How do I set up this plane? New to planes

[Lawrence Brown]

Well, I've been electrically spinning carbide through wood for a few years now but I've always had a hankering to use a hand plane. I recently acquired a used Stanley bailey No. 4 ( Friend's dad passed on, sadly ) and I decided to dedicate some time to really learn how to use this thing.
Went over to the used book store and found Garrett Hack's book but I'm still left with a few questions. To wit; He explictily states that "the frog and the sole of the plane should be in alignment". The diagram shows the leading edge of the frog lined up with the bevel at the back of the throat. On the next page he says you should move the frog to adjust throat clearance. Seems like a contradiction. How important is throat clearnace, anyway? Also, how tight should the lever cap screw be? Should I be able to adjust the iron after I lock down the lever cap? Probably seemingly dumb questions for old hands, but I've always found the dumbest thing is not asking 'em.

[Robert Rozaieski]

You can adjust the frog to close or open the throat as long as the bottom of the frog is not behind the bevel of the sole plate. You don't want the sole keeping the iron from contacting the bottom edge of the frog. In front is ok as the sole lends little support to the iron anyway. A tight throat is only necessary for a smoother. For planes used for rougher operations, you want a more open throat to allow a thicker shaving to pass. If you will use the plane for final smoothing, close the throat up. If it's for general work, open it up a bit. Yes you should be able to adjust the cutter with the lever cap in place. The lever cap screw should be snug enough that the lever cap keeps the iron assembly from moving while planing but allows iron adjustment. It should take very little effort to install and remove the lever cap.

[Sam Yerardi]

I recently acquired a used Stanley bailey No. 4
A good one to start with

Went over to the used book store and found Garrett Hack's book but I'm still left with a few questions. To wit; He explictily states that "the frog and the sole of the plane should be in alignment". The diagram shows the leading edge of the frog lined up with the bevel at the back of the throat. Basically you want the frog to be oriented in the same direction as the sole, i.e., not resting at an angle to the sole.

On the next page he says you should move the frog to adjust throat clearance. Seems like a contradiction. How important is throat clearnace, anyway?
Here he is talking about moving the frog towards the fron of the plane or towards the rear. The reason is for different types of woods, you may want/need to adjust the size of the opening. Typically, the thinner the shaving you are creating, the smaller you want the the mouth opening to be.

Also, how tight should the lever cap screw be?
Mine is very tight such that once it's down you can't move the iron

Should I be able to adjust the iron after I lock down the lever cap?
You should be able to move the lateral lever.

There's obviously a lot more to it than what I've indicated but these are SOME of the high points. And, this is one of those areas where everyone has different opinions and usually everyone is right. A lot of different ways to do things.

[Sam Yerardi]

Lawrence,

Here's what I typically do when setting up a plane from scratch. I will assume for this discussion that nothing is broken on the plane, warped, etc.

1. I remove the iron and its cap.
2. I remove the cap from the iron.
3. You will want to sharpen BOTH the iron and its cap. On the iron you will grind two bevels. The first, longer bevel will be about 25 deg to the back of the iron. Typically you will grind this with a grinding wheel or if it is not in too bad of shape and coarse stone. The second bevel (about 30 deg) will be ground with a stone, preferably a white or black Arkansas but it doesn't have to be. You can use sandpaper on a sheet of safety glass (600 grit or higher).
4. Next, grind the cap edge to a fine point. This point (when the cap is screwed to the back of the iron) should curve towards the back of the iron. It should be tight enough that you CAN'T see light between the two. If you can, you're not done yet. Work on this for as long as it takes. Otherwise, the wood will jam itself into any open space between the two. Set the cap back about a 1/16" from the edge of the iron.
5. On the next step, I typically will try moving the frog forward until when I install the iron assembly, there is a small opening between the cutting edge and the forward edge of the sole mouth. This will be something you can play with as sometimes you will re-adjust this depending on the wood and the size shavings you're creating.
6. Tighten the frog down with its two top screws. I try to set the brass adjustment knob to about mid-range to give me a starting point for future adjustment.
7. Install the iron assembly. Lock it down with the lever cap.
8. Make sure that the lateral adjustment lever is in mid-range or at least where the blade edge is parallel with the mouth opening.
9. I will then lay the plane on a clean scrap wood surface and start trying to take some light cuts. As I do this I adjust the brass adjustment knob. At one setting you will find it's too much, you're taking too deep a cut, so go the other way until you're taking small shavings.
10. Once you get the plane tuned up, try angling it a bit away from the direction of the line you are pushing the plane through. That way you're cutting at an angle which will help.

