Would you exchange this Veritas Blade and Cap Iron?

[Eric Phelps ON]

<p>
Hey Everyone, (long time reader, first time poster)<br />
<br />
Just recently I was very fortunate to receive a Veritas O1 blade and cap iron from Lee Valley for use in a Stanley No. 5. To my surprise, fastening the two together yeilds a significant gap between the extreme edge of the cap iron, and the back of the blade - just under 0.010in measured with a feeler gauge.<br />
<br />
With the two parts unassembled, using the blade from my double square as a straight edge, and checking each parts mating surface for flatness along its length, its quite apparent that BOTH parts are bowed in the direction away from the mating part, making it impossible for them to make contact without external pressure being applied. With a bit of pressure between my thumb and index finger Im able to close that gap. So surely, once the blade assembly is in the body of the plane and the lever cap is tensioned, the pressure exerted from the lever cap will be greater than that from my modest grasp, and the gap will close. I cant exactly verify this directly but I am in fact able to take a reasonably fine shaving, even without honing the new iron.<br />
<br />
My concern is that not having the blade and cap iron form a solid union before tensioning the lever cap will affect the planes predictability and consistency. If you were in my shoes, would you be satisfied or would you expect the part, or parts, to be replaced?</p>

[Matt Evans]

Personally I'd just tweak the cap iron a little and be happy with it.

Every plane with a cap iron I've ever had has the blade and cap iron bowed just a bit in the same fashion, though most of them not to quite the extent that they don't mate. (Used planes, mind you) The pressure exerted by the screw in the center makes the metal bend to get them to mate properly, and if left on, the cap iron/blade seem to take that sort of shape over time. I just bend the cap iron just a hair, make sure it mates properly with the blade, and then put it in the plane.

[Tom Stenzel]

Hi Eric,

I have to agree it doesn't look right. But in use the iron and cap are squished between the lever cap and frog/ bottom opening and should close the gap. How does it look when the plane is assembled?

I'd be glad if that was the worse problem I had with a plane but mine were bought at a whole lot less than Veritas prices. I'm sure Lee Valley will make it right if asked.

-Tom

[Robert Hazelwood]

I would want to have a good fit with just the cap iron screw providing tension. Even if it closes up when you tension the lever cap, that gap will make adjusting the cap iron setback difficult, and that is a critical aspect of using a bevel-down plane. Also if the fit is not perfect when in the plane, shavings can get caught between the breaker and blade and you'll have to tear it all down to continue working.

If it was an old iron set, I would say just bend the chipbreaker in a vise or something until you get a decent fit. I've had to do this to a few vintage planes. But with new stuff I would try to exchange it, at least the chipbreaker.

[Terry Beadle]

I would also add that you need the blade warmed up, not hot, but warmed up so that the steel
won't snap while you tweak it in the vice.

Don't ask me how I know....ouch!

Enjoy the shavings!

[Eric Phelps ON]

Thanks for the feedback guys.
Tom, I&#39;m sure you&#39;re quite right. The pressure from the lever cap should be more than enough to bring the two peices together. Looking down towards the mouth of the plane its not easy to see if they are mating absolutely flawlessly, but from what I can tell, there looks to be consistent contact between them.
With that being said however, I might just have to be a stickler in this particular case. I&#39;d be lying if I said the cost wasn&#39;t a factor.
At the very least there&#39;s an increased opportunity for debris to find its way between the blade / cap iron when they&#39;re removed from the body of the plane, and that could actually prevent them from coming together under the lever cap.
Thanks Again.

[Patrick Chase]

Throw them back. The reason you pay as much as you do for LV's stuff is so that you don't have to mess with heating and bending stuff to make it work. They will absolutely make this sort of thing right, and should ship you new ones on the same day as you contact them.

Relying on the lever cap is not a workable solution for two reasons: First, you won't be able to set the cap iron tightly (to prevent tearout) if you can't see exactly where it mates to the iron. Second, the force on the lever cap should be determined only by retention/adjustment considerations. You don't want to add another constraint there.

[Rob Lee]

Eric...

A definite replace, please don’t do anything else with them. Customer service can ship replacements immediately...please shoot them an email, and they’ll look after it.

Sorry for the hassle.

Cheers,

Rob
(Enjoying -29C in STe Anne de Beaupré today.....)

[Jim Koepke]

Howdy Eric and Welcome to the Creek.

Amazing how this all got resolved before breakfast.

jtk

[Eric Phelps ON]

Patrick - I was thinking along the same lines as your second point.
Rob - Thanks for chiming in. A set of both parts that have been checked for fit will be shipping soon. I couldn&#39;t be more pleased.
Jim - Thanks for the welcome, glad to be here. I&#39;ve only been a customer at LV for the past two years or so but in my experience they certainly have earned that fantastic reputation of theirs.

[Phil Mueller]

Rob, I thought -5F this morning was cold...wow! By the way, your LV blade and cap iron I got for my Stanley 5C has turned it into my absolute go-to vintage plane. Excellent product!

[Rob Lee]

Hi,

Yeah, went skiing on Le Massif the 26th, and there are a number of hills closing in Quebec until temps get a bit higher. Windchill warnings still in effect...about -38C right now.

So cold, your hair (well, what left of mine) ices up in the hot tub!

Cheers,

Rob

[Patrick Chase]

Yeah, went skiing on Le Massif the 26th, and there are a number of hills closing in Quebec until temps get a bit higher. Windchill warnings still in effect...about -38C right now.

Are the surface conditions at least worth it?

I've been there more than once when it was brutally cold and bulletproof. I suppose if you're a racer as I was at the time that might constitute a Good Time
, but not for most :-).


Racers are weird in that we prefer hard snow (to a point), because it can handle higher lateral loads before "giving" and we can therefore make tighter, more aggressive turns on it. That's one of the reasons why elite-level courses are water-injected to form a nice thick layer of surface ice.