Seen at Menard's?

[Tom Bussey]

I hate to be the dearer of bad news but take a black marker and mark a piece of oak or hickory the size of the plane you are going to flatten and then see how long it takes to sand out. The old iron doesn't sand as easy it can take days. Yes I know that every one can flatten a plane by lapping. But I also know that according to everyone in the 15th century, the the earth was flat and if one sailed to far they would fall off. Flattening a plane, and falling off the Earth rates right up there with Jack and the Beanstalk.

50 years experience of building jig, fixtures, dies and special machines for industry tells me it is a waist of time and effort and that all you are doing is putting scratches in the metal. There may be a high spot that can come off but theoretically, actually it is not theory but fact that the closer one get to flat the larger the surface that the material has to come off. Tell you what, get a grade 8 bolt about 5 inches long and chuck it up on the threaded potion in a drill press, turn it on about 200 - 300 rpm see how long it takes to sand off .005- .010 under power and then you if you think you can do it, go for it. With all the time and money spent buying materials one will be better off just buying a good plane and forgetting it. Spend you time doing wood working.

And just so you know that it took me three hours or so, using a surface grinder designed to remove metal, with a grinding wheel specially made to grind cast iron to do this.

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Yes, I have heard it all and that I don't know what I am talking about , especially because you want it to be true, but to him that has an ear, let him hear. PT Barnum, from Barnum and Bailey Circus, said there is a sucker born every minute. And the other saying, a fool and his money are soon parted.

50 years of experience says you are wasting your time and money. And I also know you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.

On a different note if all you want to do is polish it go for it. A nice looking plane is like a just washed car, they just drive better. It is all perception

[steven c newman]

And, for all of those that follow the myth of a perfectly flat sole on a hand plane......try it on a japanese Kanna plane....then, wonder why it no longer works....

Original post was more a ''For your information" post....IF you don't like said plane, go look elsewhere. I already turned down 2 Record planes, 2 years ago, and now the Irwin/Marples/Record plane....

[Tom Bussey]

You are correct about a myth about a perfectly flat sole. Any plane will cut very well with a sharp blade, that is the real secret.

[steven c newman]

BTW: I stopped back at that one yard sale this morning, to see IF he had lowered the price. $20 was a LOUD NO!.....today, he added the block plane shaped object, but the price was still $20....same plane set you can walk into Harbor freight and spend the same amount on...brand new.....ah..NO....not today....

Seems to be when Record went with the brass thumbscrew cap...quality went downhill, badly. Now...IF you can find the older, lever capped ones...they won't be quite as bad.

[Tom Trees]

You are correct about a myth about a perfectly flat sole. Any plane will cut very well with a sharp blade, that is the real secret.

Not if is so badly out, that you can't take full width thin shavings.

Tom

[Jim Koepke]

You are correct about a myth about a perfectly flat sole. Any plane will cut very well with a sharp blade, that is the real secret.

Some planes will not work well, even with a sharp blade

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....ole-hand-plane

This plane's sole was convex from toe to heel with the high point being at the mouth.

Anuj was invited to bring this plane to my shop to see if my block of granite with abrasive paper might make things better.

He is now a happy owner of a plane that works well:

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....ley-3-is-fixed

You are correct in that the sole does not need to be perfectly flat. Anuj's plane's sole is flat enough to make a fine shaving with no pressure applied to the plane, only using forward motion. It will also make the same shaving with pressure on the tote and knob.

A concave sole will often require the blade to be advanced until it starts to take a shaving. Then the blade will dig into the wood and make a thick shaving or possibly let go only to repeat itself. This was the case with one of my Stanley #60 type block planes purchased at a yard sale for $1:

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?123401

This one also had a problem similar to the azimuth problem mentioned by Tom Trees. The bed was a bit higher on one side than the other causing slight a horizontal tilt to the blade. It would start cutting on one side before the other no matter how much lateral adjustment was given to the blade.

If a plane of mine is able to make a shaving of a thickness normally required for its intended use, then it is left as is. It is likely easier to mess up a plane's sole attempting to lap it than it is to make it better. A person needs to know what they are doing and where they want to go when trying to fix an errant plane sole.

Many things in need of doing and doing well, are not simple procedures to be performed without exerting some brain power.

jtk

[steven c newman]

There are some out there....that are Fouled Up Beyond Any Repair.....this coming from a fellow that came fix up an Anant A4 to make very nice shavings...
test drive.JPGbackside.JPGsole.JPGsole.JPG
But who ever makes that one for Harbor Freight, or Kobalt....haven't a clue as to what a plane is to be. Tried the Kobalt....and returned it...wasn't worth the effort, nor the $39

But, then again. I traded this off for a Millers Falls No. 9...
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Seemed a fair deal? Anant A4 for a Millers Falls No. 9, type 2?