Jack plane had "issues"

[steven c newman]

The recent Chinese Jack plane build wound up having a few "issues"

First, the wedge was too short, allowed the iron to chatter along

Second, the mouthopening was...UGLY290147yeah, dummy running the saw couldn't follow a line. :eek:

Thirdly, the eyes weren't aligned with each other. Tried the plane out on a pine test track290148:mad:not good. So, I found a cut off from the build, and made a patch for the mouth290149and glued it up. After the glue had cured, took a Stanley 5-1/2 over it until flush. And went and flattened the entire sole for good measure. The eyes were worked over, now aligned up. The new wedge I had made for the plane was now too skinny. Had to go and make another one. :mad: Patch was looking good290150wedge fitted with the aligned eyes. Got a small test rack out, and took a spin290151:)Hey, it do make a few ribbons now. A look at the wedge area290152 nice, and FAT wedge. Makes a better target for the hammer. Angle of the iron is about 50-55 degrees, instead of the normal 45. makes things a bit harder to push along. It is a bit fussy to set, but it will stay set.

18" long, high angle Jack Plane? With a flat sole..:D

[Mark Almeidus]

Wonderfull job. When i was making the wedge, i spent entire day, and also failed 3 times. On Bill Rainford site, i found they used a predefined angle of 10 degree for the wedge.
http://rainfordrestorations.wordpress.com/2013/09/10/making-a-jointer-plane-with-willard-bill-anderson-part-1/
And whats the purpose of that kind of mouth? Is it adjustable?

[steven c newman]

Mouth is fixed in place. The wide open one was way too big, even for a Jack plane. Like most vintage wood bodies, sometimes you have to add a patch to close the mouth up a bit.