Plane Levers: Useful for Jointing?

[Steve H Graham]

I got a nice #5 Stanley plane on Ebay, and then I dropped it and chipped a corner. I could not stand to look at it and be reminded that I had damaged a tool that had made it 100 years without incident until I got ahold of it. I decided to sell it and get another one.

I am working on the second plane today, and I am using a piece of Home Depot pine to test it. It's a piece of 2 x 6 on its side in a vise.

Here's what I want to know: is the lever on a plane supposed to be used when you're trying to joint an edge?

I checked the pine with a combination square as I planed, and the edge was not square, so I started trying to hold the plane at a slight angle. then I thought about that handy lever, and I decided to see if it would speed things up. I tilted the blade so it cut deeper on the left side when the plane sole was against the wood.

Seems like it worked, because the edge is square now, but I'm wondering if this is standard technique or something I just made up in order to get it over with.

On another note, I tried an experiment today. The cutter on the plane arrived with a pronounced camber that was crowned about 1/3 of the way across the blade. It was much deeper on one side. The cutter also had a burned spot. I decided to fix it, and I thought it might be good to try the oscillating belt sander to rough it out. I put the blade up against a 120-grit belt, and it did the trick quickly, BUT it cambers the edge. The belt is flexible, so it puts more pressure on the edges of the blade. If you use a pulley to support the blade, things get jittery, so I decided to live with the camber and fix it with the bench stones.

Seems to have worked well. The cutter didn't get hot, and it was very easy to control. I don't have a low-speed bench grinder, so this seems like a useful substitute.

Final question: what could make a blade tilt when the edge is square to the sides? I checked the blade with a square as I shaped it, so I know it's square, but the lever is off to the side when the blade is flat against the work. I took the frog off and sanded the crud off, and I made sure everything looked like it was lined up. I think this is a Type 11 plane.

[Jim Koepke]

A few of my planes have corners chipped out by previous owners. The ones with the front left corner chipped have been filed and are quite comfortable to use this way.

It may be different with a tool with which I have not yet bonded, but one of my favorite planes hit the deck and suffered. It is still one of my favorite planes in the shop:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?173212-Bad-Day-4-Old-Friend-amp-The-Recovery


Here's what I want to know: is the lever on a plane supposed to be used when you're trying to joint an edge?

My first theory of tool use is if it works, then it is okay. My theory on lateral levers is they are to adjust the blade when everything isn't square. For me it is easier to adjust the blade to cut even across its width and then adjust my approach to get an edge square.

One of the problems with having the blade set to cut deeper on one side is when the work moves from squaring an edge to flattening a face of the board.


what could make a blade tilt when the edge is square to the sides?

There are a lot of things. The sole may not be parallel to the frog seat. The bed of the frog may not be aligned with the base of the frog. The slot in the iron could be out of square with the edge. The frog could be slightly turned.

I like to have my lateral adjuster pretty much centered when the blade is set for an even cut across the width. It isn't always the case.

jtk

[Maurice Ungaro]

Hi Steve,
First of all, yes, the lever is used, regardless of whether you are jointing, smoothing, etc. The lever squares the blade to the sole of the plane. In other words, if you look at it with the plane belly up, the lateral adjustment lever is used to make sure that an even protrusion of the blade is showing all across the mouth. As for the camber, you have a No. 5, or a Jack plane. These are best used with a cambered iron, as the Jack will be used to remove a good bit of wood quickly. The best way to establish a camber on a Jack's iron is to use a sharpie marker and trace an 8" or 10" radius on the edge of the blade (backside of the iron). Show that iron to your bench grinder and sweep the iron to the designated curve. Follow that up with a sharpening/honing.

[Steve H Graham]

Thanks for the replies.

Jim, there is nothing wrong with the chipped plane, and my #4 is a poorly made modern Stanley with pits, so I am not one of those people who insist on perfect tools, but I would really like to have another shot at not destroying a #5.

They seem very common and inexpensive compared to other sizes, so I figured I could bear the pain of taking a small loss and starting over.

Maurice, the blade is still cambered, but the camber is now slight, and it's symmetrical. The radius you mention is tighter than what I thought was appropriate. I just went for a few thousandths at each end. I guess I can modify it later if I need to.

I sharpened the blade using bench stones, and I made the camber by alternating the pressure on the sides of the blade. Seems like an easy and convenient way to do it, but I don't think it will work well if I'm trying to make a tight radius. Actually, the oscillating sander would do a fantastic job with that.

[lowell holmes]

I would suggest an afternoon at a Woodcraft class or some other venue would jump start your foray int the hand tool world. It will save you money in the long haul.:)

It is a slippery slope you are on.

[Steve H Graham]

That sounds like fun. The closest Woodcraft dried up and died a few years back.

[lowell holmes]

That sounds like fun. The closest Woodcraft dried up and died a few years back.

That's sad.

I spent time in Key West when I was in the Navy. I like Florida. The Keys have interesting driftwood on the beaches. At least they did 55 years ago.
There was an artist that sculpted native water birds using found driftwood. His work was incredible.
Here is a contemporary example.

319318

[Steve H Graham]

I didn't realize there was useful wood inside that stuff. I guess I thought it was grey all the way through!