Bob Easton
04-17-2008, 8:07 PM
My recently acquired Sargent #79 looks like an exact copy of Stanley's #78. It also works very well. My initial "tuneup" was nothing more than quickly honing a microbevel on a barely used iron. With careful setup, it does very nice work.
Now that I've tried it, I've taken a closer look at the iron. I find the primary bevel is 35 degrees. Digging up a "user manual (http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/%7Eflip/wood/planes/stanley-078.html)" (for the Stanley #78), I measured the drawing on the cover and found that iron also has a 35 degree bevel.
Is 35 degrees the proper bevel? ... and, why is it different than other bench planes with 45 degree beds?
Now that I've tried it, I've taken a closer look at the iron. I find the primary bevel is 35 degrees. Digging up a "user manual (http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/%7Eflip/wood/planes/stanley-078.html)" (for the Stanley #78), I measured the drawing on the cover and found that iron also has a 35 degree bevel.
Is 35 degrees the proper bevel? ... and, why is it different than other bench planes with 45 degree beds?