wicked deep dish right in the middle and to take it out to the cutting edge would take a good while and make it pretty thin (it seems like more of a pain than it's worth). I can make it work for a little while but I think I'm going to replace it. My question here is whether I should get a Lee Valley iron and chip breaker or something else (like a hock or some other brand). I like the lee valley cost wise and I'm sure it's nice but I've never bought one before and was hoping for some insight. Every blade I've seen in Veritas planes has been very well made and I would assume that these are of the same quality. I've never felt the need to dabble with replacement blades in the past but it seems prudent now.

Now for the vise. If I'm putting an order in with Lee Valley should I spring for one of their quick release vises (the Record copy made in eastern Europe) or should I hold off until I can pick up a Morgan vise from Tools for Working Wood (made in Milwaukee)? I like that the Morgan is made in the states but the Record copies seem pretty nice too. The old tiny Thinese vise isn't doing it for me anymore.

Thanks in advance for your time and input!

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I've been a huge fan of the Lee Valley blades I've used, if for nothing else than the fact that backs come lapped to the point they don't need touching at all. I've actually got one in my MF 22 right now.

You don't need to lap the entire back of the blade though - I'm not quite sure if I get what you're saying with the dish - a little dish can be helpful if it's going the right way. But working just a little bit behind the cutting edge is all you need, and you can make things even easier by using the "ruler trick" or something similar to get you edges sharp and avoid having to spend forever trying to lap things.

[Russell Dunham]

The dish in question is might be better described as more of a taco. I've managed to get it flat for the most part but it doesn't really sit right with the chip breaker. Good to hear the Lee Valley blades are on point!

[Lonnie Gallaher]

I have a vintage morgan 20A. It is the continuous screw type. It is one of the early models that has a flat bar handle with cranks at each end. It is a great vise. BTW, Morgan started making wood working vises in 1929, in Chicago. Here is some info from another site.

Morgan: The Morgan Company was founded in 1929, and moved to Aurora around 1947. We purchased the Morgan Company and moved it to Milwaukee in February 1970. Each Morgan vise will have one of these city names on it, telling us about how old the vise could be.

All Morgan vises were and still are painted blue. Its very close to what is called Federal Safety Blue. - DSXmachine