Richard Gillespie
06-17-2005, 6:46 PM
While doing a search for previous posts on blade adjustments for wooden planes I ran across an excellent thread on the subject. It was titled "Wooden Planes anyone?!?", posted by Mark Kelly on March 18, 2004. It goes to the heart of the problem I've been having. Adjusting blades, with a hammer, gives me fits. Either the blade is too shallow or too deep.
To go over the technique I've been using (or lack there of), I'm using a very small iron ball peen hammer weighing about 10 oz.s. In this case I'm talking smoothers with blades, chip breakers and wedges. Initially, I set the wedge and blades loose in the the plane on a flat wood surface (work bench). I then secure the wedge. This tends to drive the blade deeper than I want it. After tapping the back end of the plane the blade becomes too loose or too shallow. I then start tapping the end of the blade and or the wedge to start engaging the wood and correcting any mis-alignment. Just as the blade starts touching the wood and cutting fluff, I hit it too hard and now the blade is too deep.
By now, I'm once again very frustrated. I'd like to hear in detail how some of the wood plane experts set their irons. Maybe I'm just using the wrong hammer.
With the problems I've had, with wood plane blade adjustments, I've stayed working with my metal body planes which I understand much better.
To go over the technique I've been using (or lack there of), I'm using a very small iron ball peen hammer weighing about 10 oz.s. In this case I'm talking smoothers with blades, chip breakers and wedges. Initially, I set the wedge and blades loose in the the plane on a flat wood surface (work bench). I then secure the wedge. This tends to drive the blade deeper than I want it. After tapping the back end of the plane the blade becomes too loose or too shallow. I then start tapping the end of the blade and or the wedge to start engaging the wood and correcting any mis-alignment. Just as the blade starts touching the wood and cutting fluff, I hit it too hard and now the blade is too deep.
By now, I'm once again very frustrated. I'd like to hear in detail how some of the wood plane experts set their irons. Maybe I'm just using the wrong hammer.
With the problems I've had, with wood plane blade adjustments, I've stayed working with my metal body planes which I understand much better.