At first, you may only get shavings an inch or less wide. Or you may get lucky and hit everything just right and start taking almost full shavings. It is a great feeling of accomplishment when that happens, and it will, trust me. Just stick with it. Along the way you'll have trouble spots and this is a good place to come to to ask for help. A lot of good knowledge here.

Others will have other procedures but this is typically what I will do.

[Jim Koepke]

Well, I've been electrically spinning carbide through wood for a few years now but I've always had a hankering to use a hand plane. I recently acquired a used Stanley bailey No. 4 ( Friend's dad passed on, sadly ) and I decided to dedicate some time to really learn how to use this thing.

I am pretty much in agreement with the other responders. The first thing to do is to have a sharp blade. I start the sharpening of my blades at 35 degrees. I have tried other angles, for the wood I use most, this gives me the results I want, smooth wood and good blade life.

Next gets to what age the plane happens to be. Before 1907 or so there was not a frog adjustment screw to make things easy.

I usually will put a fresh blade in and push it along a piece of wood while turning the adjuster to just start the shavings. Then check both sides of the blade for the cut. If the shavings are not equal thickness on the left and right, I then check for blade alignment to the throat. It could be the frog is not square to the opening or the blade was not ground square. If it takes more than a little lateral adjustment, I look for the cause.
A try square is good for checking the squareness of the blade and the throat (mouth) on the plane. I have seen a lot that are off a little. This is nothing to worry about. Just know how much it is off to aid in setting the frog square and you should be good to go.

Try out this site: rexmill.com
There is a lot of set up information there.

Also check on posts here by Bob Smalser. He is a wealth of information and his writing is an epiphanic reader for hand tool users.

Having curls whisper out of a hand plane is one of the great pleasures of wood working imo.

Good luck and let us know how this works out.

Jim

"If you are going through hell, keep going."
- Sir Winston Churchill

[Lawrence Brown]

Hey, thanks ya'll. I've been fiddlin' with this thing and it'll actually cut wood! Obviously Stanley didn't spend a lot of time on machining the bearing surface on the frog. Does it have to be REAL flat? I'm thinikn' ephinany is the result of discovering what doesn't work.

[Jim Koepke]

Hey, thanks ya'll. I've been fiddlin' with this thing and it'll actually cut wood! Obviously Stanley didn't spend a lot of time on machining the bearing surface on the frog. Does it have to be REAL flat? I'm thinikn' ephinany is the result of discovering what doesn't work.

The surface where the blade rests on the frog should be flat. When the lever cap is tightened, it may cause a little arching of the blade. This can also appear to be happening if the lateral adjuster is not in the slot of the blade. Another cause can be if the frog is set too far back. If the frog to blade surface is not flat, it can be lapped. Put some masking tape on the lateral adjuster to protect it.

I have had some where the frog to base mating was not very good. I did a little bit of work to make it a solid match and the plane is much better now.

To help much more, we would likely need either a picture of the base and the frog or to know what type (year model) your plane happens to be. Stanley changed the base to frog mating structure a few times over the life span of their plane making.

A description of the plane can help date it.
Is there a ring in the casting around the front knob?
Are there dates cast in the body between the tote and the frog?
There is also a type study to help with this at rexmill.com

The frog should not rock when seated without screws. You do need to be careful not to take too much metal off of this area when tuning it up.

Jim

"You got to be careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there."
- Yogi Berra