Stanley Plane Question

[James Jayko]

Hi all - Just bought a Stanley 605, my first vintage hand plane. Looks like it was taken apart and cleaned up a bit; just needs to be adjusted. No big deal.

My one question is on the angle adjuster. As it is, its just sitting in the hole in the frog; there is nothing actually keeping it there. Should that adjuster be free, or does that pin get mushroomed over on the underside? Seems to work, but the adjuster hits the handle and will scratch it up in no time.

Any advice greatly appreciated!

[Rafael Herrera]

Post pictures please.

[steven c newman]

Pin was always "peened" over like a rivet. Be careful, though..as Cast Iron does NOT like getting hit....make sure the only thing getting smacked around is the pin.

[Jason Buresh]

In my experience the lateral lever should not come out.

Please take Stevens advice though and be extremely careful when working with cast iron. I accidentally broke a saw guide on a miter saw i was working in when trying to remove the bearing and still haven't forgiven myself for it.

If you crack the frog you will turn a useable tool into a paperweight

[James Jayko]

I'll probably just take this to a machinist I know and let him fettle.

One more question...should that lateral lever be dead straight? Mine has a slight bend right where the tab starts (bending the piece whereby you actually adjust it closer to the handle and making the two touch). Feels like it should be dead straight?

[Jason Buresh]

Yes, this should be straight. More than likely the plane could have been accidentally knocked off the bench at some point and thats why the lateral came loose.

With a lot of patience and finesse, i was able to successfully straighten the lateral in a no 4 that was bent. I put mine in the wooden jaws if my vise and very carefully bent it back straight

[Jim Koepke]

James, Peening the lateral lever isn't a difficult operation. Here is an old post of mine > https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?114373 < posts #8 & #10 show how to remove and reinstall the lateral lever and the pivot pin.

Make sure your machinist friend knows how delicate the old cast iron is.

jtk