Vintage Stanley #81 setup question

[Raymond Seward]

I just picked this up...in good shape appears to have a rosewood base? I know how to sharpen the blade....do it already on my card scrapers....anyway how does one set the blade up to cut? Perhaps a simple question but not apparent to me. Is there an easy way to do it? I cannot seem to get the blade even (cuts on one side only) or else it cuts too deep. I got the 81 thinking it would be easier to hold on to rather than a card scraper....damn arthritis. Thanks in advance for any setup tips.
Ray

[Jason Buresh]

I assume this is very similar to my no 80. The blade on my no 80 actually sharpened on a 45 degree angle, and the scraper is inserted so the bevel faces you, but maybe someone more knowledgeable than me can chime in if the 81 is sharpened the same way. I set the blade in so it just touches the wood and then tighten the body screws down. Then there is the tensioner screw in the back. I tighten this just until the screw touches the scraper and then make a couple test cuts while slowly tensioning the screw until you get it set where you want.

Mine was very finicky to set up at first, but once set up worked well. I use it mainly for scraping glue.

[Rob Young]

I just picked this up...in good shape appears to have a rosewood base? I know how to sharpen the blade....do it already on my card scrapers....anyway how does one set the blade up to cut? Perhaps a simple question but not apparent to me. Is there an easy way to do it? I cannot seem to get the blade even (cuts on one side only) or else it cuts too deep. I got the 81 thinking it would be easier to hold on to rather than a card scraper....damn arthritis. Thanks in advance for any setup tips.
Ray

Not the best video out there, not the worst.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmknRm4-RCU

A bit better one here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu7doUE1caw


I use a #80, not the #81 but should be about the same 20* pitch to the blade.

Put a 45* (or so, this isn't rocket surgery) bevel on the blade. Flatten the back and remove any trace of a burr from making the *45 bevel. I create this bevel on my stones so it is reasonably well polished. I suppose one could also do a 40* with a grinder or a coarse stone and then tip up and do a 5* microbevel for less polishing time but I've not found the metal of the blade so hard it wouldn't take a polish in just a minute or two.

Use a burnisher to roll a burr from the bevel toward the flat back. It doesn't need a huge hook to work. I generally stop with the burnisher just a few degrees past perpendicular to the blade, maybe 5, maybe 10. I don't measure it.

Insert back into the plane body from the sole. Burr faces forward, blade tilts forward so the bevel is facing you. Lightly tighten the two screws holding the bale. The center thumb screw should be retracted.

With the plane and blade resting on a flat surface, press down with your thumb (or a bit of wood if you happened to also sharpen the other end of the blade) in the center. This seats the blade so it is aligned with the sole. Tighten the thumb screw just a little bit and take a test cut. Tightening the thumb screw flexes the blade and causes more the poke out the mouth of the plane. You can also try resting the plane on paper so that the mouth is just a bit above the flat surface before pushing down the blade. This forces the entire blade out and you get a heavier and wider cut.

You can tap the left and right exposed corner of the blade near the top to skew it and center your cut.

[Raymond Seward]

Thank you for your responses....the 81 is different in that there is no center screw to flex the blade. I'm not after sharpening info...just how to adjust the blade beneath the sole of the scraper. Anyway I'll try Bob's idea of using a sheet of paper. I'll try putting one ahead of the blade and one behind it Then dropping the blade down on a flat surface so the cutter will be just proud of the sole. As I said.....I either get it trying to cut too much or tipped and it cuts just one side. Maybe I'm not explaining myself properly...

[Aaron Rosenthal]

For a quick tutorial and jig help, Paul Sellers have a good pair of YouTube tutorials.

[Rob Luter]

I have a #81. My research suggests it was used for very delicate work. It requires a very sharp blade and precise adjustment. I don’t use it much.

[Raymond Seward]

I checked out the videos Rob suggested....inspired me to look further. I found this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpgnS_zgE6Y It's a Lie-Nielsen video but it kinda answered my question. You'll see specifically what I was looking for at about 6:25 in the video. Thanks for everyone's input & help.

[Raymond Seward]

Thought I would give those that may be interested in my results.

Make sure the sole is flat
Sharpen at a 45 degree angle & MAKE SURE it is straight.
Burnish the edge (tried without burnishing & feel it does a better job burnished} There are 2 schools of thought on the latter.
On a known flat surface I placed 2 .01 shims one ahead and one behind the slot. Dropped the sharpened cutter in the slot so the edge would be on the flat surface. Works great. Cuts just like I expected and no sanding necessary. I experimented with different shim thicknesses and settled on the .01. Hope this helps somebody else. :-)