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Dan Bayliss
03-09-2004, 2:21 AM
I just purchased a new Stanley 92 shoulder plane; one of those made in England. I must admit that I am surprised by the rough casting and grinding since this was not cheap. But my concern is beyond the cosmetic and is purely functional at this point.

I have noticed that the bed for the iron stops short of the plane bottom by about a sixteenth of an inch, this step leaves the iron unsupported for a quarter of a inch before it reaches the sole. This blade is rather small and the cap or chip breaker that holds the blade in place is also very small.

I have fettled and fussed and tinkered for several hours and still can not get an even thin shaving. I can get a beautiful wisp of a curl from one side of the blade, but once the whole blade engages it seems to dig in and go for a meaty cut. Don’t get me wrong I am getting curls, but not the wisps I want. As I adjust for a lighter cut, any blade retraction at all results in no cut; the iron has passed out of contact with the wood. It seems that the blade is grabbing and flexing giving a deeper than expected cut due to the lack of iron support.

Do the rest of you Stanley 92 , and similar 90 and 93, owners have this truncated bed on your planes, or does the bed angle down to a knife edge near the sole. In other words, does the bed support the iron close to the cutting edge? Did I just get a bad one, or am I expecting too much from this plane?

Thanks for the help,

Dan

Mark Singer
03-09-2004, 8:15 AM
I have a #90 and it is very nice. It always surprises me because it works very well. I have the LN #73...but often the #90 is handier because of its size. I am able to adjust for fine shavings without a problem. I will check the bedding and see if it is similar.

http://www.leevalley.com/images/item/woodworking/planes/23p0101s1.jpg












The #90 seems to have support almost to the edge. The blade is pretty thick and with the adjuster it should be possible to control the shaving. make sure the blade is square and not angled in the bed The bearing screw should be tight enough to hold the blade secure ....but allowing the adj. screw to function.

Tony Zaffuto
03-09-2004, 9:04 AM
I have modern English #90, and as Mark stated, the blade is supported nearly to the end. HOWEVER, that is the least of the issues I am correcting on this plane! First, the sole on the main body had a .008" rise halfway to the rear of the plane. I have corrected this on a surface grinder. The sole part of the nose piece (I believe) should be coplanar to the main body, but it is not. I will be mounting the entire plane in a surface grinder later today to correct the .002" difference. Next, I will indicate the bedding portion of the plane to ensure the angle (side to side) rises equally from the sole. If it doesn't, then the main body will be fixtured to a sine plate to correct the difference. Next, the front portion of the nose piece or cap iron needs trued to correctly bear on the plane blade. Then finally, as one side of the plane is square to the sole, I will need to grind the other side to bring it to square. On another forum, the Stanley #90, #92 & #93 were described as kits. This description is accurate. I'm fortunate that I'm one of the owners of a machine shop and have access to equipment to correct the problems of the plane. I will say that after the first step of flattenting the sole, the plane cut 100% better and only with that result have I decided to go the whole way. Normally, I fettle my planes at home, using wet/dry on a granite surface plate, but my #90 was just to far out to spend the time required (quicker on a surface grinder).

Donnie Raines
03-09-2004, 3:00 PM
I have the same shoulder plane, also. I to was surprised at the fit and finish.

Mine has full support up to the bevel on the body....no gaps and get a nice clean full shaving. I suspect that there was may be an issue there. The iron needs to be fully supproted to reduce chatter.

DonnieR