Thumb Planes

[Jonathan Martell]

I have a small plane that my father in law gave me. I believe it's called a thumb plane.

I tried sharpening it last night, but the edge was less than stellar. Maybe it needs more work or the steel isn't that good.
What are these used for? Is there a proper way to adjust them? I found it difficult to get the blade straight, and set to the depth I wanted. It also clogs very easily.

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt332/somephotoguy/Tool%20Rebuilds/Thumb%20Plane/plane1_zpsbcdbb713.jpg (http://s625.photobucket.com/user/somephotoguy/media/Tool%20Rebuilds/Thumb%20Plane/plane1_zpsbcdbb713.jpg.html)

[Tom Stenzel]

I have that same exact plane right down to the color of the paint. Except the rust on mine differs a bit.

I saw them at Sears recently, they sell in blister packs for less than $10. I got mine for 25 cents at a garage sale.

The iron on mine will sharpen OK but doesn't really hold an edge very well. I use it to knock off any pointy things left behind after cutting a board with my circular saw ( and breaking it off by hand or hammer just isn't good enough). Or put a chamfer on an edge that isn't critical.

It also sharpens pencils. OK, it's probably done that more than anything else. I keep it around just for that. Once you sharpen a pencil, the graphite will get on your work.

Adjusting the iron is like on a wood body plane by tapping with a small hammer. It'll take practice.

The mouth on mine is large enough to pass small trees*, tight mouths aren't a hallmark of planes of this ilk. It looks assembled correctly in your photo, is there something under the iron that's holding it out of position?


-Tom

* Only a minor exaggeration!

[Jim Koepke]

I have a few of these.

Do you have it set up bevel down?

Bevel up will likely clog. Another reason for clogging is if the cap doesn't sit well against the blade.

One of mine is used for making shavings when trying to rekindle a fire in the wood stove and I am out of shop made shavings.

jtk

[Frank Drew]

Some high quality infill thumb planes were made back in the Spiers/Norris heyday of British planemaking, and I think I've seen some modern versions, too.

[glenn bradley]

I use my little Millers Falls for easing edges where the hand might touch; front shelf edges, around the inside of drawers, etc. As a matter of fact, I just came in from using it for just that.

303147

I use it bevel down. Edge retention has not been an issue but, after all, it says:

solid tool steel
millers falls
made in USA

right on the iron :D. BTW, the iron looks like it was stamped out, flattened on one side and then beveled. Pretty crude. I use my Kell guide to sharpen it as it is a bit tough to hang onto. Once honed, I can run it for quite a bit before it needs a touch up.