No. 81 Stanley Problems

[Chris Parks]

I have one of these and it won't work at all as in scraping anything but fresh air. I had a bit of a look around the web & on YT and it appears to be sharpened correctly at 45 degrees with a hook and if I pull the blade out I can use it by hand. I set the blade by putting the plane on a flat surface and letting the blade contact the surface before tightening the clamp screw. Any pointers as to what I am doing wrong greatly appreciated as it is such a simple plane it is hard to see what I am doing wrong.

[glenn bradley]

The blade needs to set just a bit proud of the base just like a hand plane of course. Some people use a light tap of a wooden hammer. When learning I would set the base on a piece of paper in front of and behind the mouth to allow the blade that approximately .004" projection. Once you hit that ah-ha moment you can pretty much do it free hand.

[Jerry Olexa]

Agree with glenn....You have to find gently the "sweet spot"..Then it'll perform

[Pete Taran]

The 81 is tricky to set as there is no way to bow the blade like in the 80. When I set mine, I loosed the blade and put it on something flat, like the cast iron table of a bandsaw. Then, slip a piece of copier paper under the front of the scraper, press down on the plane and the blade with one hand and tighten the blade with the other. This will allow the blade to project about .003" which I've found is a good starting point. The other problem could be that the bottom isn't flat which you can remedy with some sand paper on the same flat surface. It's either one or the other or both.

[Rob Luter]

The 81 is tricky to set as there is no way to bow the blade like in the 80. When I set mine, I loosed the blade and put it one something flat, like the cast iron table of a bandsaw. Then, slip a piece of copier paper under the front of the scraper, press down on the plane and the blade with one hand and tighten the blade with the other. This will allow the blade to project about .003" which I've found is a good starting point. The other problem could be that the bottom isn't flat which you can remedy with some sand paper on the same flat surface. It's either one or the other or both.

I use this same process on mine. Even when it's dialed in just right, the #81 does not take an aggressive cut. It's for very fine work. Being the hack that I am, mine doesn't get used much :o

[Chris Parks]

Thanks for all the advise, I will give it a go later on today. All the experts on YT don't seem to think it is so tricky, I wonder why that is. It might be because they are experts?:eek:

[Stewie Simpson]

Chris; I installed a thumbscrew blade tensioner on my Stanley #81.

Its made a huge difference to the depth of shavings I can now work with this plane.

Stewie;

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/scraper%20plane%20shavings/DSC_0298_zps8dixy4cr.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/scraper%20plane%20shavings/DSC_0298_zps8dixy4cr.jpg.html)

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/scraper%20plane%20shavings/DSC_0299_zps7r8d1q2x.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/scraper%20plane%20shavings/DSC_0299_zps7r8d1q2x.jpg.html)


http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/scraper%20plane%20shavings/DSC_0300_zpsondj48ed.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/scraper%20plane%20shavings/DSC_0300_zpsondj48ed.jpg.html)

[Chris Parks]

Stewie the detail of how you fitted it would be nice if you get a chance, the shavings certainly look way better than anything mine will do. I had a bit of a fiddle with it today and the paper trick does not work on the wood I am working with (Blackwood) which is a hardwood so I set the blade flush with the sole and gave it a bit of a tap with a lump of wood and it actually produced shavings. Doing that the blade protruded enough so the plane rocked over the blade which gives some indication of how far it was protruding. I also flattened the sole but I don't think it was not flat in the first place so I doubt it did much. I don't know that I am in love with this thing because getting the blade aligned with the body as you do in a plane seems a bit hit and miss and most probably more miss that hit. I resorted to going full neander in the end and pulled out some scrapers and sharpened one of them. Next thing you know I will be selling my slider if this keeps up.

[Stewie Simpson]

Chris; the following shows the back of the scraper where the tensioner needs to be mounted.

The center mark to be drilled and tapped was measured at 3/4" from the top surface of the bed.

Stewie;


http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/stanley%2081%20cabinet%20scraper/30514e25-944d-49e8-a6db-06247e647b5b_zpsk4dvagy9.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/stanley%2081%20cabinet%20scraper/30514e25-944d-49e8-a6db-06247e647b5b_zpsk4dvagy9.jpg.html)

[Rob Paul]

The thumbscrew bends the blade which has the resulting equivalent effect of presenting a cambered blade to the wood. My Stanley 81 blade has been sharpened with a slight camber, and works well (but not as nice shavings as Stewie ! :) ) . Maybe Chris could experiment with adding a little camber to his blade.

[Pete Taran]

Chris,

Rather than alter a 100 year old tool, why not just get a cheap #80 and use it for your purpose. The #81 was designed the way it is for finish scraping. The #80 is for heavy and general purpose scraping. You might also consider a #12. They are generally pretty inexpensive compared to the 112. The wide handle gives you a lot of pressure and would be the perfect tool for hard to scrape woods. It you can't scrape it with a #12, it can't be scraped. Something to consider.

[steven c newman]

Or, find the Stanley #82? Get the older version, longer handle, less fussy to set up..
394533394534394535394536
Takes the same blade as the Stanley #80. Can go places neither the #80, nor the #81 can go. And, no, this is NOT for scraping painted surfaces...

[Chris Parks]

A lot to think about but maybe the simpilist approach is a shaped bit of MDF and a thumb screw when it is all said and done.

[Derek Cohen]

Chris, is there a specific job that you want this scraper plane to do? There may be better alternatives available.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Stewie Simpson]

Chris; the 3rd photo shows the # 81 scraper blade in tension after 2 turns of the adjuster.

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/stanley%2081%20cabinet%20scraper/DSC_0131_zps1bmf866b.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/stanley%2081%20cabinet%20scraper/DSC_0131_zps1bmf866b.jpg.html)

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/stanley%2081%20cabinet%20scraper/DSC_0130_zpsimdazfca.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/stanley%2081%20cabinet%20scraper/DSC_0130_zpsimdazfca.jpg.html)

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af219/swagman001/stanley%2081%20cabinet%20scraper/DSC_0132_zpsc0mjbd0k.jpg (http://s1009.photobucket.com/user/swagman001/media/stanley%2081%20cabinet%20scraper/DSC_0132_zpsc0mjbd0k.jpg.html)

[Chris Parks]

Chris, is there a specific job that you want this scraper plane to do? There may be better alternatives available.

Regards from Perth

Derek

No not really Derek. I am using Blackwood which has some nasty grain in it and wanted to dress up some areas that were still a bit rough after going through the A3. I have owned this thing for some years and never used it so decided to give it a whirl and see what happens and learn something at the same time. I might give Stewie's idea a go to see what happens I just need to find a thumb screw or I might put a grub screw in it so it is less obvious and for no other reason. Stewie, how do you set the blade protrusion?

[Stewie Simpson]

Chris; with the sole of the plane resting on top of the workbench surface. No additional packing was used. Apply some light even pressure over the top of the blade before securing the blade in position using the front locking screw.

(To prevent damaging the turned hook always feed the blade in from the soles mouth opening.)

[glenn bradley]

Thanks for all the advise, I will give it a go later on today. All the experts on YT don't seem to think it is so tricky, I wonder why that is. It might be because they are experts?:eek:

Plenty of folks don'y think setting a plane iron with a plane hammer is tricky either. I find it too fussy for the result and travel another road ;-)