Chamfer Plane question

[Phil Mueller]

Here’s the latest garage sale find. Couldn’t resist. No makers mark on the plane or iron.

Well, I’m having a little trouble getting it to cut smoothly.
The bed angle appears to be near 55+ degrees. The iron bevel is at 25 degrees. It seems like a pretty steep cutting angle. It’s acting more like a scraper. I don’t know anything about these planes. Can someone shed some light on honing angle...maybe it’s just a poor design? I’m assuming it is supposed to be bevel down?
Thanks!

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[Robert Hazelwood]

It is probably bedded at a high angle to mitigate tearout on long grain. It will definitely be bevel down with that bed angle.
The honing angle should be at least 8-10 degrees less than the bedding angle to provide clearance, so you could sharpen as high as 45 degrees I suppose. I would definitely raise it from 25 degrees, since high cutting angles are harder on the edge. If it were me I would aim for 35 degrees and see how it performs.

[lowell holmes]

It occurred to me that it would not be difficult to make one. I have bought plane irons from the borg before.

[Stewie Simpson]

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/stopped%20chamfer%20plane/DSC_0271_zpstkd7o9n1.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/stopped%20chamfer%20plane/DSC_0271_zpstkd7o9n1.jpg.html)

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/stopped%20chamfer%20plane/DSC_0272_zpskgizyp1e.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/stopped%20chamfer%20plane/DSC_0272_zpskgizyp1e.jpg.html)

[Phil Mueller]

Thanks all! I honed the iron to 35 degrees. Much better. May try 40. I’m still challenged by the set up...I’m inexperienced with wooden planes, in particular getting the iron depth set correctly. A lot of too much, too little, too much, too little. Iron finally right, then oops, wedge not tight enough and iron pops up. Just need to spend some more time with it.

Stewie, beautiful plane...just from my little experience with this one, I see the advantage of the brass depth sole (if that’s what it’s called?). As always, very nicely done.

[James Waldron]

Hold on at 35* for a bit. The bevel angle, once there's enough relief angle (10-12*) to cut properly, has a lot more to do with the durability of the edge than it does the adjustment of the depth setting. With a 55* bed angle, a 35* bevel gives you a 20* relief angle, which is more than enough.

Adjustment takes practice and will come as you feel your way with your adjusting hammer. And consider the possibility that your hammer is too heavy; a light weight makes it a lot easier to avoid over-setting. And it may be worth noting that the steeper the bed angle, the more difficult (perhaps "delicate" would be a better term) depth setting becomes.

Stick with it and you'll get there.

[Stewie Simpson]

Phil; Kees did a short video a while back on how to use a traditional boxed chamfer plane. Although his plane doesn't rely on a wooden wedge to lock the iron in position, the basic principle on how to set these up still applies. Set the depth of chamfer using the sliding boxes sole as your reference height. Lock the box into position before you move on to setting the irons cutting height. The cutting edge of the blade should be finely set so it just protrudes below the sliding boxes sole. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChCv9lj8X2M

[Phil Mueller]

Thanks Jim...yes, I believe I’ve been a bit heavy handed trying to set the iron and wedge. And Stewie, yes as well, the cut has probably been too heavy. Will leave the angle for now and work with it for awhile. Thanks also for the video link, it helped in confirming the set up. I do like the way Kees’ plane can be set with screws.

[David Eisenhauer]

Nice looking chamfer plane Stewie and thanks for the link.

[Stewie Simpson]

Phil; once or twice a year I routinely go through and check all my wooden planes for potential wood movement.

Below is the process I use for fettling in my chamfer planes.

Blue masking tape and chalk are used to highlight contact between 2 referenced surfaces . Any high areas that need to be worked back are done so using fine cut rasp or preferably a sharpened chisel for parring work.

The planes bed is checked using the non bevel side of the iron as a reference. Any chalk transfer chalk that shows up within the centre area of the bed are worked back to insure maximum contact with the outer areas of the bed.

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/fettling%20chamfer%20planes/DSC_0273_zpsj7lxoaet.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/fettling%20chamfer%20planes/DSC_0273_zpsj7lxoaet.jpg.html)

The front wall is checked using the same methodology.

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/fettling%20chamfer%20planes/DSC_0274_zpsogxso8qs.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/fettling%20chamfer%20planes/DSC_0274_zpsogxso8qs.jpg.html)

The blue tape and chalk are then used on the bevel side of the iron to check for even contact down the front face of the wedge.

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/fettling%20chamfer%20planes/DSC_0275_zpst954zmfx.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/fettling%20chamfer%20planes/DSC_0275_zpst954zmfx.jpg.html)



http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/fettling%20chamfer%20planes/DSC_0276_zpsi6pi5fsm.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/fettling%20chamfer%20planes/DSC_0276_zpsi6pi5fsm.jpg.html)

You made mention that your chamfer plane has a 55 degree pitch. Mine are pitched slightly higher at 60 degrees. (cabinet pitch)

The higher than common pitch allows you to work without the aid of a cap iron to control tear-out.

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/fettling%20chamfer%20planes/DSC_0277_zpst9jc5iwt.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/fettling%20chamfer%20planes/DSC_0277_zpst9jc5iwt.jpg.html)

The final stage is to check the planes performance in both grain directions.

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/fettling%20chamfer%20planes/DSC_0278_zpsrlw4gpfn.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/fettling%20chamfer%20planes/DSC_0278_zpsrlw4gpfn.jpg.html)

[Phil Mueller]

Thank you Stewie! Really helpful tutorial. Appreciate you taking the time to post it.