Veritas #4 lateral adjustment woes

[Tyler Bancroft]

Hello all. I have a Veritas #4 that I have a devil of a time getting to take an even cut. I find that making lateral adjustments with the Norris adjuster is very finicky, and also inevitably means I need to readjust the depth of cut. I don't have this issue with my low-angle planes with the same adjuster. Does anyone have any tips or tricks?

[Frederick Skelly]

I sometimes have a similar problem with Norris adjusters. On those days, I use a small hammer (6-8 ounces) to gently set the lateral adjustment.

[Jim Koepke]

My experience with Norris adjusters is zilch. Some of what has been learned with Stanley lateral adjustment might cross over.

Start with the blade not cutting and slowly adjust it to take as light of a cut as is possible. With the Norris adjuster you may need to loosen the lever cap some.

When it starts to take a shaving adjust the lateral so bot sides are taking equal cuts. Then adjust the blade for the depth of cut and tighten the lever cap.

For my purposes this is usually done on a 1X of fir or pine. The shavings are judged by their feel being crumpled in my hand.

Here is a right up on it which includes the above with images > https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?148076

jtk

[Tom M King]

For those that only like to round off the corners of a plane iron, lateral adjustment is super critical. For those of us that use full cambers, it's not so much of a worry. It still has to be close, but not absolutely exact.

[Gary Focht]

I have the same issues as you. I love everything about my Veritas planes except the Norris adjusters. I eventually get it right, but it takes a lot more time and effort than with my Stanley style planes.

The Stanley/Bailey style of depth and lateral adjustment is just better.

[Tyler Bancroft]

I spent some time today trying hammer taps for lateral adjustment, and it definitely does work better for me than the adjuster. Thanks all.

[Jim Koepke]

I spent some time today trying hammer taps for lateral adjustment, and it definitely does work better for me than the adjuster. Thanks all.

One of my #6 planes is a type 4 (pre-lateral). It is often faster setting the lateral adjustment with a hammer tap than a lever.

jtk

[Erich Weidner]

One of my #6 planes is a type 4 (pre-lateral). It is often faster setting the lateral adjustment with a hammer tap than a lever.

jtk


Once I started using a little brass hammer for this purpose, I've not touched the Stanley or Norris adjusting lever Well, other than for initial adjustment when I drop the iron back in the plane after sharpening if I bumped it out of place.

[Tyler Bancroft]

One of my #6 planes is a type 4 (pre-lateral). It is often faster setting the lateral adjustment with a hammer tap than a lever.

jtk

The one downside that I've found is that there seems to be less feedback when adjusting the blade on a metal plane than a wooden – I find I can feel the movement of the blade on my wooden plane better.

[Jason White]

Loosening the cap screw a little helps, but I use a small brass hammer to make my adjustments. Woodcraft sells them for pretty cheap. Not as easy to do on the bevel down planes, but it is possible. You can also tap the Norris adjuster with it. Just don't hit it too hard.


Hello all. I have a Veritas #4 that I have a devil of a time getting to take an even cut. I find that making lateral adjustments with the Norris adjuster is very finicky, and also inevitably means I need to readjust the depth of cut. I don't have this issue with my low-angle planes with the same adjuster. Does anyone have any tips or tricks?

[Tyler Bancroft]

Loosening the cap screw a little helps, but I use a small brass hammer to make my adjustments. Woodcraft sells them for pretty cheap. Not as easy to do on the bevel down planes, but it is possible. You can also tap the Norris adjuster with it. Just don't hit it too hard.

Yup, loosening the cap was what ended up making the difference for me – my mediocre skills can now set the lateral adjustment with ease.