At what angle should I hone my LN chip breaker?

[David Wadstrup]

Is there a consensus on what angle chip breakers should be honed at? I've been reading a lot about this lately, but haven't been able to figure out if there is a universally recommended angle. I imagine that this would be dependent on bed angle, so what would you suggest for 45 degree and 50 degree frogs?

Thanks!

[David Weaver]

I would start with 50 for both and only go steeper if you have a problem that you absolutely can't solve after a long period of time.

[Derek Cohen]

Is there a consensus on what angle chip breakers should be honed at? I've been reading a lot about this lately, but haven't been able to figure out if there is a universally recommended angle. I imagine that this would be dependent on bed angle, so what would you suggest for 45 degree and 50 degree frogs?

Thanks!

Hi David

I would go 45 degrees for the common pitch (45 degree) frog and 40 degrees for the york pitch (50 degree) frog. This creates the same effective pitch and escapement. If the york pitch (or either) is too low after use, then it is easier to raise than the other way around.

Regards from Perth

Derek